Newcastle upon Tyne, city, administrative center of the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, northeastern England, on the Tyne River. Newcastle upon Tyne is an important industrial and transportation center. It is also known as a major coal-shipping port and handles passenger traffic to Denmark and Norway. Manufactures include machinery and pharmaceuticals. Among the local landmarks are the remains of the 13th-century town walls and the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas (largely 14th century). The city has numerous art galleries and museums and is the seat of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (1851), the University of Northumbria (1992, formerly a polytechnic college), and the Royal Grammar School (1545). The present-day city is on the site of Pons Aelii, one of the Roman forts on Hadrian's Wall. The site was later occupied by the Angles. After the 12th century, when a castle was built here, the community grew as a monastic and commercial center. Coal and woolens were exported from the 13th century, coal becoming the chief export after the 16th century. It was a shipbuilding center in the 19th century. Before 1974 Newcastle upon Tyne was the county town of Northumberland. Population (1996 estimate) 282,338.
