Changes

The New Castle for which the city was named was first established in 1080 at a strategic crossing-point of the [[River Tyne]] and a medieval borough was chartered to serve the castle. In 1400 Newcastle became 'the town and county of Newcastle upon Tyne' - that is, it was removed from the authority of the Sheriff of [[Northumberland]] and became a county in its own right. It became a city in 1882, and St Nicholas's church was elevated to become a [[cathedral]] in 1906, when the [[diocese]] of Newcastle was formed from the diocese of [[Durham]].

The New Castle for which the city was named was first established in 1080 at a strategic crossing-point of the [[River Tyne]] and a medieval borough was chartered to serve the castle. In 1400 Newcastle became 'the town and county of Newcastle upon Tyne' - that is, it was removed from the authority of the Sheriff of [[Northumberland]] and became a county in its own right. It became a city in 1882, and St Nicholas's church was elevated to become a [[cathedral]] in 1906, when the [[diocese]] of Newcastle was formed from the diocese of [[Durham]].

Newcastle's prosperity was at first based upon the castle and on the export of hides, but from the early modern period coal mining and coal export grew to become a massive part of the local economy; glass-manufacture, chemicals , iron smelting, armaments manufacture and shipbuilding followed (all industries making use of the regional coal reserves).

Newcastle's prosperity was at first based upon the castle and on the export of hides, but from the early modern period coal mining and coal export grew to become a massive part of the local economy; glass-manufacture, chemicals, iron smelting, armaments manufacture and shipbuilding followed (all industries making use of the regional coal reserves).

The essentially medieval streetscape of Newcastle was radically altered in the 1830s when the developer Richard Grainger (1797-1861) purchased the house and extensive grounds of Anderson Place, in the heart of the city, and there constructed several imposing modern streets in a severe classical idiom, with markets, Theatre Royal and Exchange. The architects John Dobson and John and Benjamin Green were associated with the redevelopments (the Greens designing the Theatre Royal). The two main streets, Grey Street and Grainger Street, converge on a large monument celebrating Earl Grey and the 1832 [[Reform Act]]. This district is today known as 'Grainger Town' as was the subject of an extensive refurbishment plan in the 1990s. It has the greatest concentration of listed buildings (or architectural or historical interest) of any English provincial city apart from [[Bath]].

The essentially medieval streetscape of Newcastle was radically altered in the 1830s when the developer Richard Grainger (1797-1861) purchased the house and extensive grounds of Anderson Place, in the heart of the city, and there constructed several imposing modern streets in a severe classical idiom, with markets, Theatre Royal and Exchange. The architects John Dobson and John and Benjamin Green were associated with the redevelopments (the Greens designing the Theatre Royal). The two main streets, Grey Street and Grainger Street, converge on a large monument celebrating Earl Grey and the 1832 [[Reform Act]]. This district is today known as 'Grainger Town' as was the subject of an extensive refurbishment plan in the 1990s. It has the greatest concentration of listed buildings (or architectural or historical interest) of any English provincial city apart from [[Bath]].