Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Originally Moncaster or Monkchester, so called from a colony of monks on the site of a Roman camp. Robert, Duke of Normandy, the son of William the Conqueror, built a castle here for the defence of the town against the incursions of the Scots. This castle was afterwards rebuilt by William II.; whereupon the town assumed the title of Newcastle.
New Cavendish Street. See “[Cavendish Square].”
New Compton Street. See “[Compton Street].”
New Christians. Portuguese Jews of the fifteenth century who, having embraced Christianity under compulsion, secretly conformed to the Mosaic rites and ceremonies.
New Cross. The district which grew up around an old coaching-house, “The Golden Cross,” afterwards rebuilt, and renamed “The New Cross.”
New England. The collective name given to the six eastern states of the American Union--Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut--because the people are descended from the Puritans of England and Scotland, and therefore may be regarded as the only true “Yankees.”
Newfoundland. The name bestowed by Sebastian Cabot upon all the new land that he discovered, but now confined to this British possession.
Newfoundland Dog. A native breed of dog from Newfoundland.
Newgate Street. From the newest of the city gates, first alluded to in history in 1207. The gateway having for centuries been used for the confinement of debtors, it gave its name to the prison erected on its south side. The gloomy edifice which has been demolished within the last few years dated from 1782, after the burning of its predecessor by the Gordon rioters in 1780.
New Hampshire. This state having been granted to Captain John Mason, he in 1629 named it after his native county in England.