Corstopitum, Corbidge, Northumberland

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The Roman site at Corbridge has just hosted an amazing historical re-enactment featuring a full Roman Legion made up of groups from the UK, France and the Netherlands. This photo features an Optio. An Optio was a soldier in the Roman Army holding a rank roughly equivalent to that of a modern first sergeant or sergeant major. This picture depicts the identifying part of an Optio's armour, a helmet with a crest made of horse hair and with feathers on either side.
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working at height #2

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on the roof of the Sage Concert Hall

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working at height

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working at height is one of the most dangerous occupations; this maintenance worker was spotted on the roof of the Sage concert hall today.
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Blacksmiths Needle

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made by Members of the British Association of Blacksmith Artists 1996, The Needle is conical in form with six sections. Each section contains objects,with a mainly maritime theme, which relate to one of the senses . The work was inaugurated in May 1997 by Evelyn Glennie, the percussionist ringing a bell which hangs inside the needle.

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Lazarides Gallery, 77 Quayside

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this is a great gallery on the Quayside opposite The Sage and well worth a visit; it's open to the public and free to enter.

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" the art we sell certainly continues to defy categorisation as ‘graffiti’, ‘graphics’ or ‘street art’. We represent photographers, sculptors, agent provocateurs and even taxidermists. We’re honestly happy for you to call our pieces what you want: but we’ve recently appropriated the label ‘outsider art’

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The Collingwood Monument

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The Collingwood Monument at Tynemouth was completed in 1845 and commemorates the life and achievements of Admiral Lord Collingwood.

Cuthbert Collingwood ( 26 September 1748 – 7 March 1810) played a crucial part in the battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805. Aboard his flagship the Royal Sovereign he led the British fleet through the French line and fired the first shot of the battle. When Admiral Nelson was fatally wounded Collingwood took over command of the British fleet and secured the victory. Had the Royal Navy lost the battle, the French Emperor Napoleon would almost certainly have invaded England with over 100,00 troops who had been amassed across the Channel in Boulogne.

Born and bred near Newcastle's quayside, Collingwood was educated at the city's Royal Grammar School before joining the Navy in 1761 at the age of 12. He died at sea off Minorca on board the Ville de Paris on 7 March 1810; he was later buried in St Paul's Cathedral in London.

The statue in this photograph was sculpted by John Graham Lough and the base was designed by John Dobson. The four cannon on the monument came from his flagship the Royal Sovereign and were added to the monument in 1849, four years after its completion.
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the new Central Library

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The new library opens in June and will be one of the biggest in the country. It has been completely rebuilt on the site of the former library in Princess Square. It includes a creche and a café and provides Internet access . The library cost around £40 million and was designed by Ryder Architecture.

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Building on Newcastle Quayside

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this building stands on the corner of Broad Chare and the Quayside.

All Saints and the Guildhall

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The spire of All saints Church, which was built 1786-96 can be seen to the right. The clocktower in the foreground belongs to the Guildhall which was old centre of government of the town. The old Guildhall was rebuilt and enlarged in the middle of the 17th century.

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Tynemouth Priory

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Tynemouth Priory has a long history but in brief , it was was founded early in the 7th century, destroyed by the Danes in 875, refounded in 1090 by Robert de Mowbray Earl of Northumberland . In 1110 a new church was completed on the site. In 1538 the monastery was disbanded by Robert Blakeney, the last prior of Tynemouth. At that time, apart from the prior, there were fifteen monks and three novices in residence. The priory and its attached lands were taken over by by King Henry VIII . The monastic buildings were dismantled leaving the ruins you can see today.

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Belsay Hall interior

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Belsay Hall and Castle in Northumberland were the home of the Middleton family for more than seven centuries.

The family lived in the old castle and adjoining mansion until they moved into the new Belsay Hall on Christmas Day 1817 . The hall remained the residence of the Middletons until 1962 .

The new Hall was arranged round a central two-storey 'Pillar Hall' which can be seen here.
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Trinity House

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Trinity House is an organisation dedicated to the welfare of seafarers and was Incorporated by King Henry VIII in 1536. The construction of Trinity House began in 1505 and the existing buildings include the 1505 private Brethren's Chapel, the 1800 Entrance Hall and the 1721 Banqueting Hall. This photo was taken from the courtyard.
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the Waterford Arms, Seaton Sluice

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The Waterford Arms , 1899, is named in honour of Susanna, Marchioness of Waterford, The pub sits above the harbour and occupies the site of a former brewery.

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Best Vintage

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Best Vintage, a vintage clothes shop on High Bridge, Newcastle

Shieldfield Social Club

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Henry Solly founded the Club and Institute Union (CIU) in 1862 . The Shieldfield Social Club is one of around 3000 working men's clubs affiliated to the CIU in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

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St Mary's Island, Whitley Bay

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St. Mary's Island is connected to the mainland by a short man-made causeway which is covered by the tides twice a day. The lighthouse was built in 1898 and was in service until 1984.
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Dunstanburgh Castle

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This massive Northumbrian fortress sits on a spectacular coastal headland. Thomas of Lancaster, cousin of the english king Edward II , began construction in 1313. John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster improved the castle in the late 14th century. The castle encloses an area of 11 acres (4.5 ha).

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Eldon Square War Memorial

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This statue of St George and Dragon was designed by Charles Leonard Hartwell and was unveiled on September 26 1923 as the official City memorial to those from the city who were killed on active service during the First World War . St George is the patron saint of the Northumberland Fusiliers. The memorial was rededicated following a 12-month, million pound facelift to Eldon Square in 2008.

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Woodhorn Colliery

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Woodhorn Colliery, in south-east Northumberland, was a working pit from 1894 until its closure in 1981. The site reopened as a colliery museum in 1989. Architects for the new visitor's centre there were RMJM Architects.
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Woodhorn is home to a collection of art from the Ashington Group - more commonly known as the Pitmen Painters. They were mainly a group of miners, who got together in the 1930s to study art appreciation; they began to paint themselves and produced work depicting a wide variety of local life , from working underground to domestic and leisure pursuits. Playwright Lee Hall ( Billy Elliott) created a play about them, called the "Pitmen Painters" , which premiered at Live Theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne in 2007. It subsequently had two very successful runs at the National Theatre in London and is currently playing at the Kunsthalle in Vienna, Austria.

Ouseburn building

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this is in the Ouseburn valley which was once a centre for industrial activity but is now a location for arts, crafts and new creative businesses.
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the Monument Metro Station

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the Tyne and Wear Metro system has 60 stations serving the area around Newcastle, Gateshead, and Sunderland. The tracks go underground in the middle of Newcastle and the Monument station is located in the city centre at the top of Grey Street. The base of Grey's monument can be see in this photo, as can one of the entrances to Fenwick' s department store. J.J. Fenwick's was founded in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1882.

BMX at the Baltic

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a 'flash-mob' of BMX bikers demonstrated their skill and daring at various locations in the City today.

The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art is located on the south bank of the Tyne in Gateshead. It has no permanent collection.

Warkworth Castle

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Warkworth Castle, 13th Century; home of Harry Hotspur ( Shakespeare Henry IV part 1)

Tynemouth Priory and Castle

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This was the site of a 7th-century Anglian monastery and burial place of Saint Oswin, King of Northumbria. The present Benedictine priory was built around 1200. The walls surrounding the site are beleived to have begun by King Edward I in 1296; they were later strengthened in the 15th century. The fortress housed gun batteries during both World wars to defend the mouth of the River Tyne. One of the guns can be seen in this photo.