Newburn Town Hall
History
Following significant population growth, largely associated with the mining industry, a local board of health was established in Newburn in 1893. The local board established its offices in Mosley Street in central Newcastle. After the Newburn District Local Board of Health was replaced by Newburn Urban District Council in 1894, the town clerk for the new council was initially based in the offices in Mosley Street. After finding this arrangement unsatisfactory, the new council decided to commission dedicated offices. The site they selected was open ground on the west side of Newburn Road.
The new building was designed by Edward Cratney in the Baroque Revival style, built in red brick with stone dressings and was completed in 1910. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of five bays facing onto Newburn Road.
The building continued to serve as the headquarters of the district council for much of the 20th century, but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Newcastle City Council was formed in 1974. The building subsequently served as the area offices for Newcastle City Council's housing department, and was grade II listed in 1987.
The city council vacated the building in 2009 and it subsequently stood vacant. In March 2013, the building was sold to David and Elaine Milbourne, who converted it into a house and base for their businesses, a design consultancy practice and a dance school respectively. The transformation featured on the BBC Programme, Britain's Empty Homes, in 2014. After the work had been completed, the building was officially re-opened by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Linda Wright, and the local member of parliament, Catherine McKinnell, on 2 June 2017.
Architecture
The building is constructed of brick, with a slate roof. It has two storeys, plus an attic and basement. It has an L-shaped plan; the front is five bays wide, while the left return is nine bays. The central bay features a central front door in an Ionic order doorcase, above which there is a cartouche of the former district council placed within a broken segmental pediment. On the first floor there is a sash window which is surmounted by a round headed pediment containing an oculus surrounded by garlands. The outer bays are also fenestrated by sash windows. At roof level, there is a square roof lantern with louvres and a dome.
References
- ^ Historic England. "Housing Department Area Offices (1186074)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Kelly's Directory of Northumberland, 1914. Kelly's Directories Ltd. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Medical appointments. Vol. 2. British Medical Journal. 1 July 1893.
- ^ Tenders wanted. The Surveyor. 19 March 1897. p. 308.
- ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1914. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ "Cratney, Edward". Biographical Dictionary of British and Irish Architects 1800–1950. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Grundy, John; McCombie, Grace; Ryder, Peter; Welfare, Humphrey (1992). Northumberland (Buildings of England Series). Yale University Press. p. 407. ISBN 978-0300096385.
- ^ "No. 45971". The London Gazette. 8 May 1973. p. 5756.
- ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
- ^ "Tyneside couple buy Newburn Old Town Hall". Newcastle Chronicle. 30 March 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ Ford, Coreena (23 May 2017). "Couple transforms Newburn Old Town Hall after investing their pensions into four-year project". Newcastle Chronicle. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ "Spencer and Weir, Britain's Empty Homes, Series 5, Episode 8". BBC. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ "Work completes on town hall hub project". Insider Media. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ "Your events in Newcastle & the North East: A music festival, circus, regatta, doll fair and more!". Newcastle Chronicle. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2024.