2010

NZ2464 : West Walls town wall and ditch

taken 17 years ago, near to Newcastle Upon Tyne, England

This is 1 of 9 images, with title starting with West Walls in this square
West Walls town wall and ditch
West Walls town wall and ditch
Shown here is the stretch of Town Wall which includes the Morden and Ever defensive Towers. The Morden Tower NZ2464 : West Walls (3) was increased in height in 1618 as a meeting place for the Plumbers, Glaziers and Pewterers Company and enlarged again in 1700. Further along are the remains of the Ever Tower NZ2464 : City Wall Behind Stowell Street which was occupied by the Company of Paviours, Colliers and Carriage-men, and in the 19C by an eccentric known as 'Hairy Nanny'.

The deep ditch outside the walls NZ2464 : The moat in front of West Walls was added for defensive purposes in about 1312. It was re-excavated and landscaped along this stretch in 1988. The wooden bridge replaces one in this location that was built by the Dominicans from the nearby Friary in 1312.
Tyne and Wear HER (1533): Newcastle town wall, curtain north of Heber Tower LinkExternal link

The building just visible on the left is the now restored isolation hospital or 'House of Recovery' built in 1804. It was closed in 1888.
Tyne and Wear HER (6293): Newcastle, Bath Lane, Fever Hospital (House of Recovery): LinkExternal link

St Andrew's Poor House and the Lunatic Asylum, located nearby, have been demolished.

The new developments in the distance are the buildings of Citygate and Gallowgate.
Newcastle Town Wall :: NZ2563

Built in the C13th century to protect the expanding town from Scottish raiders, Newcastle’s Town Wall was an impressive structure. It was approximately 3km / 2 miles long, up to 2m / 7ft thick and approximately 7.6m / 25ft high. It enclosed the Castle and its Black Gate as well as the main medieval commercial district along the quayside and all the ground northwards to St. Andrews Church. The wall had seven main gateways, 17 towers and 30 turrets. A section of the Wall was extended along the quayside to protect the properties of wealthy merchants from water-borne attack.

Only short sections of the curtain wall now survive as much was demolished in the C19th to aid redevelopment and access. Only five of the original towers have survived.

Wikipedia has a full description and a map LinkExternal link
Historical Account by Eneas Mackenzie (1827) LinkExternal link

More images on Geograph can be found with this search Link

National Trails walk around the town walls LinkExternal link

Tyne and Wear HER(1507): Newcastle town wall LinkExternal link


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Andrew Curtis and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Category: Town walls
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Newcastle [1022] · Buildings [688] · St [675] · 4406042 [622] · Newcastle upon Tyne [361] Other Photos: · Herber Tower · The Grainger Town Sculptural Map, Neville Street ·
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Grid Square
NZ2464, 2694 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Andrew Curtis   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Friday, 15 January, 2010   (more nearby)
Submitted
Saturday, 16 January, 2010
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NZ 2436 6424 [10m precision]
WGS84: 54:58.3312N 1:37.2596W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NZ 2435 6420
View Direction
North-northeast (about 22 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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