Gifts to the People
Jesmond Dene (then known as Armstrong Park) was formally handed over to the people of Newcastle in 1884 by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Education and health
William Armstrong himself had little formal schooling, but he developed a profound interest in education, seeing it as the key to self-advancement. Moreover, he needed skilled employees in his factories. He and his wife, Margaret, set up the Elswick Mechanics’ Institute and schools for the workers’ children.
In the early 19th century, England had just two universities – Oxford and Cambridge – with Durham founded in the 1830s mainly to prepare men for the priesthood. None offered courses in science or engineering, although there was a nascent medical school in Newcastle.
Newcastle and Durham stood 13 miles apart, at the heart of the Great Northern Coalfield. As the century progressed, the rising death toll from accidents in coalmines led to calls for managers and men to be scientifically trained, in order to understand the dangers and implement safety measure.
Out of this grew the idea of a college devoted to science and engineering, which was sited in Newcastle but for many years remained part of Durham. In the event, it developed a broad curriculum. At various times it was called the College of Science, Armstrong College, King’s College – until, in 1963, it became Newcastle University.
Armstrong championed the creation of the College of Science in 1871 and donated a large sum towards its establishment. In 1887 he laid the foundation stone of a new edifice at Barras Bridge, which is the centrepiece of the modern university and known as the Armstrong Building.
When Armstrong bought Bamburgh Castle in the 1890s, he intended to turn it into a retirement home for people who had seen better days. This never happened because his heir, William Watson-Armstrong, decided to live at the castle with his family. However, following his great-uncle’s death, and on his instructions, William Watson-Armstrong gave £100,000 to the creation of the Royal Victoria Infirmary – one of seven hospitals endowed by the Armstrongs.
The Armstrong Building (on right) is now the centrepiece of Newcastle University. William Armstrong laid its foundation stone in 1887.
Exercise and recreation
Armstrong understood the importance to working people and their families of access to fresh air and exercise, along with the enjoyment of leisure time, and it was in this spirit that in 1883 he handed over Jesmond Dene and the Banqueting Hall to the citizens of Newcastle in perpetuity. Among other gifts at this time was the endowment of the Hancock Museum of Natural History.
The Dene and the river Ouseburn, landscaped by John Hancock to include a waterfall, stepping stones, bridges and rapids, gave the people for the first time the chance to enjoy all the benefits of a public park, as was happening elsewhere in the country.
In the summer of 1884, at the opening ceremony for Armstrong Park (as it was then), the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, remarked how glad he was that it bore the name of Newcastle’s great benefactor.
‘His name is known in the British dominions – I may safely say all over the world – as that of a great man and a great inventor. Not less known are his great liberality and his great philanthropy.’
The Old Mill beside the Ouseburn in Jesmond Dene, part of Armstrong’s gift, is a reminder of the time when the area was dotted with small industrial works. The mill was used to grind flint for the local pottery works.