Newcastle upon Tyne, 1877.

Plate taken from the Illustrated London News (ILN). During the 19th century certain towns evolved into cities, and occasionally the ILN focused on this transformation. During 1877, Newcastle upon Tyne was a favoured ILN subject. In 1800 Newcastle incorporated about 3000 houses, which by 1870 had risen dramatically to 16,000, illustrating the impact of the Industrial Revolution in the area. The two bridges shown are the 'High Level' bridge, designed by Robert Stephenson (1803-1859) and opened to traffic in August 1849, and the hydraulic swing bridge completed on the 15th June 1876 .