AUGUST 1ST, 2010
By ADMINISTRATOR

Newcastle

Nursing Homes near Newcastle

Tyne and Wear

Approximate Population: 189,863

Located on the northern bank of the River Tyne, Newcastle was formerly the county town of Northumberland, now one of the largest and most populated cities in England, in the conurbation area known as Tyne & Wear. Founded by Hadrian, the Roman Emperor, in the 2nd century AD it was originally called Pons Aelius, designating the bridge across the Tyne and given his family name.

After the Roman withdrawal, the settlement became part of Northumberland, a powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom where it was known as Monkchester but then almost destroyed after several conflicts with the Danes and the rebellion against the Normans in 1080. Due to its strategic position, Robert Curthose, son of William the Conqueror, erected a wooden castle there and it became known as New Castle or Novum Castellium and was Englands’ northern fortress against the Scots during the Border Wars.

The town prospered when a royal charter issued in 1530, restricted all coal shipments from Tyneside to Newcastle quayside creating a monopoly which lasted some time at the expense of the growth of neighboring city Sunderland, creating a rivalry which still exists today. In 1644 during the Civil War, Cromwell’s Scots allies, who were based in Sunderland, stormed Newcastle, which supported and defended the King.