Northumberland Yesterday And To Day - Jean F. Terry (i want to read a book TXT) 📗

Lady Of Jesmond, And St. Mary's Well. In Pilgrim Street Was The

Gateway Of A Stately Mansion, Surrounded By Beautiful Gardens, Called

Anderson Place, From A Mr. Anderson Who Bought It From Sir Thomas

Blackett In 1783. It Had Been Built By Another Mr. Anderson In The Reign

Of Queen Elizabeth, On The Site Where Once Stood The Monastery Of The

Grey Friars; He, However, Had Named His Mansion "The Newe House." In

This House Charles I. Lived When A Prisoner In Newcastle. Anderson Place

No Longer Exists, But The Newcastle Of To-Day Has A Constant Reminder Of

Its Last Owners, For Major George Anderson, Son Of The Mr. Anderson Who

Purchased It In 1783, Gave To The Cathedral Of St. Nicholas The Great

Bell--Known On That Account As "The Major"--Whose Deep Reverberant

"Boom" Can Be Heard For A Distance Of Ten Miles. The Bell Was Re-Cast In

1891, And In 1892 A New Peal Of Bells Was Consecrated By Canon Gough.

 

Westgate Road Is Another Interesting Street; The Old West Gate Stood

Near The Site Of The Present Tyne Theatre, And From This Point Onward

The Street Follows, Almost Exactly, The Line Of The Roman Wall.

 

Some Noteworthy Houses In Newcastle Are--No. 17, Eldon Place, Where

George And Robert Stephenson Lived In The Years 1824-25; No. 4, St.

Thomas' Crescent, Where The Celebrated Artist, Wm. Bell Scott Lived When

He Was Headmaster Of The School Of Art, And To Whom Swinburne Wrote A

Fine Memorial Poem; The Academy Of Arts, In Blackett Street, Built For

The Exhibition Of Pictures By Those Well-Known Painters T.M. Richardson

And H.T. Parker, And For A Short Period The Home Of The Pen And Palette

Club, Which, Both Here And In Its New Home At Higham Place, Has

Entertained Many People Distinguished In Letters, Art, And Travel Who

Have Visited The Town Of Late Years; And No. 9, Pleasant Row, The

Birthplace Of Lord Armstrong, Which Has Only Recently Been Destroyed To

Make Way For The N.E.R. Company's New Ferro-Concrete Goods Station In

New Bridge Street.

 

The List Of Important Buildings In Newcastle, Exclusive Of The Churches,

Is A Long One; One Of The Most Prominent Is The Library Of The Literary

And Philosophical Society, Familiarly Known As The "Lit. And Phil.,"

Which Stands At The Lower End Of Westgate Road, A Little Way Back From

The Roadway. It Is Built On The Site Of The Town House Of The Earls Of

Westmoreland; And Its Fine Lecture Theatre Was A Gift To The Society

From Lord Armstrong. It Is The Centre Of The Intellectual Life Of The

City As A Whole, Apart From The Work Of The Justly Famed Armstrong

College, A Teaching Institute Of University Rank. This Was Formerly

Known As The Durham College Of Science, And, With The Durham College Of

Medicine, Forms Part Of The University Of Durham.

 

Other Seats Of Learning In The Town Are The Rutherford College, In Bath

Lane, And The Royal Grammar School, Which Dates From The Reign Of Henry

Viii. It Was Reconstituted By Queen Elizabeth, And Has Had Many Changes

Of Abode. At One Time It Occupied The Buildings Of The Convent Of St.

Mary, Which Covered The Space Where Stephenson's Monument Now Stands.

While The Grammar School Was Located There, The Boys Cuthbert

Collingwood, William Scott, And John Scott, Who Afterwards Became So

Famous, Attended It; And Other Distinguished Scholars Were John Horsley,

Author Of _Britannia Romana_, And John Brand And Henry Bourne, The

Historians Of Newcastle. The School Is Now Situated In Eskdale Terrace

And Its Splendid Playing Fields Stretch Across To The North Road.

 

One Of The Most Interesting Buildings In Newcastle Is The Hancock Museum

Of Natural History, At Barras Bridge. It Contains A Matchless Collection

Of Birds, And Some Unique Specimens Of Extinct Species; Also The

Original Drawings Of Bewick's _British Birds_, And Other Works Of His.

The Famous Newcastle Naturalist, John Hancock, Presented His Wonderful

Collection, Prepared By Himself, To The Museum. Here, Too, Is A Complete

Set Of Fossils From The Coal Measures, Including Some Fine Specimens Of

Sigillaria. These Are Only A Few Of The Treasures Contained In The

Museum, Which Was Built Chiefly Through The Generosity Of The Late Lord

And Lady Armstrong, Colonel John Joicey Of Newton Hall, Stocksfield, And

Mr. Edward Joicey Of Whinney House.

 

The New Victoria Infirmary, On The Leazes, Is A Magnificent Building,

And Was Opened By King Edward Vii. In 1906. It Was Erected By Public

Subscription, And When £100,000 Had Been Subscribed, The Late Mr. John

Hall Generously Offered A Like Sum On Condition That The Building Should

Be Erected Either On The Leazes Or The Town Moor. Arrangements Were Made

To Do So, And Another £100,000 Given By The Present Lord And Lady

Armstrong.

 

But Fine As All These Buildings Are, The Pride Of Newcastle Is One Much

Older Than Any Of Them--The Cathedral Church Of St. Nicholas, With Its

Exquisitely Beautiful Lantern Steeple. This Wonderful Lantern Was The

Work Of Robert De Rhodes, Who Lived In The Fifteenth Century. The Arms

Of This Early Benefactor Of The Church May Yet Be Seen On The Ancient

Font. The Present Church Was Finished In The Year 1350, Says Dr. Bruce;

But There Was A Former One On This Site To Which The Crypt Is Supposed

To Belong. It Has Undergone Many Alterations At Different Times, And Has

Sheltered Within Its Walls Many And Various Great Personages.

 

 

In 1451, A Treaty Between England And Scotland Was Ratified In The

Vestry. In The Reign Of Henry Vii., His Daughter, Princess Margaret,

Attended Mass Here, With All Her Retinue, When She Stayed In The Town On

Her Way To Scotland To Be Married To The Gallant Young King James Iv.

She Was Entertained At The House Of The Austin Friars, Which Stood Where

Now Stands The Holy Jesus Hospital At The Manors, Near To The Sallyport

Tower. When James I. Became King Of England, He Attended Service Here,

As He Passed Through Newcastle On His Way To His Southern Capital. In

The Reign Of His Ill-Fated Son, Charles I., Newcastle Was Occupied By

The Scots, Under General Leslie, For A Year After The Battle Of Newburn In

1640; And Again In 1644 Was Besieged By Them For Ten Weeks. On This

Occasion The Town Nearly Lost Its Chief Ornament And Pride--The Lantern

Of The Church; For "There Is A Traditional Story," Says Bourne, "Of This

Building I Am Now Treating Of, Which May Not Be Improper To Be Here

Taken Notice Of. In The Time Of The Civil Wars, When The Scots Had

Besieged The Town For Several Weeks, And Were Still As Far As At First

From Taking It, The General Sent A Messenger To The Mayor Of The Town,

And Demanded The Keys And The Delivery Up Of The Town, Or He Would

Immediately Demolish The Steeple Of St. Nicholas.

 

"The Mayor And Aldermen, Upon Hearing This, Immediately Ordered A

Certain Number Of The Chiefest Scottish Prisoners To Be Carried Up To

The Top Of The Old Tower, The Place Below The Lantern, And There

Confined. After This, They Returned The General An Answer To This

Purpose, That They Would Upon No Terms Deliver Up The Town, But Would To

The Last Moment Defend It; That The Steeple Of St. Nicholas Was Indeed A

Beautiful And Magnificent Piece Of Architecture, And One Of The Great

Ornaments Of The Town, But Yet Should Be Blown To Atoms Before Ransomed

At Such A Rate; That, However, If It Was To Fall It Should Not Fall

Alone; That At The Same Moment He Destroyed The Beautiful Structure He

Should Bathe His Hands In The Blood Of His Countrymen, Who Were Placed

There On Purpose, Either To Preserve It From Ruin Or To Die Along With

It. This Message Had The Desired Effect. The Men Were Kept Prisoners

During The Whole Time Of The Siege, And Not So Much As One Gun Was Fired

Against It."

 

In 1646, When Charles I. Was A Prisoner In Newcastle For Nearly A Year

(From May, 1646, To February 3rd, 1647), This Was The Church He

Attended; And We May Picture Him Listening Perforce To The

"Admonishing" Of The Stern Covenanters. In This Connection Occurs The

Oft-Told Story Of His Ready Wit, When One Of The Preachers Wound Up His

Discourse By Giving Out The Metrical Version Of The Fifty-Second Psalm,

With An Obvious Allusion To His Royal Hearer:--

 

  "Why Dost Thou, Tyrant, Boast Abroad,

  Thy Wicked Works To Praise?"

 

Charles Quickly Stood Up And Asked For The Fifty-Sixth Psalm Instead:--

 

  "Have Mercy, Lord, On Me, I Pray,

  For Man Would Me Devour."

 

The Good Folk Of Newcastle With Willing Voice Rendered The Latter Psalm,

Doubtless To The Discomfiture Of The Preacher.

 

Gray, Who Published His _Chorographia_, Or Survey Of

Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Just Three Years After This, Describes St.

Nicholas' As Having "A Stately, High, Stone Steeple, With Many Pinakles,

A Stately Stone Lantherne, Standing Upon Foure Stone Arches, Builded By

Robert De Rhodes.... It Lifteth Up A Head Of Majesty, As High Above The

Rest As The Cypresse Tree Above The Low Shrubs."

 

The Church Underwent A Terrible Despoliation At The Hands Of The Scots

In 1644; But More Terrible Still Were The Injuries It Received, A Little

More Than A Century Later, From Those Who Ought To Have Been Its

Friends. In The Years 1784-7 There Were Many Alterations Made In The

Building, During Which Almost All The Old Memorials And Monuments

Perished, Or Were Removed; Those Which Were Not Claimed By The Living

Representatives Of The Persons Commemorated Being Ruthlessly Sold, Or

Destroyed; And The Brasses Were Disposed Of As Old Metal. The Modern

Alterations And Restorations Have Been More Happy In Their Effect, And

One Of The Notable Additions To The Church Is The Beautiful Carved Oak

Screen In The Chancel, The Work Of Mr. Ralph Hedley.

 

There Are Many Beautiful Memorial Windows In The Church, And Many

Memorials In Other Forms To The Various Eminent North-Country Folk Who

Have Been Connected With Newcastle And Its Chief Place Of Worship. The

Collingwood Cenotaph Is The Most Interesting Of All; The Brave Admiral's

Body, As Is Well Known, Lies Beside That Of His Friend And Commander,

Nelson, In St. Paul's Cathedral, But This Memorial Of Him Is Fittingly

Placed In The Cathedral Of His Native Town, Within Whose Walls He

Worshipped As A Boy. There Are Two Monuments By Flaxman--One Of The Rev.

Hugh Moises, The Famous Master Of The Grammar School When Collingwood

Was A Boy; And The Other Of Sir Matthew White Ridley, Who Died In 1813.

Of The Newer Monuments, Those Of Dr. Bruce, Of Roman Wall Fame, And Of

The Beloved And Lamented Bishop Lloyd, Are Particularly Fine.

 

Near The East End Of The Church, Which Was Raised To The Rank Of A

Cathedral In 1881, Is Hung A Large Painting By Tintoretto, "Christ

Washing The Feet Of The Disciples"; This Was Presented To The Church By

Sir Matthew White Ridley In 1818. There Are Many More Things Of Interest

In The Cathedral, But Mention Must Be Made Of A Wonderful Ms. Bible,

Incomplete, It Is True, But Beautifully Written And Illuminated By The

Monks Of Hexham, And Other Manuscript Treasures Carefully Kept In The

Care Of The Authorities.

 

The Oldest Church In The Town Is St. Andrew's, Supposed To Have Been

Built By King David Of Scotland At The Time When That Monarch Was Lord

Of Tynedale, In The Reign Of King Stephen. It Suffered Greatly In The

Struggle With The Scots, Whose Cannon, Planted On The Leazes, Did It

Great Damage, And Some Of The Fiercest Fighting, At The Final Capture

Of The Town, Took Place Close By, Where A Breach Was Made In The Walls.

In Such A Battered Condition Was It Left That The Parish Registers Tell

Us That No Baptism Nor "Sarmon" Took Place Within Its Walls For A Year

(1645). But A Marriage Took Place, The Persons Wedded Being Scots, Who,

We Learn From The Same Authority, "Would Pay Nothing To The Church."

 

In The Church Is Buried Sir Adam De Athol, Lord Of Jesmond, And Mary,

His Wife. It Is Supposed That This Sir Adam Gave The Town Moor To The

People Of Newcastle, Though This Has Been Disputed. A Fine Picture Of

The "Last Supper," By Giordano, Presented By Major Anderson In 1804,

Hangs In The Church.

 

St. John's Church Ranks Next To St. Andrew's In Point Of Age; There Are

Fragments Of Norman Work In The Building, And It Is Known To Have Been

Standing In 1297. To-Day The Venerable Pile, With Its Age Worn Stones,

Stands Out In Sharper Contrast To Its Environment Than Does Any Other

Building In The Town, Surrounded As It Is By Modern Shops And Offices.

The Memories It Evokes, And The Past For Which It Stands, Are Such As

The Citizens Of Newcastle Will Not Willingly Let Die; And When, A Few

Years Ago, A Proposal Was Made For Its Removal, The Proposition Aroused

Such A Storm Of Popular