Newcastle, Barras Bridge, possible cemetery

HER Number:
299

District:
Newcastle

Site Name:
Newcastle, Barras Bridge, possible cemetery

Place:
Newcastle

Map Sheet:
NZ26NW

Class:
Religious Ritual and Funerary

Site Type: Broad:
Funerary site

Site Type: Specific:
Human Remains

General Period:
Medieval

Specific Period:

Form of Evidence:
Documentary Evidence

Description:
The antiquarian writer, Bourne suggests that the Maudlin-Barrows are the tombs of those that died of leprosy, and he and others site the burial ground in 'Sick-Man's Close' on the north side of Barras Bridge. A later writer, Mackenzie equated 'Sick-Man's Close' with St. James' Close (now the site of the Hancock Museum and terraces to the north as far as Park Terrace), and reported that great quantities of human bones had been found during building operations there. However, a 1732 map of the hospital lands shows 'Sick Mens Close' where Brandling village is now, and 'Dead Men's Graves' on the site of the 19th century All Saints Cemetery.

Easting:
249

Northing:
651

Grid Reference:
NZ249651

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 299 >> H. Bourne, 1736, History of Newcastle, p. 152 J. Brand, 1789, History of Newcastle, p. 431 E. Mackenzie, 1827, History of Newcastle, pp. 148-9 F.W. Dendy, 1904, An Account of Jesmond, Archaeologia Aeliana, 3, I, pp. 22-24, 150, 172