Our two photographs of Gallowgate in Newcastle offer contrasting views captured 50 years apart in 1975 and 2025.
A busy city centre thoroughfare - then and now - its name reflects a dark and often brutal history. Back in time, countless condemned men and women made their final fateful journeys along Gallowgate towards Newcastle’s place of public execution on the Town Moor.
There were grim spectacles at the gallows. In 1650, 22 people - including 15 accused of being witches - were hanged at the location in one day. In those savagely punitive times, capital punishment was not merely reserved for those who had taken another person’s life.
In 1758, for example, Alice Williamson, 68, was hanged on the Town Moor for burglary; in 1783, William Alexander was hanged for forging a bank note; in 1786, Henry Jennings was executed for stealing horses; and in the same year, postman Robert Knowles was hanged for stealing from the post.
Many convicted murderers made their way along Gallowgate to the noose awaiting them on the Town Moor. Mark Sherwood, who had killed his wife, was forced to sit on his own coffin as he was transported by cart to his place of execution in 1844.
The famous Gallowgate End at nearby St James’ Park derives its name from this historical association. Football has been played on the sloping pitch - itself the most southerly part of the Town Moor - since 1880 when it was home to Newcastle Rangers. Newcastle West End played there for a while, before it became the home of Newcastle United in 1892. Mark Sherwood’s hanging in 1844 - only 35 years or so before the first ball was kicked in the area - was to be the last execution on the Town Moor.
Our 2025 photograph of Gallowgate shows Bealim House, a popular bar, eatery and gin distillery. When it began trading in 2015, the owners were keen for the watering hole to pay its dues to what had formerly been Bealim Print Works for many decades after printer John Beall originally bought the building in 1896. The new bar would include themes such as printing blocks and historical print memorabilia, along with original features uncovered during refurbishment.
As well as the print works, the building over time would later be occupied by the likes of GB Carnegie electricians and Johnny Rankin's cycle shop, while the basement was used as an air raid shelter during World War II.
When our 1975 photograph was taken, the city’s well-known Frank Brennan Sports Shop was doing business on the ground floor. Scottish international Brennan, a tough, no-nonsense centre-half, had won the FA cup with Newcastle United in 1951 and 1952, proving himself to be the rock of the Magpies’ defence.
Fifty years after the 1975 image was taken, much that was captured in the view has changed. Gallowgate coach station closed in the early 2000s and was knocked down, and the Newcastle Breweries building in the distance was demolished in 2008. In our 2025 photograph, we see the two new multi-storey buildings fitting for the 21st century. City Gate is home to serviced apartments, while Sheares Hall comprises high-end student accommodation.
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