Newcastle-upon-Tyne Town Wall

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Ever Tower; Morden Tower; Heber Tower; Wall Knoll Tower; Durham Tower; Corner Tower; Gunner Tower; Austin Tower; Carliol Tower; Denton Tower; Fickett Tower; Monboucher Tower; Pink Tower; Stank Tower; Water Tower; West Spittal Tower; White Friar Tower; New Gate; Pandon Gate; Pilgrim Gate; Sand Gate; West Gate; Close Gate

In the civil parish of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In the historic county of Northumberland (Modern Authority of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1974 county of Tyne and Wear).

Some remains of town wall, dating from before 1246, for which first murage was granted in 1265 and grants were nearly continuous until 1384. From 1403 onwards money came from other sources such as fines. The remains include five bastions (the best preserved is Heber Tower), a postern gate tower (Sallyport or Wall Knoll Tower) and two corbelled turrets. The medieval bridge over the Tyne was fortified with a tower on the bridge and a gate at the end of the bridge.
They are several Calendar of Patent Rolls entries regarding the collectors of murage in 1280 which suggest some corruption and which, also, put some murage towards repair of the castle. Another CPR entry in 1280 calls the walls 'new'.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law. This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 304391; 304520; 304559; 304566; 441466; 304816; 304883; 304497; 304897)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NZ25476415

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 1005274; 1007205; 1006260; 1007223; 1006459; 1006270; 955046; 1007179; 1006251; 1006264; 1006463; 1395043; 1007677; 1007683; 1005368; 1005382; 1006477; 1006471; 1006467; 1007207; 1006480; 1006255; 1007199; 1005872; 1005364; 1006257; 1005565; 1005377
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 1507and others 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

• Web site links
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newcastle_town_wall
    http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/hadrianswall/uploads/Around%20the%20Town%20Walls(2).pdf
    http://www.tynesidepicturelibrary.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/historic%20tyneside%20-%20medieval%201.htm
• Books
  • Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p24, 34, 40, 97, 108, 129, 143, 147, 171, 186, 226, 235, 237, 240, 270, 278
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p192-3
    Pevsner, N., 1992 (revised by Grundy, John et al), The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London, Penguin)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p362-3
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p262-80
    Barley, M.W., 1975, 'Town Defences in England and Wales after 1066' in Barley (ed) Medieval Towns in England and Wales (CBA research reports) pp57-71 plan p64
    Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p104-9
    Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles [1970 Reprint by Frank Graham] p235-40
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co) p235-6
    Mackenzie, E., 1827, Descriptive and Historical Account of the Town and County of Newcastle p105-117 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43323
• Journal Articles
  • Teasdale, J.A., 1999, ‘An Archaeological Investigation of the Town Wall between St. Andrew's Street and St. Andrew's Churchyard, Newcastle-upon-Tyne' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser5] Vol27 p29-43
    Heslop, D.H., Truman, L. and Vaughan, J.E., 1995, ‘Excavation of the Town Wall in the Milk Market, Newcastle-upon-Tyne' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser5] Vol23 p215-234
    Nolan, J., 1993, ‘The Town Wall, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Excavations at Orchard Street and Croft Street, 1987-89' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser5] Vol21 p93-149
    Nolan, J., Fraser, R., Harbottle, B. and Burton, F.C., 1989, ‘The medieval town defences of Newcastle-upon-Tyne: excavation and survey 1986–87' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser5] Vol17 p29–78
    Nolan, J., 1985, ‘A cannon-ball from the town wall, Newcastle-upon-Tyne’ Archaeologia Aeliana [ser5] Vol13 p216, 219
    Tullett, Edmund, 1979, 'An excavation at the Corner Tower, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1978' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser5] Vol7 p179-189
    Webster, L.E. and Cherry, J., 1979, ‘Medieval Britain in 1978' Medieval Archaeology Vol23 p246, 269 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Webster, L.E. and Cherry, J., 1978, ‘Medieval Britain in 1977' Medieval Archaeology Vol22 p169 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Cambridge, E. and Daniels, C.M., 1974, 'New light on Sandgate, Newcastle-upon-Tyne' Bulletin CBA Group 3 Vol8 p8-12
    Harbottle, B., 1974, 'Excavation and Survey in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1972-1973' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser5] Vol2 p57-90
    Harbottle, R.B. 1969. 'The town wall of Newcastle-upon-Tyne: consolidation and excavation in 1968, with a report by Parsons, J.E. on the objects found.' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol47 p71-96, 123-37
    1969, Medieval Archaeology Vol13 p266 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    [Harbottle], 1965, Medieval Archaeology Vol9 p196 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Hunter Blair, C.H. et al, 1958, Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol36 p61-72
    Honeyman, 1939, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle [ser4] Vol9 p37-8
    Hunter Blair, C.H., 1937, Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol14 p123-8
    Brewis, P., 1934, 'The west walls of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Between Durham and Ever Towers' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol11 p1-20
    1925, Archaeological Journal Vol82 p254-5
    1907, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle [ser3] Vol3 p56-8
    Knowles, 1905, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle [ser3] Vol2 p63
    1904, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle [ser3] Vol1 p157-62
    Holmes, S., 1896, Archaeologia Aeliana Vol18 p1-25, 109-12
    Welford, 1887, Archaeologia Aeliana Vol12 p230-5
    Hoopell, 1886, Archaeologia Aeliana Vol11 p236-9
• Guidebooks
  • Newcastle City Council, 2002, Around the Town Walls. (Newcastle City Council) http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/hadrianswall/uploads/Around%20the%20Town%20Walls(2).pdf
    Graham, F., 1972, The castle and town walls of Newcastle (Northern Historical Booklets 21)
    Holmes, S., 1896 Town Walls of Newcastle (Newcastle) [reprint of Archaeologia Aeliana article]
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Patent Rolls (1272-1281) p373, 377, 378, 388 [regarding the collectors of murage] http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/patentrolls/e1v1/body/Edward1vol1page0373.pdf
    Calendar of Patent Rolls (1272-1281) p397 [18 Sept 1280 'Licence for the Friars Preachers of Newcastle-on-Tvne to make a narrow gate through the new wall surrounding the said town'] http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/patentrolls/e1v1/body/Edward1vol1page0397.pdf
    Calendar of Patent Rolls (1258-1266) p415; (1266-1272) p667; (1272-1281) p229, 374-5; (1281-1291) p354, 392; (1292-1301) p294, 435; (1301-1307) p259; (1307-1313) p200, 359; (1313-1317) p516; (1321-1324) p114; (1327-1330) p3-4; (1330-1334) p268; (1334-1338) p175-6; (1340-1343) p271; (1348-1350) p127; (1348-1350) p556; (1361-1364) p272; (1370-1374) p154; (1370-1374) p326; (1377-1381) p169; (1381-1385) p485 [murage grants]
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/nhumbeng.html#nhumb15]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p337, 340-1, 345-6
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol5 p59-60 http://www.archive.org/details/itineraryofjohnl05lelauoft