Fun in Georgian Newcastle

Donkeys, Bulls and Assemblies: How to Have Fun in Georgian Newcastle

In this blog post, Cathryn takes a look at how the people of Georgian Newcastle had fun.

Hogarth’s depiction of a cockpit in a Georgian tavern

There was plenty of acrobats and other street performers, one popular type of entertainer was the ‘flying man.’ The act involved attaching one end of a rope to a high point, such as a church steeple, and the other to the ground below. The performer would then slide down the rope, in a similar way to a zipliner today. The job was of course dangerous and often taken up by down on their luck sailors and steeplejacks. Sometimes, it could be dangerous to watch a flying man perform. In December 1733 a flying man performed at the Castle. After sliding down from the roof of the Keep a few times he decided to add a bit of variety and sent a donkey down the rope. This is where the performance went wrong, the donkey ended up crashing into the crowd of spectators, killing a girl and injuring others. Flying men weren’t just a Georgian form of entertainment, a Spanish flying man performed at the coronation of Edward VI in February 1547. Visiting the Castle was another fun activity that people living in late Georgian era Newcastle could undertake, it’s been open as a visitor attraction of some sort since 1813!

Bloodsports were also popular with people at the time. Cockfighting was one prominent bloodsport in Newcastle at the time. Dating back thousands of years, this bloodsport became popular in Britain during the Tudor era. In Georgian Newcastle there were at least 8 official pits in the town centre (an area of about one square mile) and many unofficial pits that could be found in pubs etc. Fights also took place at horse racing meets. Cockfights would be held during the morning, with the horse racing taking place in the afternoon. Despite 1835 Cruelty to Animals Act banning it, cockfighting took place well into the 1800s. Until it was closed in 1874 there was a public cockpit in Gallowgate, (this may have been the last public cockpit in England), and it is probable that it still continued illegally in private venues after this. Another popular blood sport at the time was bull baiting. Having its’ origins in the Ancient World, it has been suggested that the sport arrived in England during the reign of King John. Bulls for baitings were usually provided by the upper classes, with the meat of the dead animal often being distributed to the spectators, (there was a belief that baiting a bull improved the taste of its’ meat). Newcastle’s bullring on Sandhill was in use until January 1768 when one bullbaiting went wrong. The bull broke free injuring several people, including a sailor who died the following day. The last bullbaiting in Newcastle took place on the Town Moor in 1774. Like cockfighting bullbaiting was banned with the 1835 Cruelty to Animals Act, although the sport had gradually become less popular before this.

Newcastle’s Assembly Rooms - the spire of St Nicholas’ church can be seen in the background

For the wealthier classes in Georgian Newcastle there were the Assembly Rooms. Assembly rooms were public rooms were entertainments and other meetings were held.  Dancing was the main event in any assembly room, with both masked balls and assembly (or regular) balls being held. There would also be other forms of entertainment such as concerts and salons (a form of social gathering which was often intellectual). They often had systems in place to stop any lower-class people from using them such as having high admission fees. Assembly rooms also played an important role in the Georgian marriage market, being one of the few public spaces, apart from theatres, that was open to both men and women. Newcastle’s first assembly rooms were located in Westgate Road, these were demolished in 1736, and the assembly rooms moved to the Groat Market. The composer Charles Avison gave subscription concerts at these old assembly rooms. The construction of the Fenkle Street Assembly Rooms began in 1774 when money for it was raised by public subscription. The money was used to purchase land in what was the garden of the vicarage of St John’s Church. It was built by architect William Newton in a Neo-Classical style and opened in 1776. As well as a saloon for concerts and dancing the building also contained a coffee room, a library and a news room.

As you can see there was plenty to keep the people of Georgian era Newcastle entertained.