Newcastle owes its name to the Norman castle built in 1080 by Robert II of Normandy.

1000 – First settlement in Newcastle

1080 – A new castle was founded by Robert Curthose

1135 – David I of Scotland invaded England and captured Newcastle

1168 – 1178 – Castle was rebuilt at a cost of £1,144

1216 – Newcastle’s first mayor

1234 – Plague broke out

1244 - Henry III and Alexander II met to declare a truce

1247 – The Black Gate was added to the castle

1248 – A fire destroyed the old Tyne Bridge

1249 – A mint was established

1286 – Newcastle was the leading English port for exporting leather from livestock

1294 – The first record of a ship being built in Newcastle

1309 – King Edward II assembled the English army in Newcastle

1341 – The town walls withstood a substantial Scottish army attack

1378 – 15,000 tonnes of coal were shipped

1400 – Newcastle was made a county in its own right and had a population of around 4,000

1530 – A royal act restricted all shipments of coal from Tyneside to Newcastle quayside

1600 – Henry VIII founded a grammar school

1644 – Newcastle was stormed by Cromwell’s Scots allies

1646 – Charles was imprisoned in Newcastle by the Scots

1658 – A new Guildhall was built
1681 – The hospital of the Holy Jesus was built

1711 – Newcastle gained its first newspaper

1736 – An assembly room was built where balls were held and cards were played

1751 – An infirmary was built

1755 – Newcastle gained its first bank

1763 – Streets were lit by oil lamps

1766 – A customs house was built

1777 – A dispensary was opened where the poor could obtain free medicines

1781 – The Georgian Tyne Bridge opened

1788 – The Theatre Royal was built

1801 - At the time of the first census Newcastle had a population of 28,000

1818 – The streets were lit by gas

1825 – 1840 – The town centre was rebuilt

1832 – Cholera broke out and killed 306 people

1835 –The boundaries were extended to include Byker, Westgate, Elswick, Jesmond and Heaton

1836 – A modern police force was formed

1837 – The Theatre Royal first opened

1838 – A railway was built from Newcastle to Carlisle

1844 - The Roman Catholic Church of St Mary was built

1850 – A new railway station was built

1851 – The population of the borough reached over 87,000

1854 – The Great Fire of Newcastle and Gateshead

1858 – A corn Exchange was built

1863 – Newcastle Labour Club established

1878 – The first public library in Newcastle opened

1880 – Football was first played at St James Park

1882 – Newcastle became a city
 - The Cathedral Church of St Nicholas was given Cathedral status

1884 – The Hancock Museum opened

1891 – Newcastle Empire Theatre opened

1892 – Newcastle United formed

1901 - Electric trams began running which were later replaced by buses
 - Laing Art Gallery was built

1906 – The King Edward VII railway bridge was built

1909 – The first cinemas in Newcastle opened

1925 – Hatton Gallery was opened

1928 – The Tyne Bridge was erected

1934 – The Discovery Museum

1956 – The Sefton Museum opened
 - The last coal mine within Newcastle boundaries closed

1960 – The Museum of Antiques opened

1963 - Newcastle University was formed

1967 – The Tyne Tunnel opened

1968 – A new Central Library was built
1969 – Newcastle Polytechnic was founded and became a university in 1992

1976 – The Eldon Square Shopping Centre opened

1983 – Newcastle Military Museum was founded

1986 – Stephenson Railway Museum opened

1988 – Newcastle Arts Centre was built

1992 – Monument Mall shopping centre was built

1999 – Gateshead’s Angel of the North opened

2000 – The Life Science Centre opened

2001 – The Millenium Bridge opened
 -  Population of 189,863

2002 – The Baltic Arts Centre opened

With the best of intention all of the above information is true, correct and given in good faith, however, we cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions contained within the above.

Equally we recommend that should you need or want to find out more you should conduct more detailed independant research.