Victorian china fairing company developed a mass production method that no other company could match, thereby achieving an advantage over other firms. The subject matter that inspired fairings varies widely and provides an interesting insight into the popular culture of the Victorian era. Popular songs and music hall numbers inspire some of them, such as "Jenny Jones and Ned Morgan" and "Champagne Charlie is my name". Others commemorate notable people or buildings such as Ladies of Llangollen (relating to the scandalous affair of Lady Eleanor Butler and Lady Sarah Ponsonby) or "The Model of Laxey" (the Laxey Wheel on the Isle of Mann,
The Newcastle Eccentrics of the 19th century The Newcastle Eccentrics of the 19th century The Newcastle Eccentrics were a group of unrelated people who lived in and around the centre of Newcastle and its Quayside between the end of the 18th and early/mid 19th century. Around the end of the 18th century and the early and mid 19th century there were many characters frequenting the town centre and quayside of old Newcastle, These were characters who were described as "Worthies", "Props" or "Eccentrics" and would later be more gently described as "unfortunates". All had some form of physical or mental disability, but were looked upon as "unfortunates"