Lost world of Newcastle and life in 1904
OUR lovely main picture shows Newcastle in 1904. We see old Eldon Square and Blackett Street looking towards Grey’s Monument in a vivid scene from 114 years ago.
The people in this photograph are Edwardians - although they wouldn’t have used the term themselves.
They were living through a time that was relatively peaceful and prosperous, in a world where advances in science and technology were slowly improving everyday life.
The Boer War, which today has slipped from living memory, was over - and the unimaginable nightmare of the Great War was a decade in the future for our early 20th century ancestors.
Meanwhile, if today’s Prime Minster, Theresa May, might not be to everyone’s taste, her counterpart in 1904, the Tory grandee Arthur Balfour was unpopular and seen as a weak leader.
By way of contrast, King Edward VII - who had been regarded as a playboy Prince during the long reign of his mother Queen Victoria - was proving to be a popular ruler who restored the monarchy’s profile. Edward’s Britain sought out new alliances amidst the changing European landscape.
Changes in day-to-day life, meanwhile, are fascinating to recall.
The Sunday roast, the most important meal of the week, was a tradition that took root in these years.
Beef, and meat in general, were highly prized for their ability to provide energy for the often physically demanding work of the times.
Meanwhile, one of the greatest inventions of the era was surely Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate, which many of us still devour to this day.
While working life, especially in the industrial North East was often dirty and demanding, people were very slowly beginning to enjoy increased leisure time.
Just up the road from Blackett Street, at St James’ Park, Newcastle United were attracting some of the biggest attendances in the booming sport of football.
In 1904 the club, which had formed just 12 years earlier, was watched by crowds of more than 22,000 at each home game.
The 1904-1905 season would see United lose in the FA Cup final, but also triumphantly lift their first league title at the start of what would be a golden era for the club.
How times change...