Classics and Ancient History at Newcastle

22/05/2025

Exploring Classical & Historical Northumbria🌳

Saturday 24th May: Jedburgh- Abbey, Castle Jail and Mary Queen of Scots House 🏰 A trip over the border to Scotland, to the historic town of Jedburgh.

Depart: 8.25 a.m., return 16.51.
Meet: Eldon Square bus station Stand H, preferably by 8.20 a.m.
Cost: entry to all sites free; bus fare: max. £13 (2 x adult singles @ £6.50; possibly £10 for 21-and-under). Otherwise money for lunch/refreshments, or bring your own.

-Scenic bus ride over the Carter Bar border summit.
-Jedburgh Abbey: site of a royal wedding and an ominous ghostly apparition in 1285...
-Jedburgh Castle Jail Museum: allegedly haunted(!) prison built in 1820 with an excellent museum.
-Mary Queen of Scots house: 16th-century house where the ill-fated Queen stayed after a near-fatal illness.

Arrive Jedburgh 10.02, depart 15.13.

Contact [email protected] for further details!

15/05/2025

Exploring Classical & Historical Northumbria: Saturday 17th May: Warkworth castle and medieval town🏰

Why not take a healthy break from revision and learn about history and classical connections in the open air!

-Depart c. 10.05, return c. 17.00
-Meet Haymarket Bus station (outside M&S) Stand Q, ideally by 10 a.m.
-Cost: £2 for 21-and-under bus fare (£5 for over 21s). Entrance to the castle is free; otherwise, just bring money for lunch/refreshments.

A visit to the impressive medieval Percy fortress in the scenic town of Warkworth — with classical literary connections!
• Picturesque town dominated by showpiece medieval castle, home to a number of key players in English history, notably the Percy family (the original 'kings in the north').
• Wars of the Roses, the English Civil War and several wars with Scotland(!) feature among many historical connections.
• Castle features in Shakespeare's *Henry IV* plays, with scenes inspired by classical writers Plutarch and Virgil!

15.31 bus back from Warkworth, getting to Haymarket at 17.03. Buses leave at 31 minutes past each hour, though, so you can catch an earlier or later bus back if you like.

Friends from outside the School are also welcome! Contact [email protected] for details (or see her e-mail about the trip).

09/05/2025

Exploring Classical and Historical Northumbria 🌳

We have three final trips planned for this term: a healthy break from revision is always a good idea! Details to follow (see e-Mails from Dr S. Phillippo')

1. Sunday May 11th: Hadrian's Wall: Housesteads and Chesters

2. Saturday 17th May: Warkworth Castle and (hopefully) Hermitage

3. Saturday 24th May: across the Scottish border to Jedburgh : Abbey and Castle Museum

13/03/2025

Our next Exploring Classical/Historical Northumberland trip is this coming this Saturday 15th of March, to Cragside house and grounds🌷

Meet 9.15 at Haymarket bus station Stand Q (bus departs 9.23); return to Newcastle around 4.15 p.m..

Cost: £2/£5 for bus fare (21 & under/over 21!). Entry to Cragside House, grounds & gardens free.

• Inventor and industrialist Lord Armstrong's picturesque and technologically ahead-of-its time neo-Tudor/Gothic house with lavish interiors set in spectacular landscaped grounds;
• the first house ever to be powered by hydro-electricity, with many hydraulic power inventions;
• extensive art and furnishing collections including classically-inspired windows!

Contact [email protected] for further details!

06/03/2025

Our next Exploring Classical/Historical Northumberland trip is this coming Sunday, 9th March, to Belsay Hall, gardens & castle🌲

Meet 12.15 at Jesmond Metro station (aiming for 12.20 departure); return to Newcastle around 4.35/40 p.m.

Cost: £6 for community minibus travel.
Entry to Belsay Hall, gardens & castle free.

*Spaces are limited to 10, so please let me know in advance if you are planning to come.*

• Belsay Hall, built early 19th C in Greek revival style by classical enthusiast Sir Charles Monck;
• dramatic and unique quarry gardens, based on the famous Quarries at Syracuse;
• ruined 14th C medieval castle with colourful history (including the high-risk kidnap of a medieval Bishop of Durham!)

Contact [email protected] for further details.

06/02/2025

ClassicsFest 2025✨

CAN YOU MAKE A PERSUASIVE ARGUMENT TO WIN £300?

Call out for new oratorical speeches inspired by the rhetoric style of the Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC).

This initiative is part of the ClassicsFest 2025, which will be held from 15 to 17 May at the Lit&Phil (Newcastle). The festival will focus on performance and politics using the ideas of the Roman orator and lawyer Cicero (106 – 43 BC) as a springboard for an exciting programme of discussions and performances. Join us to discover why Cicero matters today.

You don’t need to know anything about Cicero to submit an entry. Interested? Please read the call out for new oratorical speeches inspired by the rhetoric style of Cicero. The deadline for submission is the 17th March.

Read below to find out more 👇

https://www.litandphil.org.uk/classicsfest-2025/

30/01/2025

Our first "Exploring Classical/Historical Northumberland" trip of 2025 is this coming Sunday, 2nd February, to Tynemouth Priory and Castle. We will be meeting at 12.15 at Haymarket Metro (aiming for 12.26 Metro); return to Newcastle around 5.45/6 p.m. (earlier also possible).
Costs: £5.90 for Metro DaySaver ticket (all zones) (free if you already have an all-zones Metro pass). Entry to Tynemouth Castle & Priory free.

Tynemouth, Newcastle's picturesque Victorian seaside resort:
• Splendid cliff-top castle & priory site offering a unique combination of impressive church ruins, Norman fortifications and First and Second World War military installations
• A rich history from early Saxon times, including medieval and Civil War sieges, and some skulduggery with the body of a Scottish king (!)
• Connections with the Napoleonic Wars and Lord Byron among others...

Contact [email protected] for further details (or see e-mail).

23/09/2024

Newcastle Classics Seminars kick-off on Wednesday!

Professor David Breeze (Newcastle) will be speaking on “Reconstructing Hadrian's Wall: What Might Hadrian's Wall Have Looked Like?" from 4 PM in Armstrong Building, room 2.50 on Wednesday 25th September.

All are welcome to attend either in person or via Zoom:
https://newcastleuniversity.zoom.us/j/87036911378

Meeting ID: 870 3691 1378/Passcode: 380688

11/06/2024

Join us at the Great North Museum: Hancock this Friday 14 and Saturday 15 for engaging talks and bespoke performances from experts in the field of ancient music and classic culture.

Free, but booking is essential.

For more information visit:

A collaboration between Newcastle University & Great North Museum: Hancock

22/05/2024

*EVENT* Exploring Classical & Historical Northumbria with Dr Susanna Phillippo.
Sunday 26th May: Jarrow-St. Pauls' church & monastery and the Tyne Pedestrian Tunnel.

Depart: Meet at *Monument Metro station* by the ticket machines at 12.15 to catch the 12.24 Metro to Bede.
Return: c. 17.30
Cost: £6.00 for a Tyne and Wear Day Rover ticket. Everything else is free (except any afternoon refreshments at the excellent café).

Jarrow is home to one of the most significant sites for early British Christian history. Highlights:
- Original Saxon church (685 AD) surviving as the chancel of the present St. Paul's, home to Bede, one of the earliest and most important English historians
- Reconstructed Saxon village, and museum, at Jarrow Hall
- Ruins of Norman monastery
- Fascinating sidelights on Britain's commercial and industrial heritage, in the Tyne Pedestrian and Cycle tunnel, and the story of the Jarrow March.

Everyone welcome, including friends from outside the university. Just turn up on the day, but please do email [email protected] in advance if you are definitely interested.

09/05/2024

🎓 We are delighted that two of our colleagues in HCA have been nominated in The Education Awards 2024:

🌟 Dr Philip Garrett - Outstanding Contribution to Academic Support
🌟 Dr Sally Waite - Outstanding Contribution to Personal Support

Wishing the very best of luck to all the nominees!

You can see the full awards shortlist here: https://nusu.co.uk/student-voice/teas/categories

08/05/2024

*EVENT* Exploring Classical & Historical Northumbria with Dr Susanna Phillippo.
Sunday 12th May: Carlisle Town, Museum and Castle

Schedule:
Meet at Eldon Sq bus station (stand A) at *09.25* to catch the bus at 09.35.
Return 19.28 (earlier return is possible)
Cost: £2 single bus ticket each way (£1 if under 21-bring proof of age). Plus money for lunch & refreshments (entry to castle and museum is free for students)

• Carlisle: attractive border town, a major player in the defence of (and disputes over!) the English-Scottish border, with a varied and fascinating history and an extensive Norman Castle which remained in active use for 900 years;
• site of significant Roman fort: Tullie House museum has impressive collections and displays, including reconstruction of the original western turf version of Hadrian’s Wall.

We’ll aim to visit the museum in the late morning to get the Roman background, have lunch there, and then explore the castle and Cathedral after lunch.

Everyone welcome, including friends from outside the university. Just turn up on the day, but it please do e-mail [email protected] in advance if you are definitely interested.