Ancient gateway route’s
IN the 21st Century, it remains one of Newcastle’s better-known thoroughfares.
But staring back through the fog of time into pre-history, the incline of Westgate Road was once a section of an ancient route crossing the country through a gap in the Pennines made by the River Tyne.
It was traversed by the Romans and probably ancient Britons before them.
By medieval times, the West Gate of Newcastle’s once mighty town walls was situated here. The gate was demolished in 1811.
In its heyday, Westgate Road was a street of wealthy merchants’ houses standing in orchards and gardens.
In the 1820s, it was said to be “chiefly inhabited by clergy and gentry”.
Until 1873 it was, in fact, known as Westgate Street or Westgate Hill.
As Newcastle transformed from a medieval town into a powerful industrial city, activity largely centred around Westgate Road, with the Central Station, Castle Keep, the Assembly Rooms, Stephenson’s Locomotive Works and the Literary and Philosophical Society all within sight of each other.
Many of the road’s grand houses with front gardens were mainly converted to business premises in the 1900s, and most gardens were built over.
The junction in our photograph from 1922 is still known locally as the Big Lamp after one of the city’s first electric street lights which stood at the site.
In recent decades, the area has provided a vibrant backdrop for film and television productions, including Catherine Cookson, Byker Grove, and Jimmy Nail’s Spender.
Today, it remains integral to the city’s day-to-day life with St James’