Living History Volunteers - Newcastle Castle

At Newcastle Castle, we aim to make everyone’s visit special, memorable and, of course, enjoyable. We get visitors from all over the world as well as some very close to home, so we need to adapt our welcome accordingly and help visitors navigate the Castle and the wider City. Because our historic buildings dominate the city skyline, we are an immediate destination for visitors to head towards, and we want to use this factor to offer the most hospitable and genuine welcome to our Castle and our City.

How can I help?:

We want our visitor experience to get off to an informed and engaging start, right at the very beginning and as part of the visitor route between the Black Gate and Castle Keep.

To do this we are introducing two costumed interpretation roles:

• Castle Guards
• Town Criers.

The Castle Guards will operate in pairs from the guardroom at the entrance to the Black Gate and will “patrol” the area in front of this building, including the drawbridge and gateway.

You’ll be engaging with paying and potential visitors and setting the scene for an engaging experience inside the Castle.

The Town Crier will be making public announcements within the Castle Garth on the hour for a few minutes and will then continue speaking to visitors, as they follow a walking path around the buildings.

What will I be doing?:

• Talking to people in character (e.g. “surly guard”) about what they can see and do at the Castle.
• Learning about the history of the Castle to share with visitors in a fun and engaging way.
• Operating as part of a rota covering different character roles.
• Full training and support will be provided, as well as costumes for each role.