GHOST WALKS

Newcastle's Ghost Walk links the past, through some of the city’s oldest buildings, tourist attractions and murder.

What is an Assizes Court? Where did the name Gallowgate come from? Was anyone hanged, drawn and quartered? How many witches were hanged on the Town Moor? Who was bastard Herring? Follow the Ghost walk and you will find the answers to these and many more questions.

 Imagine being shackled to a wall in a roofless, cold and often flooded cell, overcrowded, with no segregation.

This was reality for prisoners in the Keep. From a fort to a court, the Castle Keep has a long and impressive history and also played a significant role in local justice. Described as one of the most disgraceful and primitive prisons by prison reformer John Howard the Keep, was being used as the County Gaol and the Great Hall as an Assizes Court

by the late 1400’s. Criminals wanted in Newcastle could also use the castle yard as a sanctuary to escape, as the castle was officially part of Northumberland and outside the jurisdiction of Newcastle town authorities. All the prisoners held here had received severe sentences, often death by hanging, and many were sentenced to transportation. Other punishments included whipping – very common and harsh. On Assizes Sunday the prisoners were put on public display and for sixpence you could come and ridicule them.

Newcastle upon Tyne (usually shortened to Newcastle) is a large city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the north bank of the River Tyne and was formerly the county town of Northumberland.^[1] The city was founded in Roman times under the name Pons Aelius. The medieval latin name is Novum Castrum super Tynum (Newcastle upon Tyne).

After the Roman withdrawal from Britain, Newcastle became part of the powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, and was known throughout this period as Monkchester. After a series of conflicts with the Danes and the devastation north of the River Tyne inflicted by Odo of Bayeux after the 1080 rebellion against the Normans, Monkchester was all but destroyed. Because of its strategic position, Robert Curthose, son of William the Conqueror, erected a wooden castle there in 1080 and the town was henceforth known as Novum Castellum or New Castle.

Throughout the Middle Ages, Newcastle was England's northern fortress. A stone wall 25 ft high was built around the town in the 13th century, to defend it from invaders during the Border war against Scotland. The Scots king William the Lion was imprisoned in Newcastle in 1174, and Edward I brought the Stone of Scone and William Wallace south through the town. Newcastle was successfully defended against the Scots three times during the 14th century, and around this time became a county corporate.

The Castle Keep of Newcastle Upon Tyne was built by Henry II between 1168-1178, it is one of the finest surviving examples of a Norman Keep in the country.

But this Keep and its Garth have a dark past filled with bloodshed and murder. The Ghost Walk will take you through the darkness of night where you will find yourself standing on blood stained land as our tour guides talk about tails of murder and suicide.

Within the last sixteen years, the appearance of the Castle Garth has been greatly altered. The Old Moot Hall, on the east side of the yard, has been pulled down; an immense accumulation of ashes and dung, south of the jury-room, removed; and the curious building which surrounded this artificial hill, called the Half-moon Battery, demolished. The latter place was divided into tenements, and contained a great number of families.

The upper rooms in front were reached by stairs, which communicated with wooden galleries, that led along each story of the building, and gave to the whole, when viewed from the bridge, a very curious appearance. This place was entered from the front area of the Garth by a narrow, dirty entry; but the whole is now covered with the County Courts, one of the most magnificent edifices of modern times. Adjoining to the east side of the Castle stood a range of houses, called the Clogger's Raw. (fn. 15) This, and a cluster of wretched tenements and pig-sties which faced the south and west sides of the Castle, have been pulled down; and that noble structure is now left insulated and open to view As pictured below.

The castle's winding steps home to some of Newcastle's most hidden secrets.

At the west side of the top of the Castle Stairs was a cluster of mean buildings, called Dowey's Corner, the abodes of wretchedness and prostitution. It was so named from a baker, named Dowey, who long resided here. The clearing away of these nasty tenements has exposed to view part of the outer wall of the ballium of the Castle. In one part of the wall, which is at present below the surface, there has been a door that is now walled up.

On the south side of the Castle there was an eminence, called The Mount, on the north and west side of which were tenements of various forms. The Mount was leveled, and the houses removed, in forming the commodious approach to the County Courts called Castle Street, the south side of which consists of a range of regular-built houses.

The Black Gate, a photo from 1800's and now. We explore the underside of the Black Gate where photos of orbs, voices and cries have all been heard.

There are some very interesting tales of prisoners who met their death on the Moor throughout the ages who spent the last days in bowls of the Castle keep. Walk with us as we paint a picture of old Newcastle and stand where the condemned would of mounted there coffin for the last ride to the gallows.

1592 - a Catholic priest was hanged, drawn and quartered and the gallows burned so that pieces could not be saved as holy relics of a martyr. 1593 - Edward Waterson was hanged, drawn and quartered. His bowels were cut out, his head removed and placed on a pole, his body cut into three pieces and displayed across the town. His crime? Attempted escape from Newgate Gaol by burning his cell door.

1650 - 14 witches and one wizard hanged. The last hanging for witchcraft was of Alice Molland in 1686. There where 30 witches accused of dancing with the devil in total, but only 14 where hung. Where did the rest go? Follow our witchcraft trail and walk with a real witch and hear of Newcastle's witchcraft trials.

From murderous acts to witchcraft, the gallows on the Town Moor was the site of some gruesome hangings. Prisoners spent these two days in the dungeon of Newcastle Keep and on execution day were taken in public procession past Bailiff ’s Gate, Black Gate and then along Westgate Road to the gallows.

Not so surprising we get regular sightings of the walking dead when you look in to its history of hangings and death. Below is a true account of a murder on our ghost walk.

Patrick Forbes, an Irish labourer, hung for the murder of his wife. It’s a strange story and there was a graphic description of the execution in the Evening Chronicle.

On 29 March 1850, Patrick and Elizabeth Forbes spent the day drinking in Robertson’s spirit shop. Back home in Cloggers Entry, Elizabeth had to be helped upstairs by neighbour's. That night Patrick and his wife slept in the same room as their son, Thomas. The next day daughter, Bridget, found her mother’s body in a blood-soaked quilt. A nearby policeman heard the cry “murder” and quickly responded. He couldn’t see any wounds, though the inquest found some that could have been made with knives found in Patrick’s pockets. Patrick said that he loved his wife sincerely and had no recollection of what had happened but accepted that he must have been the one to blame. His execution on 30 August was witnessed by a large crowd, mostly men, which had gathered from late the night before. The atmosphere was one of a public holiday with much laughter and jollity before the 74-year-old hangman,

Howard of York, began his work. There was a hitch when Forbes did not fall correctly the first time and he had to be drawn up again. The second fall killed him swiftly.

Moot Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne:
"The foreground shows some of the old houses facing onto the Sandhill, while behind to the left stands the Moot Hall and the Castle. The beautiful spire of St. Nicholas' Cathedral is seen in the centre"

Built in 1810 in an area known as Castle Garth, Moot Hall was used as the County Court and Assizes and sometimes the Quarter Assizes (Crown Court). Moot is the old English word for meeting. These were held in the Grand Hall. As there were few written laws in the early days, justice was delivered through the meetings and was based on local custom. The ground floor housed county prisoners before they were sent to Morpeth Gaol. Justices of the Peace, or JPs, were first introduced in the 14th Century to keep order. They would sit four times a year. The word Assizes comes from the French word “sitting” - hence the name Quarter Assizes. Why French? The common language of courts for nearly 300 years up until 1362 was French, rather than English. There were very few JPs prior to the 16th Century - about 18 per county. Over time they have grown and their powers increased. These courts have now been replaced by Crown Courts. Moot Hall is still in use although the main bulk of work is now done at Newcastle Crown Court on the Quayside.

Criminals who met their death by hanging were tried at the Guildhall, used as an Assizes Court, Borough Sessions and Quarter Sessions. It was also used for Newcastle Assizes Week along with Moot Hall. Built by Robert Trollope from 1655 to 1658, a new façade was added in 1809. In June 1740, the Guildhall was attacked by rioters in what was described as the worst breakdown of civil disorder in the history of Newcastle. As a result, 27 men and women were tried at the Assizes. Seven were found guilty and transported for life, all where from the Castle Garth. In the 18th Century, 18 men and one woman convicted at Newcastle Assizes were hanged at Morpeth.

Death by hanging in the 18th and 19th Centuries was a brutal experience and many convicts were also subjected to drawing and quartering. Whilst still alive they had their genitals cut off, their intestines and internal organs cut out and burned in front of them, their heads removed and, finally, their body quartered. This punishment was invented in 1305 by Edward the First as a punishment for William Wallace of Scotland.

After his death, parts of his body were thought to have been displayed across Newcastle. Women were spared this ordeal because it was considered indecent. Instead, many were burned at the stake after hanging, often while still alive. The bodies of those not burned were dissected to improve medical knowledge. In the early 1700’s, half the convicted thieves at Quarter Session courts received a year in jail as punishment. Many of those jailed were women - men were more likely to receive a public whipping, followed by a short custodial sentence with hard labour.

The Three Bulls Heads pub above. Home to some of Newcastle's worst criminals.

From a modern city to a old land of mugging and prostitutes, crime, poverty.

In Corbridge's plan of Newcastle, 1723, this is called "Dog Loop." Loup is an ancient word, signifying to leap. 13A little above the foot of the Dog-Loup Stairs, on the opposite side, was a descent, by a small flight of steps, into a short, narrow lane, which communicated, by another dark lane.

From: 'The present state of Newcastle: Streets within the walls', Historical Account of Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Including the Borough of Gateshead (1827), pp. 160-182.

Having reached the Head of the Side, we turn to the left, and enter a narrow, short passage, called King Street, on the south side of which is the grand entrance to the Castle, very properly named the Black Gate. Within this strong and gloomy gateway is a narrow, awkward street, leading into an open area before the Castle. After the Union, the Castle Garth seems to have been much neglected; and, by a survey taken in the year 1649, consisted of small gardens and waste grounds, with a few tenements interspersed. But it being within the county of Northumberland, Scotchmen and other strangers gradually increased its population, though much persecuted by the frivolous and vexatious suits of the corporation, who claimed a jurisdiction within the liberties of the Castle.

Picture of Black Gate above then and now, also Kings Street below.

Newcastle, Castle Garth Kings Street (Restrike Etching) by Richardson dated about 1850 - 1900.

Here you can see what it would of looked like in its time. you can just see Newcastle cathedral in the back drop.

Archaeological Excavations, a summary:

Archaeologist John Nolan uncovering an Anglian grave.

Few archaeological sites in British cities can rival the scientific interest and symbolic importance of the Castle at Newcastle upon Tyne. Some eighteen centuries of human occupation have left remains of great complexity above and below ground. Beginning in 1960 the recent excavations at the Castle were directed by Barbara Harbottle and later Margaret Ellison (starting 1976) and John Nolan (1984-1992). (Snape, M and Bidwell, P. (2002) The Roman Fort at Newcastle Upon Tyne, Archaeologia Aeliana 5th Series, Vol XXX1. Pages 1-3.

Excavations at the Castle Garth were to discover evidence of: prehistoric activity, the famous Roman fort Pons Aelius, the Anglian cemetery of Monkchester, and the first phase of the Castle - built in the mott and bailey style by Robert Curthose eldest son of William the Conqueror.

The Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas, Newcastle upon Tyne, built in 1091 but had a wood parish on the site before this time. it is not like other northern cathedrals such as Durham and Carlisle.

There were also witch trials in Newcastle in the mid-17th Century, led by a Scottish witch finder called Cuthbert Nicholson, who would push a pin under suspected witches' clothing to pierce their skin. If they did not bleed they were declared witches. "The Newcastle bellman invited people to report suspected witches," . "Nicholson was later executed in Scotland for trickery. He confessed responsibility for the deaths of 220 women. He had been paid 20 shillings for each witch captured."

The Cathedral is probably one of the most unusual buildings to have played a part in Newcastle’s criminal past. It has been a court house (Assizes Court) trying serious crimes, some resulting in the death penalty, and its bells have tolled to signify amnesties for criminals entering Newcastle. Judges known as the King’s Justices, arriving in Gateshead to open Assizes Week, would always visit St Nicholas’ Cathedral on the first Saturday of the week. They would raise funds for Newcastle Infirmary before retiring to the pleasures of Newgate Street inns. In 1362, and was also used as the Assizes Court for two years when the Old Assembly Rooms were demolished in 1810. Its bell became known as the “Thief and Reiver Bell” and rang out to herald the start of the festivals of St Luke and Lammas on 29 March and 12 August, offering immunity to criminals entering Newcastle! When the bell was heard it signified the start of the two festivals and an amnesty for “king’s outlaws or any traitors or any malefactor”.

It has never had either a monastic cloister or a cathedral close separating the church from the town around it. It has spent most of its life as a humble parish church, albeit the fourth largest in England, only becoming a cathedral on 25th July 1882.

The church became a cathedral in 1882. The tower is said to be 200 feet high. Here are some modern pictures of St. Nicholas’ Cathedral.

Note: I am using UK county boundaries as of 1907; Newcastle-Upon-Tyne is now in Tyneside.

To read more about the dark history of the Castle Garth click here