Newcastle Cathedral is Grade I listed and dates from the early 14th century. For over 900 years it has been at the centre of the city’s spiritual and civic life as evidenced by its memorials and ledger stones (grave covers) which, together, reveal much of the heritage of Newcastle and the wider region.

The Cathedral boasts one of the finest lantern towers in the country, dominating the skyline since the 15th century. Pevsner describes it as “Four flying buttresses leaning against each other and holding up a tall square lantern, battlemented and pinnacled – a rare form of medieval crown in Britain”. The building retains substantial elements of medieval fabric as well as evidence of its development over a number of historical periods, with examples of work by prominent architects including Daniel Garrett, John and Benjamin Green, John Dobson, and George Gilbert Scott.

Internally the Cathedral contains one of the largest collections of monuments and ledger stones in northern England; it also boasts medieval heraldic bosses and a fine medieval font with a contemporary wooden cover with elaborate gothic tracery, and a stone effigy of an unknown medieval knight. The 19th century chancel embellishments showcase wood and stone working skills by Ralph Hedley, Robert Beall and J S Westmacott. The whole presents a beautifully integrated appearance, displaying superb artistry and craftsmanship executed in the medieval style.

For breakfast I chose the continental option which was delicious. Afterwards, we returned to the Cathedral to appreciate some of the things that I had learned about in the guidebook I purchased the previous day. Some of the Cathedral’s features were now temporarily covered over for a student graduation event. It was lucky that we had visited the day before because I would have missed out on the new guidebook and getting my pilgrim passport stamped.

We drove to Alnwick. Mr C wanted to visit the castle because of current interest in the Wars of the Roses. Despite having to book a time slot, the castle seemed a lot busier that I remembered it on previous visits. Visitors were asked to keep a respectable distance from others but many people ignored this. One woman was herding me along, almost in my pocket. I stepped to one side to let her go in front. She muttered an apology and someone else got herded along.

Mr C visited the military museum in one of the castle’s turrets. I chose to wait outside soaking up the rays. The castle shop turned out to be disappointing and Mr C didn’t find any books on his subject. We had hoped to have lunch in the café but it was shut due to staff shortages. The only food outlet at the castle was a concession that sold Greek kebabs. The teashop next to Alnwick Garden was limited to mostly cake, the main café being inside the garden which we had decided not to visit. We had a quick look around the shop before heading into town for lunch. We found a takeaway sandwich bar where I chose a chicken and stuffing roll, which when it arrived was enormous. I enjoyed the delicious sandwich sitting on a bench next to the market square.

By the time we had finished our lunch it was too late to visit Cragside (as I had hoped) for its formal garden and pleasure drive. Instead we headed off along the ‘coastal route’, eventually stopping at Warkworth where we found a teashop that had a piece of raspberry Bakewell tart with my name on it. Before leaving Warkworth, we visited St Lawrence Church and explored its treasures.

The carparking area around the hotel was in utter chaos when we arrived. Mr C grabbed the last pay and display space rather than struggle to see if a space could be found on the hotel carpark. After we had parked we learned that the reason for the chaos was due to some students having their graduation celebration in one of the hotel’s function rooms.

Safely back in the room, we freshened up before dining in The French Quarter, Arch 6, the arch being one of the arches under the railway viaduct. We found that the French cuisine was served in a Spanish Tapas style and whilst we perused the menu we enjoyed a glass of bubbly Prosecco.

When I got up in the morning and looked out of the window I noticed that the weather had changed to rain.  After breakfast, equipped with raincoat and umbrella, I left the hotel and set off towards Grey Street to see the monument.  Luckily on this occasion the scaffolding had gone so I  could enjoy the view properly.  I didn’t take any photos though because it was raining too much.

When I turned the corner into Central Arcade I realised the scaffolding hadn’t gone, it had just moved around the corner!  After visiting the arcade Mr C and I made our way back towards the Castle Keep via the Vampire Rabbit and Amen Corner. The Castle Keep was very interesting and there were some spectacular views from the rooftop.  However during the walk to the keep, I had somehow managed to get one of my trouser legs soaked. This meant that after the tour of the keep I had to go back to the hotel to change before having lunch in the Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas.  The Cathedral’s tea shop does very nice cherry scones and the young man who served me tried very hard to tempt me into having two.  I managed to resist the temptation!!

After lunch Mr C and I went back to the hotel where we had arranged to meet JD in its newly refurbished reception area .  He came bearing ‘mini’ gifts (thank you JD ).  We again set out into the rain to the Side Gallery which was displaying old photographs of Newcastle.  They rather reminded me of Frank Meadow Sutcliffe’s work.

Afterwards, we walked to the Laing Art Gallery which contains some interesting art.  JD got talking to the curator and asked her about two pieces of art that used to be on display in the gallery but she couldn’t immediately recall them.  She must have been intrigued because, even though she was busy with a large group, she later caught up with us whilst we were enjoying a cup of tea and produced a catalogue of all of the artwork that is in the possession of Tyne & Wear’s galleries. JD found the two paintings listed in the catalogue, which delighted the curator. She mentioned that by prior arrangement they could be brought out of storage and viewed.

When we left the gallery, Mr C  and I parted ways with JD after which I got a bit carried away in Waterstones, ending up with three books and some ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ mini-bookmarks!!

In the evening we dined in a nice Italian restaurant after which we returned to the hotel lounge for a nightcap before retiring for the evening.

Info from the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas guide book:

In World War II, after the fall of Denmark and Norway in 1940, Newcastle became the home of the Danish merchant fleet. About 4,000 Danish seamen sailed from here and 1,406 gave their lives. the memorial in natural slate and stainless steel, designed in 1982 by Ronald G. Sims, the cathedral architect, is imaginative and arresting. The Westmorland slate represents the Danish islands and the remembrance book came originally from the Danish Seamen’s Church in Newcastle via the Danish Seamen’s Church in London. In October 2002 the memorial was augmented by the fine window above. Its simple but powerful images include the coats of arms of Newcastle and three Danish ports; crosses for ‘faith’ anchors for ‘hope’, and the heart for ‘charity’, all set in clear but textured glass. The designer was Mike Davis of Durham and the glass is Northumbrian with two clear roundels of Danish glass in the shaped beads of the outer lights.

The plaque underneath the memorial window, seen to the right of the second photo reads:

Dedicated on 26th October 2003 in the presence of Tom Risdahl, his excellency the Danish Ambassador.  The window displays the virtues of faith, hope and charity.  And the arms of some of the ports of the Danish Seamen; Arhus, Marstal and Copenhagen together with those of Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Above the Thornton brass is a sculpture designed by Stephen Cox.  It represents a broken Communion wafer and the meniscus of a cup of Communion wine.

high up on the back of the reredos, is a curious sculpture of two discs.  The top one, in Egyptian alabaster, represents a broken Communion wafer while the second, in Roman imperial porphyry, represents the meniscus (the flat surface) of a cup of Communion wine.  Both types of stone have been quarried for thousands of years in Egypt, first by the Pharaohs and then by the Romans, and so both are directly linked to the actual time and place of Christ’s earthly life.*

*From the Cathedral of St Nicholas guidebook.

This brass once covered the altar tomb of Roger Thompson.

[This] huge Flemish brass that formerly covered the altar tomb of Roger Thornton in the ancient Newcastle parish church of All Saints, Quayside, which closed for Anglican worship in 1959. It is believed to be the largest brass in the country.

It is pre-1429 and commemorates Roger who died in that year, his wife who predeceased him in 1411, and their seven sons and seven daughters. Roger Thornton was the ‘Dick Whittington’ of Newcastle, having arrived from the Cumberland area in a penurious state. He became a successful merchant in the town and was a great benefactor to St Nicholas’s and other churches and institutions. He was three times Mayor of Newcastle and several times Member of parliament.*

*From the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas guidebook.

Taken from a signboard located in front of the Black Gate:

Built between 1247 and 1250 during the reign of King Henry III, the Black Gate was the last addition to the medieval Castle defences.  Now a scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I Listed Building it was the gatehouse of the barbican, a walled defensive entrance passage leading to the Castle’s North Gate.  The gatehouse could be sealed by portcullis (latticed grille or gate made of wood, metal or combination).  Mounted in vertical grooves in the walls that are still visible today it could be raised or lowered quickly by means of chains or ropes attached to an internal winch.  The narrowness of the barbican passage and its angle to the rest of the Castle wall meant that attackers were restricted in their means of attack, and were left exposed to fire from the Castle’s defenders.

At the front and rear of the original gate were turning bridges.  Both have since been replaced with wooden footbridges.  These bridges could be closed quickly using counterweights.

Due to its continuous occupancy and alteration from the 17th century right up until the present day very little remains of the medieval layout, except the vaulted chambers on either side of the passage through the Black Gate which are thought to have been guardrooms.

The original height and the original appearance of the roof of the Black Gate remain unknown.  The present top two floors, roof and additional arch over the passage were added by Alexander Stephenson in the 17th century.

Stephenson leased the Castle in 1619 including the Black Gate (with the exception of The Keep, Moot Hall and gaoler’s house) from King James I and turned the Black Gate into a house.  Upper parts of the Black Gate were extensively remodelled to give the building its present appearance.  John Pickell, whose name and the date 1636 appear on a stone high up on the south of the building, used the Black Gate as a tavern.

Popularly thought to describe its appearance, the ‘Black Gate’ derives from Patrick Black, a London merchant who occupied the building in the first half of the 17th century.