Victorian Panorama: a visit to Newcastle upon Tyne in the Reign of Queen Victoria by Alan Morgan, Tyne Bridge Publishing, 2007).
At short notice, due to a cancellation in our program of talks, the Newcastle City Guide, Alan Morgan, gave us an excellent talk on his book, the cover of which is shown above.
The basis of his book was the watercolour painting, Newcastle upon Tyne in the Reign of Queen Victoria, by John Storey (1862) and a lithograph of it Alan had seen in the Newcastle City Library. It shows a highly detailed view of the streets and buildings of the city at that time, taken from a vantage point high above Gateshead's former railway station, Brandling Junction.
There has been much interest since publication of the book.
How did John Storey achieve this lofty viewpoint? Did he have access to a balloon?
How did he manage to represent certain buildings and landmarks that were not yet built at the time of painting? These include the Tyne Brewery (1868), St Mary's Cathedral spire (1872) and the Tyne Tees Shipping Office (1875). How did the painter manage to predict the future? These buildings had been long planned, and John Storey presumably had access to the plans.
How did John Storey achieve this lofty viewpoint? Did he have access to a balloon?
How did he manage to represent certain buildings and landmarks that were not yet built at the time of painting? These include the Tyne Brewery (1868), St Mary's Cathedral spire (1872) and the Tyne Tees Shipping Office (1875). How did the painter manage to predict the future? These buildings had been long planned, and John Storey presumably had access to the plans.
 St Mary's Cathedral, Clayton Street West. Photo by A Curtis (2010). |  Tyne-Tees Steam Shipping Company, King Street. Photo by A Curtis (2010). |
The book divides the painting into 13 areas covering a great swathe of Newcastle from the Tyne west of the High Level Bridge, to The Swirle on the Quayside (then a stream flowing into the Tyne), to the east. Detail is visible as far north as The Great North Road, Town Moor and Jesmond. Gateshead is also represented directly below the viewpoint. For each of these areas we are treated to detailed illustrations from the painting with added street names, and highlighted buildings which are numbered and discussed in detail in the text.
There are a large number of other illustrations and photographs from the period, and many old maps, which provide context and scale as the painting was done with some element of distortion and artistic license.
There are a large number of other illustrations and photographs from the period, and many old maps, which provide context and scale as the painting was done with some element of distortion and artistic license.
The Biscuit Factory, Stoddart Street, Shieldfield. Photo by A Curtis (2010).
I have had an interest for some years in the history of Newcastle's buildings and I found this book a wonder. Many of the old buildings can still be found although now have other uses as my example above of the Biscuit Factory shows.
 Small section from the book showing the Biscuit Factory in 1862 (no. 30). | Many of the buildings surrounding the Biscuit Factory have now gone, including the windmill shown at its front. Built in the late 1860s, the factory itself was run by Thomas Squire & Sons to make biscuits until just before the First World War and had several uses there after. |
It is now Europe's largest commercial art gallery (opened in 2004). There is a history of the building here.
Newcastle Quayside panorama. Photo by A Curtis (2010).
| Just for fun, two modern panoramas of Newcastle. Above taken from the Sage, Gateshead not far from Storey's viewpoint but much lower. On the right, the sculptural map from Neville Street, across the road from Central Station. Click the photos for more detailed description of what you can see. |  Grainger Town Sculptural Map, Neville Street. Photo by A Curtis (2010). |
RSS Feed
