In this blog post, our volunteer Cathryn takes a look at the connection between legendary Northumberland heroine Grace Darling and Newcastle’s Trinity House.

As the nights draw in, Cathryn takes a look at some of Newcastle’s ghost stories.

In this blog, Cathryn takes a look at some of the famous Americans who have visited Tyneside over the years.

In this blog post, our volunteer Cathryn takes a look at the medieval tradition of pilgrimage.

Jane Martin was a woman living in the 1600s accused of witchcraft and ultimately hanged for it.

The miller's wife of Chatton, Jane would have been a highly regarded member of her community. Her and her husband would have provided the flour for those in her village to make bread. We have a very limited amount of information on Jane's life, but what we do know comes from a pamphlet titled The Wondefull Newes from the North. It is here that her sister's confession is noted. In it, her sister explains how together, they had caused harm to multiple people, as well as supposedly consulting with the devil. From these confessions, Jane and her sister are brought to Newcastle as part of the wider witch trials of 1649/1650 and tried and hanged for their crimes.

The 1600s was a tumultuous time for people living in England, and this context gives us a lot of clues as to why the Newcastle Witch Trials may have taken place.

In this weeks blog, Emma Felling takes aim at some myths around medieval hygiene, and explores how our ancestors kept themselves fresh as a daisy in the Middle Ages.

In this blog post our volunteer Cathryn takes a look at the history of the friaries and nunneries of medieval Newcastle.

When people think of castles their minds naturally turn to Kings and Queens, knights, and soldiers, but the jester probably isn’t too far behind that as a figure that people associate with the great castles of the Middle Ages. But beyond the weird hats with bells on, just who were the jesters and other entertainers of the Medieval era? What did they do to earn their keep? Were they well paid? Let’s find out!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to get married in the Middle Ages? Today our blog is looking at wedding and marriage traditions of the Middle Ages, including dowries, merchet and divorce!

Nine Men’s Morris is one of the world’s most ancient boardgames, played from the days of the Roman Empire right up until today.

This is a story of bravery and loyalty, in which Sir Gawain must keep his word to The Green Knight - but can he over come the trails and temptations that stand in his way?

In this blog post, volunteer Cathryn looks at the history of the Church of St John the Baptist, one of Newcastle’s four medieval parish churches.

One of the most enduring ideas of what the Medieval period was like is summed up by the phrase in the title of this post. Many medieval thinkers, from King Alfred the Great onwards, described their society as being divided into three groups or classes of people, seen as three pillars that supported a well-functioning civilisation.

In this week’s blog post, our volunteer Cathryn takes a dive into the history of Newcastle’s oldest church, including links to “witches” and a serial killer as well as one of the North East’s most famous musicians.

Castle team member Dan is back once again, looking at another example of Middle Age misconceptions! Today is one that is particularly relevant to our own castle: the reason behind spiral staircases.

In this week’s blog post, Daniel has been having a look at the lives and careers of some real historical plague doctors. Mad quacks in beaky masks, or dedicated fighters against a deadly contagion?

In the second of our series of blog posts on Newcastle’s medieval churches, Cathryn will be taking a look at All Saints’ Church. Here you’ll find a site with a fascinating history including an athletic steeplejack and a light-fingered beadle.

In this week’s blog post, our volunteer Cathryn has been looking at our neighbour, the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas and its links to Newcastle’s maritime past.

In 1298, John de Kirkeby, until recently the Sheriff of Northumberland and Constable of Newcastle Castle, submitted an absolutely massive ‘expenses claim’ for the previous year to his boss – the King of England. They give us a fascinating insight into the kinds of preparations that needed to be made to get a Castle truly “war ready

This week, Daniel is looking for the answer to this rather strange question. He will be looking at how and why Newcastle Castle fell out of use after being such a formidable fortress in the Middle Ages, and how it fell into near ruin and was almost swept away by the tides of progress!