Newcastle-Upon-Tyne: A Sketch-Book — Key Ideas to Explore

Medieval Foundations and Ecclesiastical Forms

The sketch-book opens with the Castle Keep, a Norman stronghold that anchors Newcastle's historical narrative. Bertram returns to this theme in the Black Gate, the Great Hall, and the Sallyport, each drawing emphasizing the castle's defensive architecture. Churches appear frequently: St. Nicholas' Cathedral, St. Andrew's, St. John's, All Saints', and St. Mary's across the river in Gateshead. The Chapel in the Trinity House adds a guild-related religious space. This concentration suggests that ecclesiastical and military structures formed the city's visual identity for Bertram, perhaps reflecting their prominence in the skyline or their survival amid later development.

Civic Streets and Domestic Architecture

Bertram includes three street views—Grey Street, Blackett Street, and Neville Street—which were among Newcastle's principal thoroughfares in 1916. These drawings likely capture the Georgian and Victorian facades that defined the city's commercial heart. The inclusion of Surtees' House on Sandhill, a surviving example of 17th-century domestic architecture, contrasts with the industrial subjects later in the book. Holy Jesus' Hospital, a charitable foundation, adds an institutional layer. Together, these plates suggest Bertram's interest in the everyday built fabric beyond monuments, recording the streetscapes that residents would have recognized.

River, Industry, and the Wider Tyneside

The final plates extend the sketch-book beyond Newcastle proper. The Quayside and the Four Bridges document the riverfront as a hub of trade and transport. Elswick Works and Palmer's Works at Jarrow represent heavy industry—shipbuilding and armaments—that dominated the Tyne in 1916, the year of the Battle of the Somme. The High and Low Lights at North Shields, navigational aids for shipping, and the view of Jesmond Dene, a wooded valley park, introduce rural and maritime elements. This range indicates that Bertram conceived of Newcastle not as an isolated city but as part of a riverine industrial landscape.

Readers may find it useful to compare the sequence of plates with a modern map of Newcastle, noting which structures survive and which have been altered or lost. Bertram's selection—weighted toward medieval and industrial subjects—offers a partial but deliberate portrait. The sketch-book rewards attention to the relationships between drawings: the Keep and the Works, the cathedral and the bridges, the ancient and the modern. Consider how the artist's choice of viewpoints shapes the city's character, and what is left outside the frame.

There’s something gentle about holding a hundred-year-old sketchbook and watching a city breathe through its stones, the way Bertram caught both the smoke and the spires. It reminded me, strangely, of sitting quietly in Wimborne’s cool nave, feeling time stack itself in layers. I found myself pulling out the old Bell's Cathedrals: Wimborne Minster and Christchurch Priory A Short History of Their Foundation and a Description of Their Buildings — Text and Context afterwards, just to sit with that same hush again.