Below you will find our archived reports of our moments in time page, we hope to build a large collection over time and we hope you enjoy looking.
Each month we like to inform you of historic events or places of interest in our area, this month we are looking at Union Bridge also known as Chain Bridge.
When the Union Bridge was built in 1820, it was the longest iron suspension bridge in the world.
The bridge’s designer, Captain Samuel Brown, developed a revolutionary technique to suspend
the deck using iron bars instead of cables.
We take today’s transport for granted but in 1820 a round trip to the other side of the river Tweed could take days.
The opening of the bridge was a cause for great celebration. On the big day, an excited audience gathered, cramming the river banks on both sides. Captain Brown raced across the bridge first in an open top carriage, cheering and waving.
He was followed by a dozen heavily laden carts to prove the strength of the bridge.
With the bridge tested to their satisfaction, hundreds of spectators flooded through the toll gates, marvelling at their new crossing.
Since it’s grand opening it has become the oldest suspension bridge still carrying traffic in Britain, and is arguably one of the most picturesque English/Scottish border crossing points.
Dewar’s Lane, 1936, Pencil Drawing
Dewar’s Lane is an alley-way of medieval origin. Over the centuries, heavy cart-wheels have cut deep grooves in its setts.
The building on the right with it’s drunken, leaning wall is an 18th century granary, rebuilt after a fire around 1815, With it’s many windows it resembles the mills in Lowry’s more familiar industrial scenes. Lowry sketched the lane twice. In this version, by including an inquisitive child who has wandered in alone, and looks up at the intimidating buildings on either side,he has introduced an air of menace into the scene.
And what about Dewar’s Lane today?
If you look closely you can still see the granary building on the right, sadly it has fallen into disrepair. All is not lost though because the town of Berwick upon Tweed hopes to transform it into a youth hostel on the upper levels and a restaurant on the ground floor. Dewar’s lane may not look like a very exiting alley but it is just off one of the nicest and best loved streets in Berwick upon Tweed, Bridge street.
With it’s quaint cafe’s and curiosity shops it provides an excellent backdrop to the famous artist’s first painting in Berwick upon Tweed.
L.S. Lowry (1887-1976), one of Britain’s best-loved painters, was especially fond of Berwick upon Tweed. He visited the town many times from the mid-1930’s until the summer before he died. He would stay in the Castle Hotel but he thought about buying a house on the Elizabethan walls. The Berwick Lowry Trail identifies the sites of many of his finest paintings and drawings of the town and allows you to follow in his footsteps.
Palace Street, undated pencil drawing
Lowry has modified the style of the houses in this rapid pencil sketch. He has also noted the colours of the buildings, suggesting that he may have planned to paint the scene. Arthur Byram, a ship builder lived in one of the houses with a stone dated 1782. Ships built by Byram were reckoned to be the fastest sailing vessels of their day.One such Vessel completed the voyage from Berwick to the Heart of London in just 44 hours. His house was restored by the Berwick upon Tweed Preservation Trust in 1982.
Lots has changed in the town of Berwick upon Tweed but I am sure that Lowry would still have no problems recognising this old street. At the bottom of Berwick there still remains some of the oldest buildings and because Berwick upon tweed is a walled town their are many old buildings tightly packed together and full of character.
It is no wonder then that Lowry enjoyed coming to Berwick.
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Berwick upon Tweed Pier and Lighthouse, 1956, pencil drawing
Lowry made two similar drawings of the pier and lighthouse. The pier was built between 1810 and 1821 and the lighthouse in 1826. behind the pier Lowry has drawn a large boat. he told friends that he had once gone to sea for the day on an Eyemouth fishing boat.
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 familytraits images.jpg "Spittal point")
And what about The pier today?
Largely unchanged, once a year the lighthouse is opened to the public when Berwick has an open day, although it is rare that the weather allows people to take advantage of this!
On a cold January day it is difficult to see the attraction to such a spot, but when you visit the pier in better weather it provides you with spectacular views along the Northumberland coast and it is easy to see Holy Island and Bamburgh Castle.
Next month’s offering is a picture called ‘The sea’.
It can be found at the end of the pier, I am sure to find it an invigorating experience in February!
What is on the Lowry Trail
Dewar's Lane, Palace Street, The Pier, The Sea, On the Sands, The Lions, Football match, The Town hall, Old Berwick (Strother's yard), Bridge End, Sally Port, Old Property, Berwick Harbour, Some Portraits of L S Lowry, Boats, Spittal Sands, Spittal Promenade, Back Streets.
Archive of moments in time
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The Sea 1942,oil on canvas
This is one of many seascapes painted by Lowry in Berwick. At some point in the 1940’s he began painting empty seascapes, this is one of the first. White and blue-grey it captures the eerie desolation of the North Sea in winter time.
Lowry once said “I always wanted to live by the sea,” but he also understood the horror the sea can bring.
Lowry produced other less mournful sea paintings but as old age was approaching there is little doubt about what the sea provokes; “it’s all there. It’s all in the sea. The battle of life is there. And fate. And the inevitability of it all”
The view of the sea today.
I have taken these pictures around the same time of year that Lowry would have painted ‘The Sea’. A cold winters day but truly an aw inspiring site.
The sea around Berwick upon Tweed still features heavily today. Berwick harbour is still a busy port and the leisure industry is growing all the time, there is even talk of a marina being built.
On the sands, 1959 Oil on canvas
Renowned for painting poverty and gloom, Lowery once said that he never painted “a
Jolly picture”. However one might have to wonder when looking at this joyful painting at Berwick upon tweed beach. The painting is strongly geometrical but with the addition of two oddly placed bins it helps to break up the symmetry. In 1999 the shelter was threatened with demolition but was thankfully restored by the Berwick upon Tweed preservation trust in 2001. Once completed local schoolchildren helped to re-enact the famous scene. The shelter remains a very beautiful spot, which if not for Lowry would surely have disappeared long ago. Many visitors often miss the small beach on the back of Berwick Pier so if you ever pay a visit to this town make sure you do not miss Berwick's smallest beach.
The Lion House.
This month we are not bringing you an image of a Lowry painting, moreover an insight into the kind of places that attracted the man to Berwick. The house dates back to about 1807, Lowry was intrigued by what he called the “pot Lions” on the gates. Lowry claimed to have thought about buying the house in the summer of 1947 when he told a friend that he had “been in Berwick upon tweed a lot lately.” He changed his mind however when he was informed that the house was “rampant with damp”.
“I am attracted to decay” Lowry once said, “in a way to ugliness too. A derelict house gets me.” By 1971 ‘The Lions’ had become the kind of derelict building that recurs in so many of Lowry’s paintings.
And what about ‘The Lions’ today? In 1976 the house was bought by the Berwick upon tweed preservation trust and restored through the generosity of a consortium of local businessmen. The house stands on a prominent yet lonely spot, within the walls of Berwick yet some how this house would be better placed on a windy hill top. The views out to sea must surely have interested Lowry , if he had chosen to buy the house in 1947 what would Lowry have painted? Would he moved away from industrial scenes? We will never know, in 1948 he bought a house in Mottram-in-Longdendale, Cheshire and lived there until his death in 1976.
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Football match, pencil and ball point pen, undated.
A game of football is taking place on ‘The Stanks’. This is a Scottish word meaning ‘ditch’ for the pitch lies in the former moat of the Elizabethan walls which form the backdrop to the scene. To portray the crowd Lowry has used short, stubby vertical strokes in a highly effective form of shorthand. Fewer, less regular, more animated strokes capture the frantic activity in the goal-mouth below Brass bastion. The bastion is one of eight defensive points around Berwick upon Tweed’s splendid Walls. Once these bastions would have taken hits from the Scots and their weapons now when they come to Berwick to do battle it is with a football. Many scores have been settled on these fields and now thankfully the only blood spilt is through the odd aggressive tackle. These walls could withstand a shot from a cannon ball so not even a strike from the boot of Alan Shearer would trouble the ancient defences.
Many apologies for not having this page done sooner, I have decided to provide 2 months together to make up for having to wait. The first is The Town Hall, the first oil painting of Berwick upon tweed by L.S. Lowry. He was captivated by the way in which the steeple of the Georgian town hall dominates the Berwick skyline but, in his painting he has made it taller than it really is. The colourful building on either side of the street,with their enormous chimneys, are entirely fanciful. The tiny Chaplinesque figures divide to make their way down either side of the town hall.
Berwick old Town, 1958 ,oil on plywood (Strother’s yard)
Strother’s yard was one of Lowry’s favourite corners of the town. The rather grim geometry of the scene haunted him. The Looking central spire of the town hall dominates the painting and the clock also resembles an all seeing eye.
And what of Berwick today?
Strother’s yard is no more, the town has indeed changed a lot, However the town hall still dominates the centre of the town. I am sure Lowry would love the high street today, yes it is full of charity shops and has lost a bit of it’s charm but I am sure he would love to see all the hustle and bustle. And surely enjoy the scenes that the weekly market provides, with all the frustration it causes to cars and vans trying to squeeze there way through what little space is left on the road.
Bridge End Berwick upon Tweed 1938 oil on canvas
Skilfully placed patches of pure red paint - Lowry’s favourite colour - draw you into this composition. Many of the women wear scarlet bonnets, even the tiniest figures in the background. By organising such bright colour in this way Lowry has created a remarkably cheerful mood in the painting: and the little boy with spindly legs, stepping out so purposefully in the centre, lends humour to the scene. The Town Hall no longer looks so grim and is reduced to a ghostly presence in the upper left. The large building with a high pitched roof in the top right is an old granary in Eastern Lane close to the Maltings Arts Centre which opened in 1990.
Lowry possessed a keen eye for the incongruous. He cannot have failed to be amused by the inscription on the premises of William Cowe and sons: “Home of the original Berwick Cockles.” Berwick cockles are mild, peppermint flavoured sweets first sold in 1801.
And what of Berwick today?
This view has barely changed and Lowry would easily recognise it today ,
“Cockle Cowes” is still there and still making the sweets. The shop has remained the same for generations and Locals and visitors alike enjoy visiting the shop because of it’s ‘old world’ feel.
Bridge end is part of the lower part of Berwick at the end of Bridge street , which is arguably better that the high street.
Old Street Berwick upon Tweed, 1954 oil on board (Sally Port
The archway leads through the walls down to the quay side where the fishing fleet would gather every summer. Herring boats would visit Berwick from as far away as St Ives. Lowry told friends that he had gone to sea for the day on an Eyemouth herring boat.
But by the time of his first Berwick visit, the heyday of the fleet was over and many of the buildings were beginning to fall into disrepair. The painted building on the right with the large window was a joiner’s workshop which has since been demolished. The steps lead up to the Quay Walls. As well as archways, railings and flights of steps constantly recur in Lowry’s paintings.
And what about Sally Port today?
A quite little lane with nothing left to show of it’s fishing history other than it’s name. With much of the old buildings gone with nothing to replace them it has become nothing more than a car park, but take a walk up the steps and you will be presented with one of the finest views of the river Tweed and Berwick’s three bridges.
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Old Property 1945, Oil on Canvas.
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The cottages in this painting date from the eighteenth centaury. Most of the activity takes place around the entrance to number 48 on the right but the tall, smoking chimneys never existed outside Lowry’s imagination. The distant building with a flag pole is equally fanciful. It marks the exact centre of the composition and is found in many of Lowry’s paintings around this period.
As a young man he enjoyed visiting the theatre. The busy scene seems to be enacted on a small stage. A line of kerb stones separates the solitary onlooker who presents his back to us. His hands are clasped tightly behind him as if to prevent any impulsive gesture of greeting. This lonely observer resembles Lowry himself.
In the top left, the yellow ochre silhouette of a demolished building and a vanished chimney stack overlie the black gable end of a cottage. Such stark abstraction anticipates later developments in Lowry’s art.
And what about Berwick today?
This is our first picture of Tweedmouth which lies just south of the town, the location is opposite the harbour and has been a very busy street for many years.
The view has changed little as it has escaped the developers clutches, ‘Dock road’ is fast becoming a popular place to live. Where once there stood flour mills and old Kilns now there stands bright new houses and loft apartments. Tweedmouth harbour still dominates this part of the town and remains a busy port, sadly no more fishing boats dock here however many foreign ships use this port to offload there cargo and the local grain companies export thousands of tones from here every year.
Berwick Harbour, 1959 pencil drawing
Lowry has drawn an image of Berwick that at the time was not real, he has chosen to add boats which are tied up on a sand bank but they are however ships on the stocks of a small shipyard which closed in 1979.
Despite the inaccuracies the drawing still remains highly evocative of Berwick’s unique setting.
And what about Berwick today?
The ship yard is long gone, it had a long history and produced some very fine ships. Some of the old buildings still stand today, notably the “Chandlery” which houses a number of small businesses, the rest of the buildings are mainly storage units and there is also some parking bays, but recently we have discovered that there is plans for the old harbour area.
More housing development and a new marina, so Lowry’s image of Berwick may not have been quite as fanciable as we were led to believe!
Portrait of Lowry. (1925)
On the right you will see one of the few self portraits of the painter, he would have painted this shortly after finishing his studies at Salford School of Art and would have been developing his unique style.
This month we visit one of his favourite views of the town taken from Carr Rock,in later life Lowry would stay at a hotel in Sunderland and was driven to Berwick for the day where by he would visit his favourite places.
He is pictured on the right standing on Carr rock with the view of the town behind him.
And what about Carr Rock today?
It remains a very important part of the town because it is where the life boat is stationed and is a focal point for local events.
Lowry would have loved to see the small stalls and fairground attractions that fill this spot on bank holidays. It is not hard to imagine the scenes he could have painted.
Waiting for the tide,oil on canvas 1967
This was actually painted in South shields close to where, in Lowry’s later years he stayed on holiday. But it could have easily have been painted in the town of Berwick upon Tweed as he still made regular visits to the town while staying at the Seaburn hotel in Sunderland.
Lowry was fascinated by boats of all sizes including tankers, canal barges and coasters. But generally there is never any sign of the crew. The boats sail on as if strangely abandonded, like the Marie Celeste.
And what about Berwick today?
Spittal point is the most popular place in the town to take your fish and chips!
There is a car park which looks out to views of Berwick and it’s light house, the sea and distant views of Holy Island and Bamburgh Castle.
There had been talk of a mariner being built here as most of the land is now derelict, however plans have sadly been dropped as it was expected to be too costly, both financially and environmentally.
So it seems for now that Berwick’s favourite view point is to remain the domain of chip shop connoisseurs and the hungry sea gull!
Girl in a red hat on a promanade 1966 oil on canvas
Lowry also made a drawing of this strange little girl and many other promenade figures. Spittal prom was built in 1892 and was recently restored,
The picture on the left of a modern Spittal does not do the village justice, in mid winter the high tides bring much debris and sand to the prom which in some parts becomes completely covered. The earlier prom had higher walls and so kept out much of nature’s forces. Thankfully today the residents of Spittal regularly clean up the beach and play area.
This is one of Berwick’s high lights for tourists and in the summer it would be easy to imagine Lowry painting busy scenes.
Spittal Sands 1960, oil on canvas,
Spittal is a former fishing village. Its name derives from a leper hospital, dedicated to Saint Bartholomew, which stood there in the Middle ages.
Lowry has painted the scene from close to the front of Forte’s Venetian Pavilion where a flight of steps leads down to the beach. He painted many such joyously impressionistic beach scenes throughout his life, choosing light pastel hues and thick encrusted paint. He has used scarcely any black.
The figures are like ghosts from holidays past, spent with his mother on the sands at Rhyll.
And what about Spittal today?
The scene is largely unchanged with Forte’s Pavilion still dominating the promenade but it is more affectionately known today as Johnny Bingo's
The village of Spittal has remained a top tourist destination in Northumberland since the late 19th century and looks like continuing on through the 21st century.
