Gannin’ Alang the Wall

This film follows the route of the Wall through Newcastle, starting at the fort of Segedunum just east of the city boundary and travelling west as far as Heddon just beyond the western boundary

Quayside to Paradise

Local author Michael Chaplin narrates our film about a journey along the Tyne from Newcastle Quayside to Paradise, telling the stories of the lost industries that used to occupy the riverbanks.

Riverside Voices: War and Peace on the Tyne

Stories and voices of people who worked and lived on the West Newcastle riverside

View this video on Vimeo here.

Stories from the Graveyard: telling the story of Benwell and Scotswood.

This is one of a series of short films, illustrated with archive photographs, about people buried in St James’ graveyard in the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne. When the graveyard was opened in 1833, Benwell and Scotswood were home to many of the richest and most powerful families on Tyneside. But this was also an important coal mining area and, as time went on, the location of some of the region’s major industries. Among the more than 12,000 people buried in this graveyard were pitmen, soldiers, farmers, engineers, shopkeepers and many others, including thousands of young children. These films tell the stories of some of those buried at St James’. They were created by St James’ Heritage and Environment Group as part of a project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Richard Grainger – At the heart of Newcastle

Richard Grainger is best known as the developer who transformed Newcastle’s medieval townscape into one of Britain’s finest town centres. His connections with the west end are less well known but there is a fascinating story to tell about ambition and failure on a grand scale as Grainger bought the rural Elswick Estate with the aim of turning it into a new town.

Vickers-Armstrong – Arming the world

The story of one of its earliest employees is the starting point for this film about the rise and decline of Vickers-Armstrong, one of Tyneside’s most important engineering factories. Founded by William Armstrong in 1847, the company quickly grew to be the largest employer in Newcastle, and triggered the urban development of the west end.

Children – Short lives

Childhood mortality was tragically high in the 19th and early 20th centuries. About half of all the people buried in St James’ Graveyard during this period were children under five years of age. This film describes the conditions in which children lived and died in the past, and highlights some of the stories of child victims of the epidemics of infectious diseases that were a common feature of life in Newcastle.

Coal Miners – Dying for coal

The west end of Newcastle has a long history of coalmining, and many pitmen are among those buried at St James’. This film shows the different hazards facing those who worked down the west end’s coal mines, which claimed many lives over the years.

Walter Scott – Benwell’s first millionaire

The Walter Scott who is commemorated in St James’ Graveyard is not to be confused with the novelist of the same name, but he was also a well-known figure in his time. Scott was one of the country’s first self-made millionaires. His many business interests included civil engineering, and he was responsible for several of Newcastle’s best known buildings and bridges, as well as projects further afield such as London’s first underground railway tunnel.

John Buddle – King of the coal trade

John Buddle was one of the leading mining engineers of his time, playing a major role in bringing about improvements to mine safety. He was also a significant figure in the development of the west end of Newcastle, as the owner of Benwell Colliery and large tracts of land in the area.

Adelaide Terrace Memories

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The Gut is Great

John Taberham explores the lost industries of Lemington Gut amidst the mud and ruins of the post-industrial landscape

 

Bringing it Back Home: What the First World War meant to Benwell and Scotswood. Extract from a performance at Bridgewater  School, November 2014

This film is part of our project Bringing it back home: Benwell and Scotswood during the First World War funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund

Blaydon Races 150th Anniversary

Short film of the schools concert at St James’ Church

Come with us on a trip down the Tyne from Newcastle Quayside to the North Sea

The Graveyard Film

Visit the historic graveyard of St James’, Benwell in Newcastle Upon Tyne, transformed by a group of local volunteers from a rubbish-strewn wilderness to a green oasis in this urban area. Among the 12,300 people buried here are some of the most famous names of Victorian Tyneside, such as Richard Grainger and John Buddle as well as pitmen, boatmen, soldiers, farmers, shopkeepers and inhabitants of the local workhouse.

Contemporary News Film of the funeral procession for the victims of the Montagu Pit Disaster

Click on the link to watch this film made for British Pathe News of the huge funeral procession on 24th May 1925 for 23 victims of the pit disaster

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