Use as a World War II Air-raid Shelter
Bibliography and Sources
There has been very little written about the Victoria Tunnel although it is often mentioned in books about Newcastle as an interesting feature and significant feat of engineering. However, there have been a small number of relevant papers produced:
Rowe, D.J; n.d.; The Victoria Tunnel; The Journal of the History of Industry and Technology [This is the most detailed account, particularly of the World War II period.]
n.d.; The Victoria Tunnel; Tyne and Wear Industrial Monuments Trust
Miller, Robert N Appleby; May 1927; Wood Rails Faced with Iron Treads; Edgar Allen News [This is a slightly confusing paper as it refers to the gauge of the rails as 16 inches whereas contemporary accounts clearly state that the rails are standard 4ft 8ins gauge. It also seems unlikely that, by the time of the construction of the waggonway, wooden rails would still be used as suggested by Miller.]
Lee, Charles E; 1951; The Waggonways of Tyneside, Archaeologia Aeliana, vol.7 no.1 [A detailed general account of the waggonways of Tyneside, including the Victoria Tunnel.]
1999; The Victoria Tunnel: Newcastle's first underground railway; Tanfield Railway News; issues 50 and 51, July and October [Some most interesting newspaper references, particularly the account of the inquest into the only fatality known to have occured in the Tunnel.]
Richardson, M.A; 1846; The Local Historian's Table Book, vol V
1861; Ordnance Survey 1st edition, 1:2500, sheets XCVII.3 and XCVII.8
1844; Oliver, Thomas; A plan of Newcastle with part of Northumberland and Gateshead [This map shows a single staithe at the river whereas by the time of the Ordnance Survey there were two.]
Usherwood, Paul; 1990; TSWA: Newcastle; Art Monthly, no.141 (November) [This article has a description of the art installation created in the Tunnel by Mona Hatoum.]
The sources of information above should all be available at Newcastle Central Library which also holds a large collection of local newspapers, particularly the Newcastle Chronicle and the Newcastle Courant. The Central Library also has printed copies of the Proceedings of the Town Council and Minutes of Newcastle City Council.
Tyne & Wear Archive Service hold some relevant source material, particularly minutes of war-time committee meetings. Some material is also held by Northumberland Record Office.
The National Archives, formerly the Public Record Office, hold some documentation relating to the air-raid shelter use.
It seems likely that further information, not available to the general public, is held by the Engineers Department of Newcastle City Council and Northumbria Water.
© Phil Thirkell April 2006
Page updated: April 2006
