fteam corn-mill, &c. on the other fide are large manufactories of all kinds of pottery-ware, giving employment to hundreds of people.

What is curious, in digging a foundation for the fieam-mill above-mentioned, there was found a stone of about three feet in length, and about two feet fquare. On the end of it is an infcription, evidently Roman; but it is fo much effaced, that it is next to impoffible to decypher it. One gentleman, fkilled in the Latin language, feemed to think it intimated that from the termination of the Roman wall on the weft, or Soleway Firth, to this ftation, was 60 miles. There is no doubt but that mighty barrier, in coming down Byker turnpike road, ran across the rivulet at this place, and directly up to Red-barns and Wall-knoll; and as they no doubt had a bridge over this rivulet, which poffibly was much broader in ancient times, this stone might have been one of thofe placed on the bridge, directive of the distances, &c. This curiofity is now placed in Mr. Yellowley's garden above Bufy Cottage.

Going down by Oufe.bourn, we come to a little narrow ftone bridge, called the Glafs-house bridge. In the neighbourhood are feveral dock-yards where many fhips are built; paffing over the bridge, we come to the glafs-houfes, and further down on the river fide is another large manufactory of the fame kind. See account of Glafs-works.

Adjoining to the upper glafs-houfes, is the diffenter's large burying-place. See Chapels.

Further down from the low glafs-houfes, after paffing more docks for fhip-building, we come to St. Peter's Quay. It is there where Mr. William Row

Row is planning a dry dock, and where he is now building a new quay.

The freets are paved chiefly with Scotch blue, or grey granite ftones, heavy, compact, and extremely hard. They are found to be the most durable, and fittest to bear the preffure of the vast number of waggons and heavy carriages which pafs here from all parts.

Yet it is remarkable, that, in a town of fo much trade, with warehouses fo full of valuable commodities, the corporation was fo long in adopting that admirable branch of municipal police, the great convenience of having nightly lamps in the streets.

A propofal was made and published in the year 1755, for lighting the town with one hundred and fifty lamps! But it was not till a fubfequent period that even this took place, as we find by the following extract from the Newcastle Courant.

October 1, 1763. "Thurfday the lamps put up in the streets of the town were lighted up for the firit time." This was in confequence of an act lately paffed," for lighting the streets and other places, and maintaining a regular and nightly watch, within the town and county of Newcastle upon Tyne, for regulating the hackney coachmen, chairmen, cartmen, porters, and watermen, within the fame." The fmall number of lamps, and quantity of oil, have been a fubject of complaint; bow juflly, is not for us to decide it certainly would be more agreeable was the quantity of both doubled. To defray the expence attending this great convenience, the inhabitants are charged, in proportion to their rentals, at the rate of fixpence per pound.

Such is a general view of the public ftreets, and of

the most remarkable private buildings in Newcastle and its fuburbs.

Of the Means of fupplying the Town with Water.

To obtain a fufficiency of this abfolute neceffary of life, has ever claimed the attention of rulers and magiftrates, in cities, towns, and even villages, in every country and in every age of the world. The ancient Greeks and Romans were careful in the extreme to have abundance of light, fweet, wholefome water. In their encampments, fites of their cities, &c. they made choice of the fituation always with a view to their obtaining an abundance of this element. And when the defart, or ridges of mountains, waftes, and folitudes, intervened, they then reared the mighty aqueduct, arch upon arch, to convey the falutary ftream to the thirsty inhabitants of the crowded city. It is remarkable, that with all their knowledge in geometry, and other branches of fcience, they were ignorant of this grand principle in hydrostatics, that water will rife horizontally to its level. Hence their lofty aqueducts, raised at vaft expence, and always level with the fource or fpring; whereas, by obferving the invariable law of nature, water, by leaden pipes, can be conveyed over mountains, through moraffes, along bridges, nay, even beneath the beds of rivers, in any quantity, and at a thoufandth part of the expence. But a mighty advantage refulted to mankind from the ignorance of the ancients in hydroftatics; and that is, the thorough knowledge which they have communicated to the moderns of the arch, in all its forms, circular, eliptical, catenarian, &c. by which

thefe

thefe magnificent aqueducts, these prodigies of art, were reared; fuch as that at Nifmes, in France, which feems one of the wonders of the world.

That the inhabitants of Newcastle have been particularly attentive to procure a fufficiency of water, appears from the numerous cifterns and wells all round the town, both within and without the walls. We have the fine wells which supplied both the Black and White Friars' monafteries, with their large springs of excellent water, to this day. The eminences that almost furround Newcastle, would feem to indicate that plenty of good water might easily be procured; and this, upon trial, has been found to be the cafe.

The top of Pandon-bank is commonly called "Conduit-head." A refervoir ftill remains here, upon the grounds belonging to the late Rev. Nathaniel Ellison, behind fome buildings, which fupplies Sandgate pant with water. There are many fine fprings about this eminence; and it is a conjecture, not at all improbable, that about Conduit-head there has been, in ancient times, a large refervoir for fupplying the palace of the Saxon kings, and after that, the fumptuous and ftately monaftery of the Carmelites, with water. If I might hazard a conjecture on the true etymon of Pandon, (fays Brand) i would define it to mean, The Hill of the Pand, Pond, or Refervoir. Dr. Thomas Henfhaw, in Skinner's Etymology, on the word pant, or pand, tells us, that pond was anciently pronounced pand, from a Saxon word pyndan, to enclofe or shut up. So that pant, the ufual name given to the erections over the wells in Newcastle, is no more than pand, by a very fmall corruption, meaning a little refervoir or pond.

But

But as the coal trade became rapidly more confequential, commerce and bufinefs increafing in proportion, numbers of people came to fix their refidence at Newcastle. The wells of water, in and about the town, were found inadequate to the demands of the inhabitants, and afforded, at beft, only a precarious fupply. The mayor and burgeffes fet to work, fo early as the reign of Edward III. anno 1349, to procure a permanent and fufficient quantity, at fome diftance without the walls; which is the earliest account to be found of aqueducts bringing water into this town.

Leland tells us, that when he vifited this place, in the reign of Henry VIII. "there be three hedds of condutes for frefch water to the town."

Mere particularly we find, in July 26, 1647, an agreement between the corporation of Newcastle and Mr. William Gray, concerning water to be conveyed from his conduit in Pandon-bank to Sandgate. It appears, that part of the waftes called King's-dikes had been granted to the faid Mr. Gray, by way of recompence. The mayor and burgeffes are mentioned at the fame time, as having a right to bring part of that water to the Manors, according to its ancient and accuftomed courfe.

The common-council books of 1708 mention a liberty referved to the mayor and burgeffes to dig and delve for water, and to take what part of Mr. Nichol's lands and grounds at Red Barnes, as shall seem meet for the advantage of water for the pants in Sandgate and the Keelmen's Hofpital.

February 4th, 1654, there is an order of commoncouncil for conveying the water from Cowgate, that

came