Newcastle Uni Special Collections & Archives

Illustrated title page showing two children carrying a scuttle of coal.

Page showing an illustration of newcastle with some rhyming text above.

Illustration of a coal mine with some rhyming text relating to mining above.

Illustration of a cart delivering coal with some rhyming text describing the activity.

As nights draw in and temperatures drop it's time to light the fire!

'The History of A Scuttle of Coals in Rhymes and Pictures' tells us about the journey of this once common fuel from ground to fireplace.

Read on CollectionsCaptured: collectionscaptured.ncl.ac.uk/digital/coll...

Ref. RB821.8-SIX

Flyer advertisin education outreach bequest opportunities. Text is sumamrised in the main post.

A shout out on behalf of our Education Outreach colleagues:

Applications are now open for two Robinson Bequest Bursary opportunities.

They're looking for Masters or Doctoral students to work on an exciting research project. Bursaries are worth £3000.

Find out more: www.ncl.ac.uk/library/burs...

Now on #digitalshowcase is this First World War Surgical Logbook containing surgical operation carried out by Professor Frederick Charles Pybus at First Northern General Hospital from 1914 - 1919. Find out more online & view the full logbook digitalshowcase.ncl.ac.uk/showcases/fi...

Dive into the past with our Cholera Scrapbooks: a collection of pamphlets, sketches, letters, reports & cartoons from the 1831–32 Gateshead outbreak. A rare window into how communities & doctors tried to make sense of this disease. Explore digitalshowcase.ncl.ac.uk/showcases/ch... #digitalshowcase

Front cover of the booklet created for the opening of the Percy Building.

Photograph of the front of the Percy Building facing onto the Quadrangle.

Group of attendees at the official opening of the Percy Building.

#OTD in 1958 @newcastleuni.bsky.social Percy Building was officially opened by Professor J. Dover Wilson, and named after the first Rector of Kings College, Lord Eustace Percy.

Browse the brochure for the opening event on CollectionsCaptured: collectionscaptured.ncl.ac.uk/digital/coll...

Proof of a map of Country Durham.

Proof of a map of Montgomery Shire

New on CollectionsCaptured is a wonderfully illustrated set of 17 proof copies of early 17th Century maps, later included in John Speed's 'Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine'.

All 17 pages can be seen here on CollectionsCaptured: collectionscaptured.ncl.ac.uk/digital/coll...
[Ref. Freinds/JSM]

#Discover this original leaf from Johannes Gutenberg's 15th century Bible, which influenced book history and the religious landscape.

Find out more: digitalshowcase.ncl.ac.uk/showcases/gu... #DigitalShowcase

Explore curated insights across our unique and distinctive collections — from a 17th century recipe book to a WWI surgical logbook.

Discover our new Digital Showcase and uncover the stories behind the collections: digitalshowcase.ncl.ac.uk #DigitalShowcase

This month's @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social
theme is #EYAMonsters

Read about the spooky alleged 1890s haunting of Ballechin House near Perth in Scotland, and the book detailing it's unexplained phenomena, on our blog:

blogs.ncl.ac.uk/speccoll/202...

[Ref. Clarke-Misc-437]

Did you know our collections of poetry books and archives span nearly 400 years, from the 17thC to the present day?

Here are two pages from a 1656 poetry collection by William Drummond.

Find the whole book on CollectionsCaptured: collectionscaptured.ncl.ac.uk/digital/coll...

#NationalPoetryDay

We’re saddened by the passing of poet Tony Harrison, whose ground breaking work V. sparked national debate for its uncompromising language and honesty.

Explore our Bloodaxe collections relating to his life and work: specialcollections.ncl.ac.uk/informationo...

We are deeply saddened by the passing of architect & alumnus Sir Terry Farrell. He worked with us to provide a home for his globally significant archive, curated for the benefit of researchers & practitioners. We are proud to help preserve this legacy for the enjoyment & education of all #WeAreNCL

New to Newcastle this academic year?

Explore the history of the relationship between University and city through an examination of social data and development in our current exhibition "Town and Gown on the Tyne".

Open on Level 2 of the Philip Robinson Library until early November.

Explore digitised manuscripts, notes & correspondence from the Peter Dickinson Archive on CollectionsCaptured.

Dickinson (1927–2015) was an award-winning poet & novelist, celebrated for his children’s books & crime fiction collectionscaptured.ncl.ac.uk/digital/coll...

Calling all @newcastleuni.bsky.social MA & PhD students: apply now for the Robinson Bequest Core Collections Bursaries (£3,000 each + hands-on Special Collections experience).

Deadline: 26 Sept. Apply now👉 bit.ly/4gdjs2C #NCL

A selection of material from The a-n Archive is now live on #CollectionsCaptured 📸

Spanning 40+ years of the UK’s largest artists’ network, it’s a treasure trove of artist-led practice, publications & advocacy. Dive in 👉 collectionscaptured.ncl.ac.uk/digital/coll...

Bell (Gertrude) Archive Page 21. First page of a diary entry for Wednesday the 12th of January. Includes two pressed flowers attached to the page.

Hidden amongst Gertrude Bell's diary entries are some pressed flowers attached to each page, collected whilst travelling between 1897-1900 #discover

collectionscaptured.ncl.ac.uk/digital/coll...

[image ref: GB/2/6]

photograph of a group of students sat around a desk in a seminar room in 1965.

Photograph of a group of students stood around a map on a desk in a seminar room in 1965.

Photograph of a group of students sat around a table in a seminar room in 1965.

Photograph of students at desks in a seminar room in 1968.

This month's @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social theme is #EYAEduction

Here are some images of students busy learning in our seminar rooms in the 1960s.

For any new students joining next week we can reassure you that the dress code and tech have moved on in the last 60 years!
[NUA/03688 and 037020]

📢@newcastleuni.bsky.social Masters & PhD students!
Apply for 2 x Robinson Bequest Bursaries (£3k each).
👉 Gain Special Collections & Archives experience
👉 Boost skills & employability
Deadline: 26 Sept 2025
Apply: www.ncl.ac.uk/library/special-collections/robinson-bequest-core-collections-bursaries/

📚 Celebrate #InternationalLiteracyDay with the Booktrust Collection — a treasure trove of children’s books & research inspiration: specialcollections.ncl.ac.uk/booktrust

Explore stories that shape imaginations & champion literacy for all.

Title of The Painful Plough and small ink illustration of a ploughman at work.

The first part of "The Painful Plough".

The second part of "The Painful Plough".

As we're now feeling quite autumnal and a new season's crops begin to be planted here's a poem about ploughmen and the importance of their labours from our Broadside Collection.

[Ref: Broadsides/1/2/15]

Frontis piece of Renascence by Walter Crane.

Rondeau - Seed Time by Walter Crane.

As September arrives so do falling leaves, autumnal vibes and the start of a new season for those farming the land. Here's a poem by Walter Crane recounting the seasonal sentiment of this time of year.

From Renascence - one of only 350 copies and part of our Rare Book Collection. [Ref:RB-821-8-CRA]

Second page of a letter written by Gertrude Bell, writing about a visit to the circus.

First page of a letter written by Gertrude Bell in March 1878. She writes about her dolls.

On #WorldLetterWritingDay here is the earliest letter in our archive written by prolific letter writer Gertrude Bell, written when she was just 8 years old.

This is one of over 1,400 of Gertrude's letters we've digitised that you can now explore on our Gertrude Bell website: gertrudebell.ncl.ac.uk

Photograph of electrical equipment on a table in a lab.

Photograph of experiment using glass pipes on a table in a lab.

Photograph of a complex network of pipes and equipment on a table in a lab.

Alongside campus life and our buildings our university photographers also regularly snapped the work of researchers.

While their work was no doubt important its often difficult for us to work out what exactly is being researched, here are just 3 examples from our UniArchive. #ThrowbackThursday

Photograph of 3 dogs sat on a bench in 1899 - being told to sit still by Gertrude Bell!

Rapture posing for a photograph.

Chin showing off on their hind legs on the Wallington Lawn.

Careless sat attentively on a hillside.

Happy #InternationalDogDay!

Dogs were longstanding companions of generations of the Trevelyan family of Wallington Hall, so we've pawed through the virtual versions of our Trevelyan Family photo albums to find these 4 adorable pics of Tokyo, L.C., Chin, Rapture and Careless.

[Ref. CPT/PA/1 and 3]

Young people dancing in the Students' Union in August 1965.

Groups of young people sat at tables with drinks in the Students' Union.

Group of young people sat at a table in the Students' Union in August 1965.

Does anyone have any bank holiday weekend plans?

60 years ago in August 1965 these students put on their best clothes and attended a fun looking dance in the Student's Union.

Find more photos of University life on CollectionsCaptured: cdm21051.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/coll...

[ref. NUA/039343]

ICIL information card with event title and date and headshot photos of Geraldine Hunwick, Ian Johnson, Rosaleen Williams, Holly Smith, Sarah Aitchison, and Erika Delbecque.

🟠 #RLUKICIL | Towards equity & inclusion through special collections & archives | 20 Oct

This seminar will hear case studies from @ncllibspeccoll.bsky.social @leedsunilibraries.bsky.social @ucllccos.bsky.social on how collections & archives help research libraries meet EDI goals

🎟 bit.ly/RLUKICIL

Layard (Sir Austen Henry) Archive Front cover.

📸 A grand 19th-century photograph album featuring portraits, sweeping landscapes, and iconic sites — including Eastnor Castle and Lady Eastnor herself. Have a flick through online on #CollectionsCaptured cdm21051.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/coll...

🚧Essential upgrade in progress🚧
Our online catalogue is being updated today. You can still search & browse our collections online, but requesting archive items will be paused until after 2pm. Book collection requests are unaffected.
Browse online: specialcollections.ncl.ac.uk

Marine Technology Special Collection The vessel is seen on the River Tyne passing Neptune Yard.

From battleships to liners, Armstrong, Whitworth & Co. built giants of the sea.
This album of 68 photos captures shipyard life, sea trials & shipyard visits & launches from a golden age of shipbuilding.
Dive in on #CollectionsCaptured collectionscaptured.ncl.ac.uk/digital/coll...