Building The Castle

Follow the River Tyne from the coast and it doesn’t really narrow until you reach the current Quayside area at the centre of the city. The land also rises about 250 feet on either side of the river and these natural attributes make it suitable for river crossings and bridge building. The Romans arrived in Northern England around 70 AD and  built a fort and bridge here, calling the latter Pons Aelius after the Emperor Hadrian’s family name. After the Romans departed, there wasn’t much known about the site, although an Anglo-Saxon cemetery was discovered near the current location of the Keep. Excavations revealed there to be over 600 burials. We only know this since the Normans couldn’t be bothered to shift the grave area and built a castle over it. William The Conqueror's son, Robert Curthose, built a wooden motte-and-bailey castle at the location in 1080 and so was born ‘New Castle upon Tyne.’ Henry II built the stone castle Keep  between 1172 and 1177. Henry III added the Black Gate (a barbican) between 1247 and 1250. 

Barbican

Although the main feature was the Castle itself, the nearby Barbican was also well worth a visit too. In fact, the Barbican currently has a ticket office and shop where you can buy a ticket to enter the Castle. The Barbican was the fortified main entrance to the Castle. It hosted a drawbridge and a portcullis. Originally the Barbican would probably have had a flat roof with a pitch one added when the building was made into tenements in the 17th century. Behind the Barbican was the ‘Heron Pit’, a dungeon where the Sheriff held criminals prior to trials. I was able to look down into the Heron Pit today and can confirm that it looked like a pretty grim place to spend any time. It was underground and would have been accessed by a trapdoor back in the day. There was a kitchen built above it which must have been an additional torment to the prisoners. There were remnants of walls still attached to the Barbican which do give an idea of what the place would have looked like. I made my way over to the Keep, the main part of the Castle. 

Keep

The Keep was an imposing building and it felt even more so as I struggled my way up the steep, well worn stone steps at its front entrance. If the Castle walls were ever breached, the enemy would be knackered going up these steps before even reaching the doorbell. There was now an office just behind the front door where you could buy an entrance ticket, if you’ve not bought one at the Black Gate. The Keep, called the ‘Great Tower’ of the Castle, was the defensive and administrative centre. This was where the Constable who commanded the Castle (usually the Sheriff of Northumberland) would reside, and where important guests and prisoners would be received. The Keep turned out to be a warren of rooms and passages. There wasn’t any one-way viewing system and so I wandered about from room to room investigating anything that took my fancy. The Keep is 84 feet in height and there was a stone spiral staircase in the southeast corner that gave access to the various floors. 

Museum

The room next to the ticket office hosted a small museum with some interesting artefacts on display. The items included a wide variety of items, from Roman pottery to Anglo-Saxon bone combs, to English Civil War weaponry.  I was intrigued by an Iron Caltrop. These were small iron multi-spiked devices that were thrown in front of horses and enemy soldiers. They were designed so that a spike would always face upwards when they landed. There were also the remnants of a Civil War grenade. These were small pots filled with gunpowder with a wick cord leading into it; I assume these were dangerous for both recipient and thrower. There was a Breastplate on show which had a small dent in it. An information board said that the armourer would shoot the breastplate with a pistol, and the dent was proof that it would protect you from being shot. I'm not sure it would have protected you from one of those cannon balls on display though. Apparently this type of armour was mass produced for the cavalry in the Civil War. 

Royal Chapel

The Royal Chapel of the Castle is said to be one of the finest surviving examples of Norman decorative stone carving in England. I was less impressed by a massive stone crack that ran like a zig-zag above the stone archway of a doorway. I thought about the weight of all that stone above me. There was a second chapel in the grounds of the castle for the garrison to use. 

Great Hall

I came to the Great Hall on the next floor. This was a huge open space and would have been the principal public space for the Keep. It would have been used for meetings, audiences, feasts and other grand occasions. The Great Hall may also have been used to host the Sheriff’s court. Crimes such as heresy and murder were overseen by the assize court and incorporated a Royal representative. In 1649 a Witchfinder was brought to Newcastle to expose witches by pricking the accused with a needle. If they bled, they were innocent, if not they were guilty. Forty people were accused, with some imprisoned in the Castle Keep to await trial. Fourteen women and one man were found guilty and publicly hanged, making it one of the largest witch executions in England. 

Roof

The stone spiral staircase finally delivered me to the roof of the building where I received a spectacular birds-eye view of the city. There was a stunning view of all the bridges over the River Tyne. Over to the west I could see the city’s railway station. I could see that the east coast main line was routed so that the tracks came between the Keep and the Barbican. It now didn’t surprise me why I’d never seen Newcastle’s Castle when I’d travelled through the city on a train. The buildings were just too close to the line to get a proper view of them. Over to the north I could see the interesting Lantern Tower on Newcastle’s Cathedral. Beyond I could see the roof of the football ground at St James's Park and further to the east, the top of Grey’s monument. Beyond the Millennium Bridge, I could see the Baltic Centre. That was where I would be heading next.   

Newcastle’s Castle  had provided a fascinating tour. I was surprised how much of the place was still intact. Obviously many of the rooms had been altered for various reasons over the centuries. The small museum had an interesting collection of artefacts. Assuming you have the energy, it is essential that you climb the spiral staircase to the roof in order to marvel at the incredible view of the city.