The long and vibrant history of north-eastern England has left rich material deposits in the form of buildings, works of art, books and other artefacts. This heritage is examined here in fifteen studies, ranging from the sculpture of the Roman occupation through the monuments and architecture of the Anglo-Saxon and Norman periods, to the manuscripts and fortified houses of the later Middle Ages. The monasteries at Hexham, Lindisfarne and Tynemouth, and the City of Newcastle itself, are all subjected to individual analysis, and there are papers on Alnwick and Warkworth castles, the great keep at Newcastle, the coffin of St Cuthbert and the Lindisfarne Gospels. The expert opinions presented here are intended to stimulate and advance scholarly debate on the material culture of a region which has played a critical role in English history, and whose broad and varied profile still offers many opportunities for critical inquiry.
This book is an outcome of the summer conference on the theme Newcastle and Northumberland. It examines the heritage of north-eastern England ranging from the sculpture of the Roman occupation through the monuments and architecture of the Anglo-Saxon and Norman periods.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: David Heslop and Grace McCombie, The Making of Newcastle
Chapter 2: Martin Henig, By Divine Decree: Roman Sculpture from North-East England
Chapter 3: Jane Hawkes, Stones of the North: Sculpture in Northumbria in the ‘Age of Bede’
Chapter 4: Heather Pulliam, Eyes of Light: Colour in the Lindisfarne Gospels
Chapter 5: Jenifer Ni Ghradaigh and Juliet Mullins, Apostolically Inscribed: St Cuthbert’s Coffin as Sacred Vessel
Chapter 6: Steven Brindle, Henry II, Anglo-Scots Relations, and the Building of the Castle Keep, Newcastle upon Tyne
Chapter 7: Jennifer Alexander, The Construction of the Gothic Priory Church of Hexham
Chapter 8: John Crook, Medieval Saints’ Cults at Hexham
Chapter 9: Charles Tracy, The Pulpitum at Hexham Priory
Chapter 10: Richard Fawcett, The Architecture of Tynemouth Priory Church
Chapter 11: Julian Luxford, Manuscripts, History and Aesthetic Interests at Tynemouth Priory
Chapter 12: Emma Jane Wells, ‘… he went round the holy places praying and offering’: Evidence for Cuthbertine Pilgrimage to Lindisfarne and Farne in the Late-Medieval Period
Chapter 13: John Goodall, The Early Development of Alnwick Castle, c. 1100–1400
Chapter 14: Philip Dixon, Border Towers: A Cartographic Approach
Chapter 15: Francis Woodman, Women Behaving Badly. Warkworth Castle: Protection or Paranoia?
