A chare, in the dialect of North-east England, is a narrow medieval street or alley.
A chare, in the dialect of North-east England, is a narrow medieval street or alley.
Chares and much of the layout of Newcastle's Quayside date from medieval times. At one point, there were 20 chares in Newcastle. After the great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead in 1854, a number of the chares were permanently removed although many remain in existence today. Chares also are still present in the higher parts of the city centre.
According to "Quayside and the Chares" [1] by Jack and John Leslie, chares reflected their name or residents. "Names might change over the years, including Armourer's Chare which become Colvin's Chare". Originally inhabited by wealthy merchants, the chares became slums as they were deserted due to their "dark, cramped conditions". The chares were infamous for their insanitary conditions - typhus was "epidemic" and there were three cholera outbreaks in 1831-2, 1848-9 and finally in 1853 (which killed over 1,500 people). [2]
A number of chares were destroyed beyond repair as a result of the fire and are no longer extant. The chares that were not rebuilt were replaced by Queen Street, King Street and Lombard Street.
Hornsby's Chare, formerly named Maryon House Chare, Colvin's Chare, formerly Black Boy's Chare, Pallister's Chare, formerly Armourer's Chare, Blue Anchor Chare, also known as Blew Anchor Chare, Peppercorn Chare and Grinding Chare, also known as Grandon/Grandin Chare were destroyed and no longer exist. [3]
Dark Chare, the first of the alleys by Sandhill and described by in 1827 by Eneas Mackenzie, was also destroyed. He said of Dark Chare that "a stout person would find it rather inconvenient to press through the upper part of this lane. It is very properly termed the Dark Chare, for the houses at the top nearly touch each other. It is not now used as a thoroughfare. It has been justly observed, that the ground occupied by these chares is the most crowded with buildings of any part in his majesty's dominions." [3]
On the Quayside, there are a large number of chares still in existence. Many of them are now just narrow alleyways and routes although some of them have been widened and their uses have been extended because of it:
Other than on the riverside, there are a number of chares in existence in the higher parts of the city:
Other chares on the Quayside that remains are Wrangham's Entry, Spencer's Entry, the Swirle, Flag Chare and Anchor Chare. These reconstructed chares exist on the Sandgate/East Quayside modern office developments.
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