NewcastleGateshead's History

 
The regeneration of NewcastleGateshead has brought stunning and innovative new landmarks to the city, particularly on the banks of the River Tyne: £1bn has been spent on Newcastle Quayside and Gateshead Quays alone in past ten years.

The iconic Gateshead Millennium bridge has won numerous design awards for its graceful curves that pivot like a slowly blinking eye; BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art transformed Gateshead’s old Baltic flour mill; and Foster & Partners’ designed £70m The Sage Gateshead building, opened in 2004, continues to surprise and delight visitors with its striking glass and metal shell. 

But NewcastleGateshead is not all about shiny new buildings and modernity. Everywhere you look you’ll see reminders of its past, from the Castle Keep to the proud city walls.

Its rich history dates back 2,000 years, to when the Romans settled on the north bank of the Tyne in around 80AD. In 1080, Robert Curthose, son of William the Conqueror, built a new fortress upon the site of the Roman stronghold – the ‘new castle’. Visit the Discovery Museum to explore the history of Newcastle from Roman times to the present day. 

Then cross the river to see one of Gateshead's oldest buildings, St Mary’s Church, built in the 14th century.

The River Tyne was a vital means of transportation, and both Newcastle and Gateshead soon became thriving ports. By the 13th century, the quayside was thriving. Coal became the Tyne’s main export from the 14th century onwards, and shipbuilding flourished. Merchant’s houses, like the one that now houses the Cooperage pub, packed the area.

In the 19th century, Tyneside really flourished, with its great industrial strength; Dunston Staithes in Gateshead is a reminder of its great coal-mining industry. Go back in time on a steam train at Tanfield Railway which travels a line that transported coal for more than 300 years. 

In the early 1800s, the North East saw one of the century’s most important innovations. In 1825, George Stephenson’s Locomotion No 1 caused a sensation, and his Rocket became the model for railway engines for over 100 years. John Dobson’s Central Station was considered one of the great triumphs of the railway age.

From the 1830s, local architect Richard Grainger redeveloped Newcastle, transforming the city with the classical streets – most notably Grey Street – that make up Grainger Town.

A terrible fire in 1854 destroyed many of Newcastle and Gateshead’s medieval buildings. Afterwards, architect John Dobson redeveloped Newcastle quayside, replacing the burnt-out old houses.

Gateshead’s Old Town Hall opened in 1870, housing the local government as well as the police station. Recently refurbished, the building now plays host to cultural events.

Huge, inspired regeneration since the mid-1980s means that Newcastle and Gateshead’s quaysides are now once again the focal point. Historically, Newcastle dominated the river trade at Gateshead’s expense. But now, a stroll along the Quayside makes clear how the riverside is flourishing on both sides of the Tyne, with iconic new landmarks heralding a vibrant new chapter in the region’s history.