Julia Say wrote:Northumberland looked to Edinburgh, not London, as its social centre at this time.
Although the connection to Edinburgh was very important at the time, I have read recently in an early 19th Century publication:
There are more people in Newcastle familiar with London than in many a town far closer to that city.Thomas Bewick worked in London for a while, and Charles Avison, the composer worked in both cities.
This time saw a massive increase in the coal trade from the Tyne with the introduction of steam pumps to allow access to deeper reserves. This in turn lead to the expansion of other industries, which could make use of such a ready source of energy. So Tyneside drew in new workers of all classes from all directions, and exported a significant number highly skilled technologists to other industrial parts of the Nation.
A very complex picture.
Barry