Newcastle upon Tyne, ENG - Postcode - NE2 1TL

Newcastle upon Tyne

Located in the counties of Tyne and Wear, Newcastle upon Tyne is both a city and a metropolitan borough. Located on the northern bank of the River Tyne, the city accounts for the majority of the Tyneside metropolitan region. In addition to being England's second-biggest metropolis, Newcastle also ranks first in the region's population. Originally called Pons Aelius, Newcastle was renamed after the fortress constructed there in 1080 by William the Conqueror's eldest son, Robert Curthose.

The port, and the city's reputation as one of the world's greatest ship manufacturing and repair centers, have long been the backbone of the local economy.

Science, finance, retail, education, tourism, and the service industry all contribute significantly to the city's economy today. The city of Newcastle is included in the Eurocities network and is also a Core City in the United Kingdom.

The Tyne Bridge, the Swing Bridge, Newcastle Castle, St. Thomas' Church, Grainger Town (home to Grey's Monument and the Theatre Royal), the Millennium Bridge, St. James' Park, Chinatown, and the rest of the city are all well-known sites in Newcastle. Famous cultural exports from Newcastle include the bakery company Greggs, the television personalities Ant & Dec, the Great North Run half-marathon, and the soccer team Newcastle United.

Tyne and Wear was officially established in 1974, combining the areas of Northumberland that were previously part of Newcastle and North Tyneside with County Durham to the south of the city. Newcastle City Council, which is part of the North of Tyne Combined Authority, is responsible for the day-to-day running of Newcastle.

Geography

Newcastle, located in North East England, has been a part of Tyne and Wear, a metropolitan county, since 1974. The city sits on the northwestern side of the Tyne, some 74 kilometers (46 miles) south of Scotland's border.

Carboniferous sandstones, mudstones, and coal seams with a gentle eastward dip constitute the ground beneath the city, which is part of the Middle Pennine Coal Measures Group. The Upper Pennine Coal Measures may be found to the west of the city, while the sandstones and mudstones of the Stainmore Formation, the regional analogue to the Millstone Grit, can be found to the west of that.

Newcastle has preserved a substantial portion of its original medieval street pattern. There are still many chares, or narrow alleys, that can only be navigated on foot, especially near the river. The 14th-century Castle Keep is still standing, and so are the stairs leading up from the riverfront to the upper city. Bessie Surtees Home, the Cooperage and Lloyds Quayside Bars, Derwentwater House, and House of Tides, a restaurant in a Grade I-listed 16th century merchant's house at 28-30 Close are just a few of the historic buildings located in the Close, Sandhill, and Quayside neighborhoods.

Tyneside Classical, the city's sprawling neoclassical core, was established in major part by Richard Grainger and John Dobson in the 1830s. The majority of the classical Tyneside architecture in Newcastle has been restored in recent years. Newcastle has been called "England's best-looking city" by broadcaster and writer Stuart Maconie, and "one of England's finest streets" by German-born British architectural researcher Nikolaus Pevsner. Poet John Betjeman said of Grey Street in 1948, "As for the curve of Grey Street, I shall never forget seeing it to perfection, traffic-less on a rainy Sunday morning." This roadway, which winds its way from Grey's Monument to the Tyne Valley, was chosen England's best by BBC Radio 4 listeners in 2005. Google Street View voted Grey Street as the third most scenic street in Britain in 2010. Eldon Square itself lost all but one side of its original layout in the 1960s when Grainger Town was razed to make room for the Eldon Square Shopping Centre.

Newcastle was an important economic hub throughout the 19th-century Industrial Revolution, thanks to its thriving coal mining, shipbuilding, engineering, munitions, and manufacturing sectors. Newcastle's downturn in heavy industries over the second part of the twentieth century meant that the city's economy shifted away from manufacturing and toward the service and retail sectors.

Newcastle serves as North East England's economic, educational, and cultural epicenter. The city of Newcastle now has an economy of around £13 billion, which is a significant contributor to the UK's gross value added. Central Business District activities in Newcastle's downtown area is mostly responsible for this number (bounded by the Haymarket, Central Station and the Quayside areas).

Near Central Station is the Centre for Life, the first biotechnology community in the United Kingdom. The Newcastle City Council's goal is to make Newcastle a "scientific city," and the village is the first step toward that goal.