In pictures: The history of Newcastle’s Pilgrim Street

Pilgrim Street is one of Newcastle’s central streets, stretching from the bottom of Northumberland Street to the Swan House Roundabout and Central Motorway. 

It was also one of the most important streets in mediaeval Newcastle and could be the city’s oldest.

Today, it's home to so many of the city’s unique buildings, including Alderman Fenwick’s House, the Tyneside Cinema and the former Fire and Police Station of 1933. It was also home to the former Odeon Cinema and Carliol House- the facade of which is being incorporated into the new HMRC building. 

But once it was Newcastle’s principal mediaeval route. William Gray’s Chorographia (1649) described Pilgrim Street as “the longest and fairest street in Town,” thanks to its inns and markets.

The name of the street is said to come from the pilgrims who passed along it and through the Pilgrim Gate on the town walls to visit St. Mary’s Chapel in Jesmond. The Pilgrim Gate served as an important part in defending the city from Scottish invasion but it was demolished in 1802 as it was considered to be a hindrance to traffic. Of course, there was also no longer any Scottish threat.

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Now a hub of recreation, with bars, restaurants and cinemas, the street is a lot quieter than it once was. Pilgrim Street once formed part of the Great North Road which dropped down to the Quayside to cross the old Tyne Bridge. The opening of the new Tyne Bridge in 1928 saw traffic diverted onto the upper part of Pilgrim Street and onto Northumberland Street. And in the 1960s, Richard Grainger’s grand Royal Arcade was demolished to make way for the construction of the Swan House roundabout.

The street has undergone so many changes over its thousands of years. It’s seen the finest architecture from brutalist to mediaeval. So many people have passed through the Newcastle street whether on a religious pilgrimage or on a drunken night out. 

Below we have 23 historic and retro photos of the street through the past few decades. Have a look and see how much has changed.