The engraving of Westgate Hill is from 1830 when this part of the road from Carlisle was still a picturesque approach to Newcastle. You can see three landmarks in it, the Castle Keep, All Saints Church and St Nicholas Cathedral, but only the steeple of the Cathedral is still visible from the same vantage point today.
The Carlisle road in this part of town follows the route of Hadrian’s Wall and the area in the engraving had been largely empty except for allotments and fields until the West Gate was pulled down in 1811. Newcastle was beginning to expand beyond the confines of its old Town Wall and the area to the west was now ripe for development.
The tall buildings on the left had been built in 1819 by James Calbreath to meet the demand from wealthier residents of Newcastle who wanted to move away from the smoky and smelly heart of the town. They were known as Cumberland Row and each house had its own gardens in front and behind where the occupants could embrace the fresh air on the hill, high above the town.
The road became busier as the nineteenth century progressed, with the industrialisation of the north bank of the Tyne creating a housing boom in Elswick and Benwell. A horse-drawn tram service to these suburbs increased the traffic on the road, and shops were built in the front gardens of some of the houses in 1889 to cash in on the growing numbers of pedestrians passing by.
This was the beginning of the end of Cumberland Row’s reputation as a prestigious place to live. Many of the houses were converted into flats, while in the second half of the 20th century the shops became part of a large concentration of motorcycle retailers on both sides of the street. This attracted bikers from across the region every weekend although the scene is now in decline, along with the neighbourhood.