Great North Road – Page 2 – High West Jesmond

November 8, 2017

1964 – The Great North Road (the old A1)

More nostalgia, a quiet day on the old A1, Great North Road in June 1964 before the Civic Centre was fully completed.

A heritage posting from Chris Morgan

Great North Road, Newcastle, looking south from end of Moorfield, 1964

Little Moor on left, Dukes Moor on right.

Blue House corner ahead, then the Town Moor proper.

Before yellow lines and red routes, police notice in blue ‘No parking in roadway’ was enough.

Before the Civic Centre, just visible in the distance, had received it’s carilion topping.

Before the A1 had been bypassed, first to the east through the Tyne Tunnel (now the A19), then to the west.

And only just after the trolley bus wires had been removed from the old tram poles.

July 29, 2017September 16, 2017

1964 – Music with Movement on Moorfield

Moving a piano in High West Jesmond in 1964

A heritage post by Chris Morgan

Back at West Jesmond Junior School in the 1950’s we used to have to take part in exercise sessions to the tunes of “Music with Movement” from the BBC schools service, played on big Rediffusion loudspeakers.

In the 1950s many High West Jesmond houses would contain a piano.

Television was still very new and there were probably only 3 radio stations most people would listen to, the Light programme (now Radio 2), Home Service (Radio 4) or the Third Programme (Radio 3). Hilversum was probably the only other listened to by teenagers and young people.

As TV became more popular, and radio programmes more diverse, lots of pianos were no longer wanted. I never found out where this piano was going to, had come from, or why.

This picture was taken in Moorfield, by the junction with the Great North Road in autumn 1964. I have no idea who these lads were, or what they were doing with the piano at this time or place! Possibly on the way to a Guy Fawkes bonfire?