{"id":2940,"date":"2021-06-02T15:57:50","date_gmt":"2021-06-02T15:57:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/speccoll\/?p=2940"},"modified":"2021-06-21T09:31:15","modified_gmt":"2021-06-21T09:31:15","slug":"the-arches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/speccoll\/2021\/06\/02\/the-arches\/","title":{"rendered":"The Arches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Constructed\u00a0in 1911, Newcastle University\u2019s redbrick\u00a0Arches owe\u00a0their existence\u00a0to a donation made by\u00a0John Bell Simpson,\u00a0a\u00a0North\u00a0East\u00a0mining magnate.\u00a0Built in the neo-Jacobean style, their construction serves\u00a0to\u00a0commemorate\u00a0King Edward VII\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0they\u00a0<\/em>have become a recognised symbol of\u00a0the\u00a0University\u00a0around the world.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Outside view of the Percy Building, Armstrong Building and the Quadrangle 1958,
NUA\/014582\/28, Newcastle University Archives, Newcastle University Special Collections, GB 186.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Today the\u00a0Arches\u00a0and their surrounding building\u00a0form part of the Hatton\u00a0Gallery, but in\u00a01911 they\u00a0functioned as\u00a0part of the\u00a0King Edward VII School of Art<\/a>.\u00a0If you look closely, you will be able to see a bronze statue\u00a0of\u00a0King Edward VII\u00a0recessed in a niche above the Arches\u00a0in addition to a coat of arms and a\u00a0Latin inscription\u00a0which reads, \u2018To the pious memory of the most serene King Edward VII\u00a0promoter of peace on earth by heavenly inspiration.\u00a0John Bell Simpson gifted this school as a home for the lovelier arts. He saw to its building,\u00a01910\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Arches, http:\/\/www.picturesbybish.com\/ | https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/picturesbybish\/, Image by Chris Bishop
<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Photograph of the Arches 2018, image by John Donoghue<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Arches served originally as the gateway to Newcastle campus from the city, but following developments on site now sit further back, framing the entrance to the University\u2019s Armstrong Quadrangle<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Outside view of the Percy Building, Armstrong Building and the Quadrangle 1958, NUA\/014582\/28, Newcastle University Archives, Newcastle University Special Collections, GB 186.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Such is the iconic status of the Arches that the building has been replicated at Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia, our international branch campus in Johor, Malaysia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n