The Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead was a tragic and spectacular series of events starting on Friday 6 October 1854, in which a substantial amount of property in the two North East of England towns was destroyed in a series of fires and an explosion which killed 53 and injured hundreds.
The towns of Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead sit opposite each other, on relatively steep slopes leading down to the River Tyne. On the north side is Newc...
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The Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead was a tragic and spectacular series of events starting on Friday 6 October 1854, in which a substantial amount of property in the two North East of England towns was destroyed in a series of fires and an explosion which killed 53 and injured hundreds.
The towns of Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead sit opposite each other, on relatively steep slopes leading down to the River Tyne. On the north side is Newcastle, the quayside of which was — at least by local accounts — one of the largest in the kingdom, with much shipping and the concentration of town's business and commerce. Gateshead had similarly dense development opposite the quayside with manufactories, mills and warehouses built down to the water's edge, behind which and running up the hill were numberless densely occupied tenemented dwellings.
The towns were linked by two bridges, built no more than 100 feet (30 m) apart. The older was a nine-arched stone bridge, built in 1771, the third...
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