Stories from the Graveyard: Richard Grainger

“At the heart of Newcastle”
Richard Grainger is best known as the developer who transformed Newcastle’s medieval townscape into one of Britain’s finest town centres. His connections with the west end are less well known but there is a fascinating story to tell about ambition and failure on a grand scale as Grainger bought the rural Elswick Estate with the aim of turning it into a new town.
Stories from the Graveyard: telling the story of Benwell and Scotswood.
This is one of a series of short films, illustrated with archive photographs, about people buried in St James’ graveyard in the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne. When the graveyard was opened in 1833, Benwell and Scotswood were home to many of the richest and most powerful families on Tyneside. But this was also an important coal mining area and, as time went on, the location of some of the region’s major industries. Among the more than 12,000 people buried in this graveyard were pitmen, soldiers, farmers, engineers, shopkeepers and many others, including thousands of young children. These films tell the stories of some of those buried at St James’. They were created by St James’ Heritage and Environment Group as part of a project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.