Benwell

Part of the country

Benwell is now a borough of Newcastle upon Tyne in the Metropolitan Region Tyne and Wear, North East England.

History

Benwell is located near the Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall Condercum. Reminded today the Condercum Road. In archaeologically explored temple of the fort there are three altars consecrated to God Antenociticus.

A first mention of the place, namely Bynnewalle ( " behind the walls ", " on the walls" ), was at 1050. At the time of the first written mention of Benwell Manor was part of the Barony of Bolbec. the Country Estate was divided in the 13th century, the largest third was owned by the Scot family, wealthy merchants and by 1296 most taxpayers of Benwell. In this family of Deer Park Scotswood, founded in 1367 is back.

Around 1540, the time of Henry VIII, came the Benwell Tower, a three-story tower with battlements, as part of the monastery resolutions from the possession of the Abbey of Tynemouth in the crown. In the 16th century Benwell consisted of two rows of houses on either side of a country road. In the early 17th century families of carbon traders were in place set the tone, which exploited the nearby coal-mining areas of Tyne.

In the area of ​​Benwell Lane, Ferguson 's Lane and Fox and Hounds Lane still exist buildings dating from the early 19th century, showing the former townscape. The Benwell Tower was rebuilt in the 18th century, and finally new directed in 1831 in Tudor style.

Memorable people

• The steel Industrial William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong ( 1810-1900 ) was born here. He developed the first industrially manufactured breech-loading cannon, and was thus a competitor of Alfred Krupp. Later he founded the College of Physical Science, the predecessor of today's Newcastle University.
• Joseph Wilson Swan (1828-1914) invented a filament lamp in 1860 and founded in London in 1883 by Thomas Alva Edison after initial dispute a jointly operated company and built in Benwell a light bulb factory.
• The Russian spy Rudolf Ivanovich Abel (1903-1971) was born as William Genrikowitsch fishermen in Benwell. He betrayed the American atomic secrets to the USSR, was arrested and replaced by the 1960 downed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers.

Gallery

Temple of Antenociticus

Benwell Tower

Condercum Road

Benwell Lane