New Book is a Love Letter to the North East

Some of the North East’s best-loved places – and some hidden gems – are the subject of a new book from one of the region’s oldest charities.

The Northumberland and Newcastle Society was founded in 1924 to preserve the best of the city’s and county’s landscape, heritage and culture for future generations to enjoy.

And Our City, Our County – published to mark its centenary – is “a love letter” to Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland from those who live, work and visit here.

In October 2023, the Society launched a public appeal to discover which buildings and structures in the city and county matter most to people and why - and the result is a well-illustrated compilation of personal views.

Among the structures featured is Kielder Viaduct, which the Society purchased in 1969 to protect it from demolition and which now acts as a focal point for a wide range of outdoor activities in the wider Kielder Forest.

Others are less well known, from The Old Police Station in Bedlington and the 15th century tomb of Sir Ralph Grey, at Chillingham, to a very unusual, Grade II-listed mini-Post Office disguised as a telephone kiosk in Whitley Bay.

“We were overwhelmed with the response,” said editor Suzanne Stanley, “from people from right across Tyneside and Northumberland.

“They suggested such a variety of places – some of which are very well known and others which are far less so, but which matter enormously to them for personal or professional reasons."

In his foreword for the book, Matt Ridley, author, businessman and creator of Northumberlandia at Blagdon, wrote, “fabulous as the beaches and hills of our region are, they would be greatly less alluring without man-made embellishments: Bamburgh without a castle, the Whin Sill without the Roman wall, the Tyne without bridges would all be much the poorer”. 

“There are plenty of standard guide books already, so we hoped to direct readers away from the obvious much-travelled highway of architectural excellence, and onto the byways where less familiar treasures lie,” said Suzanne.

“Inevitably, many famous buildings are here, because people do have strong associations with them, and because it would be perverse to leave them out of a book representing our region. 

“But most of all, we wanted contributors’ stories and they are a delight to read.”

Our City, Our County: an anthology: a celebration of the first 100 years of the Northumberland and Newcastle Society, costs £20 and can be ordered at https://www.nandnsociety.org.uk/shop/

Featured image: Our City Our County editor Suzanne Stanley with the new N and N centenary book