Places "Scotswood Road" was and still is a long road parallel to the left bank of the river Tyne, running eastwards from Scotswood and Benwell to Newcastle city, and which at the time of the song ran through industrial and working-class areas. "
Airmstrang's
factory" was a large engineering works at
Elswick, which made large guns and other firearms. Construction work on the six-acre site started in April 1847, and the number of employees engaged in manufacturing grew from 20 in December 1847 to around 250 by the end of 1850. Lying just outside the 1862 town boundary on the south side of Scotswood Road, the "Robin Adair" was a
pub named after a
popular song and air, written about 1750, concerning the surgeon
Robert Adair. The building had been demolished by December 1965, when another establishment of the same name was opened by
T. Dan Smith, leader of
Newcastle City Council. Less than 25 years later, this was standing unused and reported to be in a dilapidated condition following a fire.
Paradise was a small village to the west of Armstrong's factory. On the south side of Scotswood Road and adjacent
Newcastle & Carlisle Railway were smallholdings and Paradise House. On the north side were a
Methodist chapel and the houses of Paradise Row, although as these lay between Benwell Colliery (West Pit) and Benwell Brickworks, it has been noted the location "probably did not live up to its name". Before Newcastle Dispensary opened in October 1777, medical care in Newcastle was considered so rudimentary that travellers were advised to avoid the town. Located initially at the foot of The Side, it moved to Pilgrim Street in 1780, Low Friar Street in 1790, and in 1828 to a building designed by
Richard Grainger in Nelson Street. It relocated to New Bridge Street in 1928, and continued to operate outside the
National Health Service until its closure on 30 June 1976 due to lack of funds. Newcastle Infirmary began admitting patients on 23 May 1751, although housed in temporary premises at
Gallowgate whilst a new building was constructed at Forth Banks. Located to the west of
Newcastle railway station on land made available by Newcastle Corporation, this opened on 8 October 1753. It remained in use until September 1906, when patients were transferred to the
Royal Victoria Infirmary following its opening by
King Edward VII on 11 July. Most of the old infirmary buildings were demolished in 1954. Three miles west of Newcastle, the old Scotswood Bridge over the Tyne opened on 12 May 1831. Designed by
John Green and known locally as the "Chain Bridge", a toll was payable to cross until 18 March 1907. It was used until 20 March 1967, when the present
Scotswood Bridge opened, further upstream.
People Dr Charles John Gibb (1824–1900) was probably the most widely known doctor in Newcastle in 1862, having played a prominent role in combatting the town's
cholera epidemic of 1853. He did much to help the poor, and in an emergency would sometimes charter a train to transport one of his wealthy rural patients. Between 1855 and 1870, he was an honorary surgeon at the Newcastle Infirmary. "Jackie Broon" was the Blaydon
town crier, whose bell is now preserved in Newcastle's
Discovery Museum. "Coffy Johnny" was in reality an ex-blacksmith from
Winlaton named John Oliver (1828–1900). A well-known character who attended all local race meetings, he would have stood out to racegoers due to the white
top hat he wore on special occasions, and the fact that he was over tall. His nickname derived from his habit of asking people to wait while he finished his coffee before getting on with whatever job was at hand. == Anniversary celebrations ==