This amateur cinemascope footage by Doug Collender shows Newcastle upon Tyne in the 1960s with architecture and street scenes in and around the city, including street decorations at Christmas and Newcastle Airport. The film opens with a view looking east towards the arch of the world famous Tyne Bridge, showing Quayside buildings on the Newcastle side of the river. Another famous bridge spans the Tyne at a lower level, the Swing Bridge, with views of St Nicholas’ Cathedral spire and the...

This amateur cinemascope footage by Doug Collender shows Newcastle upon Tyne in the 1960s with architecture and street scenes in and around the city, including street decorations at Christmas and Newcastle Airport. The film opens with a view looking east towards the arch of the world famous Tyne Bridge, showing Quayside buildings on the Newcastle side of the river. Another famous bridge spans the Tyne at a lower level, the Swing Bridge, with views of St Nicholas’ Cathedral spire and the Guildhall building on the Quayside in the background. Again a general view of the Guildhall on the Newcastle side of the river, taking in part of the Tyne Bridge in the foreground. Next, a view of the Tyne looking east, taken from the Tyne Bridge, showing the Baltic flour mill on the Gateshead side and quayside cranes and industrial buildings on the Newcastle side. General view of three Newcastle bridges taken from the quayside, with the High Level Bridge in the foreground and the Tyne Bridge in the distance, the Swing Bridge in between. The High Level Bridge allows train services across the top deck, and road traffic beneath. General view of Grainger Street in the city centre shot from near the corner of Wengers department store building. The yellow and white Newcastle buses navigate their way through the heavy traffic. Another view further up Grainger street shows a branch of H Samuel the jewelers, with its distinctive clock attached to the corner of the building. The statue of Earl Grey looks down from the top of Grey's column in the distance. More views show pedestrians crossing the road near Wengers department store. General view of Grey Street looking south with the rather soot blackened stonework of the Theatre Royal on the left, the entrance to Newcastle’s famous Central Arcade to the right. Another view follows of Grainger Street looking south. General view of Blackett Street with trees on Eldon Square to the right. A large building development is sited next to the Rose & Crown pub on Newgate Street. A general view follows of the Bigg Market and the old town hall, with St Nicholas Cathedral in the distance. Another general view down Newgate Street shows Farnons department store in the distance and a branch of H Samuels on the street corner on the left. Next a view of the Co-op travel store on the corner of Grainger Street and the Bigg Market. The camera pans round to a view of the Bigg Market, busy with customers looking at stalls on the street market. General view of Blackett Street with the premises of Burton’s men’s outfitters on the right hand side, and the YMCA building in the distance. Next a view from Northumberland Street looking towards Pilgrim Street showing the gold clock of Northern Goldsmiths on the right, and the Odeon cinema (formerly the Paramount and now demolished) to the left. The old magistrate’s court building can be seen in the distance. General views of the Newcastle University campus with the library building and its 19th century buildings surrounded by trees and flower beds, the arches on Kings Walk, the students’ union building, followed by more modern additions to the campus. The film then moves on to the Haymarket area showing in the distance the South African war memorial, the tower of St Thomas’s Church, and the new Civic Centre still under construction. Rush hour follows with people heading into Newcastle city centre walking along part of the Great North Road near the Haymarket. On the opposite side of the road, the old Claremont Buildings. Next, a general view of the Civic Centre looking along the ceremonial way to the distinctive rotunda, which is the council chamber. A closer view shows the sculpture, River God Tyne by sculptor: David Wynne.  The view changes, showing the tower of St Thomas’ Church and the Civic Centre filmed from St Mary’s Place.  Claremont Buildings can be seen through the trees and the Great North Road disappears into the distance. From the opposite angle, general view of the Great North Road from the Lord Armstrong statue near the Claremont Buildings looking towards St Thomas’ Church. The film cuts to a view of the Civic Centre tower, with the council chambers rotunda in the foreground. A closer view follows of the angel on top of the South African War memorial in the Haymarket. Also near the church is a memorial in the form of a man in armour replacing a sword in its scabbard which commemorates the 5th Northumberland Fusiliers who were killed or went missing in the Great War. Next a view of the statue of a miner which appears on the roof of a building in Northumberland Road called Burt Hall, named after Thomas Burt (1837-1922), who was General Secretary of the Northumberland miners. A large war memorial in the Haymarket known as ‘The Response' is shown next, commemorating World War One. Four life-sized statues occupy four niches on the façade of No. 45 Northumberland Street (formerly Messrs. Boots). They include Thomas Bewick an artist-engraver who worked virtually all of his life in Newcastle, Sir Henry Percy, known as 'Harry Hotspur', and Sir John Marley. Earl Grey's column at the head of Grey Street is next, his monument erected to celebrate his efforts in the passing of the Great Reform Act of 1832. It consists of a statue of Lord Grey standing atop a 130-foot-high (40 m) column. A brief view follows of some terraced houses and the exterior of the Jesmond Picture House in Lyndhurst Avenue, West Jesmond (now demolished). The film cuts back to a view of traffic heading in and out of the Haymarket, past the Claremont Buildings. General view of Jesmond Dene and the stone bridge across the Ouseburn, near a water mill and waterfall in the background. A view follows taken from another bridge, this time the iron Armstrong Bridge in Jesmond, presented to the citizens of Newcastle by Sir William George Armstrong. Next general view of a section of the old city wall, obscured by trees. Then a broad view of open grassland, the Town Moor, with cattle grazing in the middle distance and in the far distance a view of the city. A visit to Newcastle airport is next, with a new white modern building welcoming travellers and holidaymakers. Cars drop off passengers at the entrance. General view of a car park and the control tower nearby. Cars are parked next to a green low single storey building. In the background, large groups make their way up steps to the viewing area on the top of the departure building. Planes on the runway prepare for take-off. The film moves on to show an Aer Lingus plane preparing for take-off. Passengers make their way onto the plane. Crowds watch from the edge of the runway apron as the plane moves to its take-off position. Friends, relatives and plane enthusiasts watch from scrubland near the green single storey building seen earlier as the plane moves across the tarmac. A young boy watches from a distance behind a barb wire fence at an area not far from the departure building. The plane moves closer to take-off, a brief view of the control tower and car park, and then back to the plane. A low angle view shows a man keenly watching events through his binoculars. The Aer Lingus plane takes off. A woman follows the plane’s progress with her binoculars. Repeats of earlier shots show a brief view of people making their way to the viewing gallery and the young boy behind the barbed-wire fence. Various views of the airport are intercut with repeated portrait shots of people watching the planes.  A travelling shot from a train follows as it passes the construction of Swan House and its famous roundabout at the junction of Mosley Street and Pilgrim Street. It then passes an NHS business services authority building, based at Pilgrim Street, the end of Dean Street, the old Black Gate, the Side and St Nicholas’ Cathedral. General views of both Black Gate and the old castle bathed in evening sunlight, and the pan tile and slate roof tops of some of Newcastle’s older buildings not far from the Tyne Bridge, including the roof with a white clock housing on the top of the Guildhall building. General view of the King Edward VII rail bridge taken from the High Level Bridge. Then a view of the impressive diamond rail crossing just outside of Newcastle Central Station. A two coach DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) enters the station. A diesel goods train approaches the diamond crossing. The film cuts to a view of the lantern tower of St Nicholas Cathedral, taken from the castle, and part of St Nicholas Street. Next, part of the old city wall showing Durham Tower at Bath Lane. In the background the old Essoldo cinema sits on Thornton street. More views of the older city wall and towers, possibly Herber Tower.  Morden Tower is next, situated in Back Stowell Street on the West Walls. Next St Andrews Church Newgate Street where at the churchyard exit at the rear of the Church where stands a portion of the City wall. The camera picks out what appear to be four cannon balls on a plinth in the churchyard. The camera cuts to Eldon Square, with a view of Blackett Street in the distance. Through the trees is the war memorial, designed by Charles Leonard Hartwell. The memorial is situated at the centre of the square. It is constructed as a large Portland stone pedestal, with a different relief panel on each of the four sides, with a large bronze equestrian statue of St George. A closer shot of the statue, with a view of stone terrace housing in the background, much of which was demolished to make way for Eldon Square shopping centre. Grey's Monument is filmed from Eldon Square/Blackett street, the base then shown looking down Grey Street at the Theatre Royal and Grainger Street to the right, with a ‘keep left’ sign attached to the plinth directing traffic. General view of New Bridge Street, as a Ford Anglia turns into the street, heading towards the Laing Art Gallery in the distance. General view of the new Central Library building with a set of access steps from the Saville Row side of Bewick Court where there is the new library entrance. There is some scaffolding near the new building suggesting that it is not quite complete. At the entrance to the library a signs reads: ‘Central Library – City Information Service’. Back on New Bridge Street, general view of the old Lying in Hospital built in 1826. Plummer Tower on Croft Street can be seen in the distance. In the foreground, a Gateshead bus waits at the junction. A close view follows of Plummer Tower, part of the old city walls. A closer view shows the steps, which gives access to an older part of the tower.General view of another part of the old city walls and the roofs of industrial buildings and warehouses nearby. Next, Sallyport Tower near the Quayside, once part of the main defensive fortifications of Newcastle’s city walls. A closer view shows the structure of the tower, including a ground level doorway. People walk along the Quayside on the Newcastle side of the Tyne, the Baltic flour mill on the Gateshead quayside in the distance. Traffic travels along the road near the quayside. The next sequence records old buildings in the Sandhill area near the Tyne, including the Jacobean Surtees House and Milbank House, also Red House to the right. The Sunday market takes place just outside the Guildhall building on the Quayside. A number of market stalls and vehicles are parked along the Quayside, going under the Tyne Bridge and on into the distance along the quayside lined by industrial cranes. Stone work of the old city wall is again shown. Then back to some older quayside buildings such as the late medieval timber-framed Cooperage near an arch of the High Level Bridge. A view of a rather drab grey wall, which has a brick commemorating ‘Site of Town Wall’. It is part of a wall that runs near the quayside, a steep grassy bank lies above it. Another view follows of old stonework of the city wall. The film cuts to a Georgian house, Clavering House in Clavering Place (now offices and a Grade II listed building). Next a view of Blackgate and the old castle. General view of the entrance to Pink Lane from Neville Street, opposite Central Station. Carricks the bakers operate from a corner plot at Pink Lane and Neville Street. Next a view of St John the Baptist Church on Westgate Road, and the Stephenson monument between Westgate Road and Neville Street. This is followed by a general view of the Georgian Old Assembly Rooms on Fenkle Street, designed by architect William Newton. Close up of an ashlar and bronze statue erected in Westgate Road just in front of Cross House in 1906, which commemorates the life of Joseph Cowen. General view of a group of modern high rise buildings, then to a view of a modern Barclay’s bank building in Percy Street. Another distinctive building is filmed showing the 1930s Co-op department store in Newgate Street (now a Premier Inn). High angle panoramic views follow of the city lit by a setting sun, the Tyne Bridge in the centre. The next view picks out some of the high rise tower blocks now appearing on the skyline. General view of the new Civic Centre building still under construction. The film cuts to views of the Swan House site as the building and roundabout approaches completion. The church spire in the background belongs to All Saints Church.  Dean Street dips down towards The Side area. A general view follows of three high rise tower blocks in the distance, in the foreground a railway coal yard at the former New Bridge Street railway station and a Shell petrol station. The former station behind the garage was called Picton House, designed by John Dobson, at the southern end of Picton Place near the junction with New Bridge Street and Oxford Street (demolished in 1970). A terraced street leads to a junction facing some older brick built buildings. General view of a high rise tower block, under construction. General view on an overcast day of the city of Newcastle from Gateshead, Tyne Bridge in the centre.  Various views record the old Redheugh Bridge, across the Tyne. A high angle view looks down on Blackett Street and Eldon Square, with Grey’s monument in the distance. The film ends with Christmas lights on Northumberland Street and Grainger Street showing the lights on Fenwicks. Title: The End [The old Lying In Hospital was one of the first outside of London. The term “lying-in” was then commonly used and referred to the practice of pregnant women taking “bed rest”. In later years the building would become a centre for the unemployed; then it was used as radio and TV studios by the BBC. Recently it doubled once more as a job centre during filming by Ken Loach for I, Daniel Blake.]