Monday 15th September | 6pm
The Northumberland and Newcastle Society: a brief history and its work today
John W. Matthews, Chairman, Northumberland and Newcastle Society
The Northumberland and Newcastle Society, one of the country’s oldest civic societies, celebrated its centenary in December 2024 and to commemorate this significant milestone published a book, Our City Our County: an Anthology, a celebration of the first one hundred years of the Northumberland and Newcastle Society. With a foreword from life member Lord Matthew Ridley and contributions from over sixty members and the public, I was thrilled to see a copy within the exalted shelves of the Lit & Phil on my last visit.
I was asked to write an article for inclusion in the book on the history of the N & N, a difficult task to cover 100 years within a strict 2000-word limit but I was greatly assisted by finding quite by chance a copy of the Society’s AGM report 1925-1926 which revealed long established links between the N & N and the Lit & Phil.
Initial discussions about the formation of a civic society in Newcastle following the successful launch of the London Civic Society in 1912 had been held in the city to gauge popular opinion. Feedback was incredibly positive with support coming from local dignitaries, the chancellor of Armstrong College (now Newcastle University) and the Lord Mayor and the City Council. A public meeting was duly held in the distinguished theatre of the Lit & Phil on 10th October 1924, and a resolution was passed forming a society having as its object, “to promote a wider concern for the beauty, historical interest, amenity, healthfulness and development of the city”. The Newcastle upon Tyne Society was born.
The new Society held its first official meeting in Newcastle Town Hall’s Council Chamber, St Nicholas Square on 10th December and solicitor and barrister Robert Temperly MA became its first chair. An Executive Council Committee was formed along with four specific sub-committees concerned with what they considered to be the most pressing issues affecting day to day life in the city: Town Planning, Ancient Monuments, Smoke Abatement, and Arts and Amenities. Early members included Rotarians, the legal profession, academics, architects, businesspeople, industrialists, antiquarians, and members of the Lit & Phil.
The Lit and Phil nominated a Mr A H Dickinson as their “Representative Member,” this was a group affiliated to the Society which included other city organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Freemen of Newcastle, the Society of Antiquaries and the Pen and Palette Club. Strong links between the N & N and the Lit & Phil continued through the years with Lit & Phil presidents Charles Hunter Blair and George McCauley Trevelyan, both serving as members of the N & N Executive Committee.
In 1929, after requests from residents outside the city’s boundaries, the Society changed its name to the Northumberland and Newcastle Society with the Duke of Northumberland as Patron of the “County Branch”. Over the following years the membership continued to grow, and the Society currently has about four hundred members, including the Lit & Phil.
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