Newcastle

Reports of meetings

February 2026

NDFHS Newcastle Branch Report of the meeting held on 4 February 2026

Present: 13 Aplogies: 2

This month’s talk ‘A Tour Around the Lonsdales’ was given by John Heckels. A chance discovery of the statue outside a Swalwell garage led to a series of journeys of discovery to see the public statues created by Ray Lonsdale. The greater part of Lonsdale’s output is to be found in the North East, with some statues in the East Midlands, in Gretna Green and in Silloth, and one at Cobh Harbour, seen before shipping. Lonsdale, based in South Hetton, is a prolific sculptor, steel fabricator, artist and poet. Most of his statues are made of corden steel, which weathers to a rust-like appearance.

John had drawn up a list of 25 statues. He showed a photograph of each statue with its location and a copy of the poem that accompanied most of the statues. He also gave background information and sources of funding, which could be a combination of organisations, local authorities, public subscription, and private individuals, notably Maureen Robinson, who financed sculptures in Scarborough.

The main themes of the sculptures are mining, war and intergenerational relationships. Northeast examples being: Da said men don’t cry, depicting a miner and son; The Ball and the Bradford Boy, honouring a family of soldiers decorated in WWI and Relative Treats, showing the love between a grandmother and granddaughter.

The statues John showed reflect our social and economic history. They are a sign of the importance we attach to the heritage of our local communities. And John’s list keeps growing. An outstanding addition is ‘Gan Canny’ in Sunderland commemorating Vaux Breweries. It is a group of statues representing a cart loaded with barrels pulled by two horses and driven by a seated man. Another man is standing feeding a horse. Thanks to his meticulous research and his enthusiasm, we have an incentive to make our own ‘Tour Around [some of] the Lonsdales’.

January 2026

NDFHS Newcastle Branch Report of the meeting held on 7 January 2026

Present: 11 Apologies: 4

Anthony Atkinson gave a talk about Getrude Bell (1868-1926). It was a very well researched and fascinating account and evaluation of her life, personality, achievements and international significance. It was much enjoyed by those present.

Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell was born in Washington New Hall in 1868, the granddaughter of industrialist and politician, Isaac Lowthian Bell. Initially educated at home, her enlightened stepmother sent her to Queens College in London from where she progressed to Lady Margaret Hall, attaining all the requirements to obtain a first class degree in history, had Oxford University awarded degrees to women. On leaving Oxford she spent much of the next ten years travelling, writing, mountaineering in Switzerland, developing her skills as an archaeologist and linguist. She fell in love with and explored the Middle East, sometimes making dangerous journeys. This increased her knowledge and love of the area and its people and the fluency in Arabic and Persian that made her famous. During the First World War she joined the Arab Bureau where she worked with T E Lawrence [‘of Arabia’]. They had much in common.

Anthony gave us a short course in a simplified history of British policy in the Middle East during the first quarter of the 20th century. Gertrude’s expertise gave her an influence in policy making and administration, especially in the creation of Iraq. In 1923 she helped set up the National Museum of Iraq. In failing health, she died of an overdose of sleeping pills in 1926. She was given a state funeral in Baghdad,

Throughout his talk Anthony offered explanations for Gertrude’s remarkable achievements. The death of her mother when she was three years old contributed to her recurrent depression, her risk-taking behaviour and the close bond she had with her father. She had no need to earn a living yet needed ‘to fill every minute doing something productive’. This need may have been caused by the periods of depression and loneliness which marked her life and been a motive for her expeditions. The risk of her 1914 expedition to Ha’il suggested she ‘was indifferent to whether she lived or died’. Events in her personal life contributed to her loneliness: the opposition of her father to her brief engagement to Henry Cadogan, and the death of Charles Doughty-Wylie in WWI, a married man with whom she was in love, was devastating. Her death in 1926 at the age of 57 is generally considered to be suicide. Anthony showed her to be ‘daring and self-sufficient’ but tragically ‘fragile in her personal life’.

November 2025

Newcastle Branch report 5 November 2025

Present: 17 Apologies: 1

This month’s talk, given by Margaret Bozic was ‘The History of Quakers in Newcastle’

Quakerism began in the 1650s as one of the radical Christian groups of that time. It differed by its silent worship and not needing ministers or rituals. Men and women were spiritually equal. Considered too radical, it was seen as a threat to the establishment. Adherents were persecuted and the founder, George Fox, may have been the source of the name ‘Quaker’ when telling a judge to “quake before the authority of God”. Local congregations were established, but when George Fox came to Newcastle in 1684, he was expelled to Gateshead where meetings were allowed. Between 1563 and 1598, there were 57 marriages in Gateshead.

Following the right to freedom of worship under the Toleration Act, 1689, Newcastle Quakers were able to build a meeting house and burial ground on a site on Pilgrim Street. Given the importance they gave to education, a school was added and then a shop. Once established, Quakerism in Newcastle entered a ‘quiet period’, emerging as a strong but closed community, formed by inter-marriage and the sharing of finances and discipline. Modesty in dress was expected. Unacceptable behaviour had consequences such as disownment (exclusion from the Meeting) for marrying before a priest, until, in 1753, marriages in Quaker meeting houses became legal.

The Quaker style of life, the honest character and fair business practices of Quakers earned them a favourable public reputation. Moving into the mainstream in the nineteenth century, Quakers became part of Newcastle life. Margaret gave an account of the part played by Newcastle Quakers in national as well as in Newcastle life. They included the Richardson, Pumphrey and Pease families; Robert Spence Watson, Thomas Hodgkin, and Dr Ethel Bentham, who had practiced medicine in Newcastle, becoming, in 1929, the first Quaker M.P. The Newcastle Quakers were influential in the anti-slavery movement and paid £150 to secure the freedom of Frederick Douglass.

The 20th century marked the end of an era. The Society moved from Pilgrim Street in 1962 to Jesmond Road and then Gosforth. The nature of membership changed with fewer ‘birthright Friends’. However, local Quakers, ‘punching above their weight’, continue to play a prominent role as academic and community leaders.

Margaret is a fluent speaker. Her well-researched talk was wide-ranging, detailed and most interesting.

October 2025

NDFHS Newcastle Branch Report of the meeting held on 1 October 2025

Present: 13 Apologies: 2

This month’s speaker was Andrew Clark. His topic was Pubs, Brewers and Beer Andrew showed how pubs have played a significant economic and social role in the life of communities and are familiar landmarks. Andrew began and ended his talk with an image showing people in a pub. Though more than a century apart, both showed customers enjoying pleasure and conviviality.

Many pubs were owned by brewers. Andrew drew attention to the ever-changing brewing industry. The Tyne Brewery on Bath Lane was taken over in 1890 by Newcastle Breweries, just created by the amalgamation of five brewers. They were later depicted in the five points of the Blue Star logo. In 1960 Newcastle Breweries merged with Scottish Brewers to form Scottish and Newcastle Breweries, thus becoming a leading UK brand. In 2005 the Brewery closed. Its huge site and the rights to its most popular brands were sold.

Newcastle Breweries had expanded before the 1960s merger. In 1956 it acquired the brewery empire, James Deuchar Ltd. Newcastle Breweries did have a competitor in the Sunderland Vaux Brewery. By its purchase of Manor Brewery (begun in Manor Chare in 1818) in 1938, Vaux acquired Newcastle pubs.

That beer was traditionally consumed in areas of heavy industry could be seen in pub names such as Forge Hammer and Hydraulic Crane with advertisements by competing brewers emphasising health giving properties and double strength for heavy labour.

Andrew outlined changes in the pub trade since the Second World War. As part of ‘stories’ he described how pubs have featured in some unusual events. For example, William Campbell, landlord of the Duke of Wellington in High |Bridge, was so tall and fat, that his coffin had to be lowered from an upstairs window, an event witnessed by a large crowd.

From the start of his well-illustrated presentation, Andrew encouraged comment and questions. Further participation came in a ‘then and now’ quiz. Andrew’s talk was both informative and enjoyable.

September 2025

Present: 13 Apologies 5

Mike Greatbatch’s talk ‘Butter, Boats and Bars of Soap: A History of Newcastle’s east quayside, 1850-1950’, showed how essential improvements to the Quay led to the creation of a modern dockside, resulting in a great increase in trade and industry and followed by residential development.

Historically, ships unloaded near the old Tyne Bridge where the river, infamous for its poor navigability, was deepest. The Tyne Improvement Commission was established to improve the state of the river and was authorised to dredge.

The wharves in the east Quayside were not strong enough to accommodate large ships. Between 1866 and 1879 Newcastle Corporation virtually demolished the quay wall between Milk Market and the Ouseburn. Iron cylinders were sunk beneath the river bed and overlaid with brick arches with ashlar facing and with concrete above that, a structure still visible at low tide. The investment of £239,323 confirmed Newcastle as the principal port on the Tyne. The old quay wall west of Milk Market was replaced between 1883 and 1893 to avoid it sliding completely into the river using the same techniques.

The new dockside permitted rapid loading and offloading. A dockside railway speeded the transit of goods. New wharves were established, including the Norway and Hamburg Wharves and the Butter Boat Wharf for butter from Denmark. Warehouses were built. Examples described included the warehouse built for the Cooperative Wholesale Society using modern construction methods and the huge grain and general warehouse for grain from the Baltic next to the Swirle. The resulting great increase in trade led to an extension of the quay wall east of the Ouseburn from 1906-10 when bottle and soap works and the Dead House were demolished.

Mike described some industries that characterised the area; Hedley’s soap works and Jebbs Bros. Ltd rag merchants with four warehouses. The growth in trade and industry required workers and the streets of the Battlefield were constructed. Mike used examples from the 1911 census to show the range of occupations.

As ever, Mike gave a hugely enjoyable talk about the history of an area in which he is an expert.

June 2025

NDFHS Newcastle Branch Report of the meeting held on 4 June 2025
Present: 16

This month’s speaker, Lloyd Langley, gave a talk about buildings in 18th century Newcastle. Lloyd’s presentation began at the riverside, once the centre of Newcastle’s population and commercial activity. Some buildings in the Close with an 18th century façade were originally timber framed. The town already had fine buildings: Robert Trollope’s Guildhall, the Holy Jesus Hospital, for example.

Lloyd then took us on an architectural tour to demonstrate that 18th century Newcastle was a vibrant place with a thriving economy and cultural life that should not be underestimated. This could be seen from the building of merchants’ town houses away from the Quayside, the Customs House and the Assembly Rooms (the third to be built). The architect of All Saints Church, which replaced the derelict All Hallows, was David Stephenson, the first Newcastle architect trained at the Royal Academy in London.

Not all building was for the benefit of the affluent. The Keelman’s Hospital was a charity, financed by deductions from Keelmen’s wages. Trinity House had alms houses built. We saw that churchyard headstones can tell us about the lives of ordinary people.

Lloyd showed us examples where buildings had been adapted to a different purpose. The Sallyport Tower was altered for use by the Ship’s Carpenters Guild. He hoped the redevelopment of the Keelmen’s Hospital would retain the quadrangle.

Lloyd Langley wanted us to look at buildings with “new eyes”. He showed a list of sources we might use and ways of exploring the city. In view of his enthusiasm and his rapport with the audience, members might be motivated to do that.

May 2025

Report of the meeting held on 7 May 2025
Present: 18 Apologies 2

The title of this month’s presentation by Liz Cowans was ‘Looking at St Lawrence and St Peter’s Wards [of Newcastle upon Tyne] with special reference to Hawthorn Leslie Marine Engineering on the north bank of the River Tyne’. The themes were industrialisation, de-industrialisation and recovery, and the conditions that caused them.

In the 19th century the engineering company R & W Hawthorn was based near the river at Forth Banks where there was a plentiful supply of labour and cheap and quick transport, but ultimately the expansion of the business was impeded by the restricted nature of the site. This led to amalgamation with another company to form Hawthorn Leslie, producing engines for ships on a site further down the river at St Peter’s. Much of the viability of the company depended on the success of shipbuilding. The inadequate size of dry docks, the narrowness and course of the river, plus problems caused by the restrictive practices of the labour force contributed to the eventual demise of production at St Peter’s.

Whilst some buildings, for example the former Refuge Assurance Company in Manchester, could be successfully repurposed, plant on an industrial site such as St Peter’s could not be changed and restructured to modernise and overcome foreign competition. Closure brought dereliction with its adverse effect on the local community.

Recovery came about with the formation, in 1987, of the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation and its plan for the regeneration of St Peter’s with a marina, attractive housing and some employment.

The presentation, by an enthusiastic geographer with a love of maps, contained a large amount of interesting information helped by many maps and photographs. Its theme mirrored the rise and fall of heavy industries in Britain and their effect on people and the landscape.

April 2025

Report of the meeting held on 2 April 2025
Present: 20 Apologies 1

This month’s talk by Richard Bliss was about the Pease family of Pendower Hall, a branch of the large Quaker dynasty, which traced its roots to Yorkshire, then Darlington, becoming best known for its involvement in the wool trade, banking, railways, and coal mining.

John William Pease was born in Darlington in 1836. At Grove House School in London, he formed lasting friendships including with Thomas Hodgkin. Debarred from university, he was apprenticed as an engineer, however, his preference for finance led to him to play a role in banking history. He became a partner in the Newcastle private bank Hodgkin, Barnett, Spence, Pease and Co, which extended its operations by taking over joint-stock banks that had failed during the 1850 banking crisis. In 1880 the bank moved to a purpose-built Italianate building in Collingwood Street. In 1902 it merged with Lloyds, the midlands-based Quaker bank. John’s younger son, John William Beaumont Pease, became the first president, grew very rich in the process and was elevated to the peerage. His elder son indulged his interest in local history and folk tales, establishing the ‘Northern Counties Magazine’.

John William Pease married Helen Mary Fox in 1860, bringing him a large dowry. She was also from a large Quaker family, one that dominated industry and shipping in the South West, trading goods world-wide including, surprisingly for Quakers, enslaved people. In 1867 John bought a huge plot of land between the West Road and the future Elswick Road. The family moved from South Dene House, Low Fell, to a property John had built on the land as a gift to his wife. It was named Pendower, after her favourite beach near Falmouth.

With the decline in attractiveness of the West End, a house in Alnmouth became the family’s main residence. In 1919 most of their Newcastle land was sold to the City Council for working class housing, which at £37,500 was a sum below its market value. Five hundred houses were constructed, known as the Pendower Estate. Pendower Hall remains, and after different owners and uses, is now in private hands.

J. W. Pease was a nature lover with a passion for fishing. After his death in 1901, his collection of Bewick woodcuts was donated to Newcastle City Library.

March 2025

Report of the meeting held on 5 March 2025
Present: 19 Apologies: 1

This month’s talk, given by Theresa Brolly, had the intriguing title ‘When Bonaparte came to Bensham’. It had all the elements of a fascinating story: local relevance, a famous name, a family saga with instances of scandalous and reprehensible behaviour.

Louis Clovis, (1859-94) known also at various times by some of the names, Louis Clavering Clovis Richard Bonaparte, was born in Paris, the illegitimate son of Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte and Clemence Richard. He was the great nephew of the Emperor Napoleon I. He was legitimised as Louis’ son when his parents were free to marry and inherited the title of Prince on his father’s death in 1891

As Louis Clovis, he arrived in Bensham as a premium apprentice at the NER (Loco Dept) becoming a qualified civil engineer. He also acquired the more distinctive sounding name Clavering, possibly inspired by the local Clavering Arms near Borough Cottages in Bensham where he lived for a time. After working in Gateshead, he became managing director of a light railway company in Stony Stratford which was declared bankrupt in 1889.

Described by Theresa as a rogue, in 1888 Louis married, bigamously, Rosalie Megone on the Isle of Man. After bitter court proceedings, the marriage was annulled enabling him to marry Laura Scott to whom he had already transferred his affections. He took Rosalie’s jewels.

Louis died of meningitis in Kensington in 1894, leaving claims against his estate and a dispute between his widow and mother about unpaid debts. He appeared to have no income from employment. He left a son, Valentine Clavering Gerald, born in 1883 to Nita Gerald, an actress with a vaudeville company, whose worldwide tours included Newcastle in 1881 and 1882, when Louis was living in the area.

A brief outline cannot do justice to Theresa’s detailed and hugely entertaining presentation.

February 2025

Report of meeting held on 5 February 2025
Present 20

This month’s talk by Pat Lowery had the title ‘Fun, Frolic and Football: Newcastle’s Town Moor’. Also included in the talk were the surrounding moors, among them Nuns Moor to the west, Little Moor to the north and Castle Leazes.

Joint ownership by the Freemen and the City Council, governed by Statute, has ensured the survival of the largest urban public space in Britain, since neither can sell land for development.

The right of freemen to graze their cattle on the Moor predates the Norman conquest and was included in the establishment of the rights of the Freemen by King John in 1216. The Freemen saw off an attempt at enclosure of part of the Moor by the Corporation (forerunner of the city council) in 1771 and the resulting Act of Parliament vested legal ownership in the Corporation and secured grazing rights to the Freemen.

However, the Act of 1774 permitted the Corporation to issue leases, with restrictions about the amount of land it could lease. The former Barracks, Leazes Park, the Exhibition Park, the Newcastle United Golf Club, St James’ Park football ground, and the RVI, for example, have all been constructed on Town Moor land. Structures that proved to be temporary are a smallpox hospital and open-cast mining 1944-7. Horse racing on the Town Moor began in 1721 but the Grandstand, constructed in 1800, became associated with drunkenness. Racing moved to a new site and was replaced by a temperance festival eventually known as the Hoppings.

The usefulness of the Town Moor for public executions and political meetings, thus keeping crowds and potential violence away from the town centre, and the loss of life during an attempt by the chemist John Mawson to dispose of nitro-glycerine, were all described in Pat’s entertaining and informative talk. Pat is a fluent speaker, always unfazed by questions during her presentation and happy to engage with her audience.