Myers Literary Guide:
The North-East
 

WILLIAM BELL SCOTT (1811 - 1890)

Scott, born in Edinburgh, resided in Newcastle, latterly at 14 St Thomas Crescent, for 21 years from 1843, as head of the Government Design School. He was also involved in the Pre-Raphaelite movement and contributed to The Germ. While in Newcastle, Scott published books on ornamental art as well as Antiquarian Gleanings in the North of England (1851). His painting prowess, particularly his celebrated Iron and Coal, can be seen in a famous set of pictures celebrating North East history at Wallington Hall.

Iron and Coal depicts what Bell Scott saw in the Stephenson locomotive works on Forth Street:

Entire wheels of welded iron were lifted out of the furnace red-hot and four giants, 'strikers' as they were called, with mighty sledge hammers strode round them striking in succession.
The picture also includes typical Tyneside manufactures: an anchor, a marine engine valve, a steam engine drawing (a Stephenson long-bodied locomotive can be seen crossing the (Robert Stephenson) High Level bridge in the background), and Armstrong artillery. A little boy carries a miner's lamp as he looks down on the busy Newcastle Quayside.

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