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change has been effected is Mr Grainger, a native of the town, who raised himself to great importance from the condition of a charity boy, and the apprentice to a carpenter and builder. The total cost of his improvements on Newcastle in the five years ended August 1839, amounted to £645,690; and the total value of the whole property created by him during the same period, to £995,000. Besides these magnificent operations, Mr Grainger's plan comprehends the erection of extensive quays, of ranges of manufactories, and also of villas and terraces on the high ground in the neighbourhood of the town.

The other objects of interest in Newcastle are St Nicholas' Church, large and cruciform, with a beautiful spire, the upper portion of the lantern assuming the form of an imperial crown, and a valuable library, containing, among other curious books, the illuminated Bible of Hexham Abbey; St Andrew's Church, a very ancient structure, part of it of Norman architecture; St John the Baptist's Church, containing an ancient font and several ancient monuments; All Saints' Church, a modern edifice of Grecian architecture, with a steeple 202 feet high; St Ann's, St Thomas's, Mary Magdalene, &c.; the Infirmary, the Keelmen's Hospital, the monument erected to the 2d Earl Grey, surmounted by a statue of that nobleman; the Royal Arcade, 250 feet long, by 20 wide and 35 feet high, the Incorporated Company's Hall, &c. The new covered market is pronounced to be the finest in the kingdom. Its area is more than two acres. One of the most remarkable features of the town is Stephenson's double bridge, nearly 120 feet high, which on its higher level conveys the railway across the Tyne, and has an ordinary roadway underneath. Newcastle also possesses several meeting-houses, hospitals, schools, and other charitable institutions, a literary and scientific institution, containing a fine library and reading room, a museum of Egyptian, and a gallery of Roman antiquities, &c. The free grammar school was founded by Thomas Horsley, who was mayor of Newcastle in 1525. Here the late Earl of Eldon, and Lords Stowell and Collingwood, the poet Akenside, and other eminent persons received the earlier part of their education.

The principal business of Newcastle is the shipment of coals, the produce of the surrounding coal-pits. About three millions of tons of coals are shipped annually from the river Tyne. The other chief articles of export are lead, cast and wrought iron, glass and pottery, copperas and other chemical productions, soap, colours, grindstones, salt, and pickled salmon. The imports are wine, spirituous liquors, and fruit, corn, timber, flax, tallow, and hides from the Baltic, and tobacco and various other articles from North America. The customs revenue of this port in 1857 was £291,782. Newcastle possesses glass-houses, potteries, and manufactories of iron, steel, engines, and woollen cloths. A number of persons are engaged in ship-building, and the branches of trade connected with it. The shipping belonging to the port in 1851 amounted to 110 sailing vessels under 50, and 803 over 50 tons, besides 130 steamers under 50, and eight over 50 tons; total tonnage, 202,376 tons. Newcastle is connected by means of railways with all parts of the kingdom.

* Penny Magazine, March, April, and May, 1840.

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GATESHEAD-NEWCASTLE TO BERWICK-UPON TWEED.

Newcastle returns two members to Parliament. Pop. 1851, 87,784. GATESHEAD in Durham may be regarded as a suburb of Newcastle, to which it is united by a stone bridge. St Mary's church is a handsome building. There are several manufactories of glass and of wrought and cast-iron in the town, and in the vicinity are numerous coal-pits. One M.P. Pop. 1851, 25,568.

CXXXIV. FROM NEWCASTLE TO BERWICK-UPON-TWEED THROUGH MORPETH AND ALNWICK, 634 Miles.

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MORPETH is pleasantly situated on the northern bank of the river Wansbeck, among woody undulating hills. It is a place of considerable antiquity; and, in 1215, was burnt by its own inhabitants out of hatred to King John. Its weekly cattle-market is one of the largest in England. The town-hall was erected in 1714 by the 3d Earl of Carlisle, from designs by Vanbrugh. The free school was founded by Edward VI. Of the ancient castle, only a few fragments and the gate, now remain. One M.P. Pop. 1851, 10,012.

About two miles from Morpeth are the ruins of Mitford Castle and of Mitford manor-house, and, at a short distance, the splendid modern mansion of Admiral Mitford. The valley from Morpeth to Mitford is one of the most lovely in England. The Wansbeck winds through it between lofty precipitous banks, flanked by fine woods.

ALNWICK is situated on a declivity on the south bank of the river Alne. It is but 310 miles N. by W. from London by the old road, though farther by railway. The town is well laid out, the streets spacious and well-paved, the houses are chiefly of stone, of modern date, and some of them of considerable elegance. Bondgate, one of the streets, takes its name from a gate erected by Hotspur, and still standing. The town possesses a town-hall and clock-house, a free school, several churches, and chapels. The most interesting object is the ancient castle, the residence of the Duke of Northumberland, which has been restored, and occupies an elevated situation on the south bank of the Alne, covering about five acres. This noble baronial mansion belonged to William Tyson, a Saxon baron, who

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• For the route from Berwick to Edinburgh, see Black's Picturesque Tourist of Scotland.

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was slain at the battle of Hastings, and it came into the possession of the Percy family in 1310. Grose says, the original building is supposed to have been founded by the Romans. In 1093, it withstood a memorable siege against Malcolm, King of Scots, and his son, Prince Edward, both of whom were slain before it. William the Lion, King of Scotland, was taken prisoner here in 1174. King John burnt it down in 1215. It had been suffered to go very much to decay, till it was completely repaired several years since, and it is now one of the most magnificent specimens in the kingdom of an old baronial residence. The building is of freestone, and, as well as the repairs and ornaments, is in the Gothic style, and in excellent taste. It consists of three courts, enclosing about five acres, and is flanked by sixteen towers, the battlements of which are decorated with statues representing men in the act of defence. The interior is fitted up in a style becoming the residence of a nobleman of the highest rank and most ancient descent, and is in admirable keeping with its exterior. The chapel is very richly adorned, and contains a tomb of white marble in honour of Elizabeth, 1st Duchess of Northumberland, daughter and heiress of Algernon, Duke of Somerset and Earl of Northumberland. The grounds are extensive and beautiful, and contain the remains of two ancient abbeys-Alnwick and Hulne. In the woods opposite to the castle stands a picturesque cross, rebuilt in 1774 on the spot where King Malcolm of Scotland fell. The place where William the Lion was taken prisoner is also marked by a monument. In the grounds stands the tower of Brislee, erected by the late Duke in 1762. The view from its top is extensive and magnificent.

Alnwick Abbey, beautifully seated on the northern bank of the Alne, was the first house of the Premonstratensians in England. They settled here in 1147. It was for some time the seat of the Brandlings, and after them, of the Doubledays, whose heirs sold it to the Duke of Northumberland. A gateway tower of it remains, on which are armorial shields of the Percys, crosses, and a niche richly crowned with open Gothic work.

Hulne Abbey stands in a woody and delightful solitude three miles above Alnwick. It was founded in 1240. Its outer walls and gateways are still very entire. The most perfect part of it is a fine tower which was fitted up in the Gothic style by the 2d Duke of Northumberland.

At the proclaiming of the July fair in Alnwick, the old feudal custom of keeping watch and ward is kept up by the Duke's tenants, and those who owe suit and service. This is a very ancient custom, and originated in the necessity of watching the Scotch, who used to make inroads the night before the July fair.

The ceremony of making free burgesses at Alnwick is of a very peculiar kind. The candidates are compelled to pass through a miry pool about twenty feet across, and from four to five feet deep in many places. On St Mark's day, the candidates, mounted and clad in white, with white night-caps on their heads, and swords by their sides, are accompanied by the bailiff and chamberlains similarly mounted

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and armed, and preceded by music to the pool. This has been previously deepened, and its bottom made uneven with stones, holes, stakes, and ropes of straw. They then dismount, scramble through the pool, and after changing their befouled garments, ride round the boundaries of the town. According to tradition, the observance of this custom was enjoined by King John as a punishment to the inhabitants for their carelessness. Owing to their neglect of the roads near the town, it is said the king lost his way, and was bemired in a bog. There are three free schools in Alnwick supported by the corporation, and a national school for 200 boys, founded by the 2d Duke of Northumberland in 1810, to commemorate the completion of the fiftieth year of the reign of George III. Pop. 1851, 6231.

Six miles from Alnwick are the noble ruins of Warkworth Castle, an ancient fortress held at different periods by the descendants of Roger Fitz-Roger, and by the families of Umfraville and Percy, to the latter of which it still belongs. This castle was the favourite residence of the Percy family, but in 1672 its timber and lead were granted to one of their agents, and the principal parts of it unroofed. It is a noble pile, finely situated on an eminence above the river Coquet, commanding a very extensive and beautiful view. As was justly observed by Grose, nothing can be more magnificent and picturesque from what part soever it be viewed. The keep or principal part of the building stands on the north side, and is elevated on an artificial mound several feet higher than the other portions. The whole building is very large, and comprehends many apartments. The great baronial hall is nearly 40 feet long by 24 wide and 20 high. The castle and moat, according to an ancient survey, contained nearly six acres of ground. It includes in front of the keep an area of more than an acre, surrounded with walls and towers. These walls are in many places entire, and thirty-five feet high. The entire gateway or principal entrance was once a stately building defended by a portcullis, and containing apartments for several officers of the castle, of which a few only now remain, inhabited by the person who has charge of the ruins. Among the lower apartments the dungeon yet remains. The fabric is now preserved with great care.

About half a mile from the castle is the famous Hermitage, consisting of two apartments hewn out of the rock. The principal apartment, or chapel, is about 18 feet long, 7 wide, by 7 high. At the east end is an altar, with a niche behind it for a crucifix, and near the altar is a cavity containing a cenotaph, with a recumbent female figure, having the hands raised in the attitude of prayer. In the inner apartment are another altar and a niche for a couch. According to tradition this hermitage was the abode of one of the family of Bertram of Bothal, who spent here a life of penitence for the murder of his brother. The Percy family after his death maintained a chantry priest here till the dissolution of the monasteries, when the endowment reverted to the family, having never been endowed in mortmain. This tradition is the subject of a beautiful ballad, by Dr. Percy, Bishop of Dromore.

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