| The Mansion House | |
|---|---|
 The building in 2007 | |
| Location | Fernwood Road, Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Coordinates | 54°59′05″N1°36′15″W / 54.9847°N 1.6041°W |
| Built | 1880 |
| Architectural style(s) | Gothic Revival style |
  Shown in Tyne and Wear | |
The Mansion House is a historic building in Fernwood Road in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, a city in Tyne and Wear, in England. The building, which accommodates the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne, is a locally listed building. [1]
The first mansion house in Newcastle upon Tyne was a building on the Quayside which was built in brick and completed in 1691. [2] Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was entertained at the old mansion house in August 1795. [3] By the mid-19th century it was in a dilapidated condition and it was used as a timber warehouse for a while until it was burnt down in 1895. [4] [lower-alpha 1]
The current structure was commissioned as a pair of private villas. The site selected by the developer was on open land on the north side of Fernwood Road. [6] The two villas were designed in the Gothic Revival style, built in rubble masonry and were completed in 1880. The villa of the left was named Kelso House, while the villa on the right was named Thurso House. [7] The design involved a main frontage of six bays (three bays for each villa) facing onto Fernwood Road. The left hand bay of Kelso House and the right hand bay of Thurso House were gabled and projected forward as pavilions. The right hand bay of Kelso House and the left hand bay of Thurso House (these bays adjoined each other) were fenestrated by bay windows on the ground floor and by bi-partite windows on the first floor and were surmounted by gablets, while the centre bays of each villa were fenestrated by bay windows on both floors but castellated at roof level. [1] [8]
Kelso House was originally the home of James Pyman, who was a shipowner. [9] [10] By the early 20th century, it had become the home of John Tweedie, who was a manager at shipbuilders, Wigham Richardson, and his son, George Frederick Tweedy, who was a director of shipbuilders, Swan Hunter. [11]
Meanwhile, Thurso House was originally the home of a local shipping merchant, Benjamin John Sutherland. [12] When the opportunity arose, in the early 20th century, the Sutherland family acquired Kelso House and amalgamated the two villas into one structure. A porte-cochère was added onto the front of the former Kelso House. In 1918, Benjamin's son, Arthur Sutherland, became Lord Mayor of Newcastle. He used it to host lavish parties and on his death, in 1953, he gifted the house to the city. [1]
Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, visited the mansion house, inspected a guard of honour from the 4th / 5th Battalion of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, and had lunch there with civic leaders on 29 October 1954. [13] [14] A Nobel Peace Prize, which had been presented to former Foreign Secretary, Arthur Henderson, for his work on disarmament in 1934, was stolen during a burglary at the mansion house in April 2013. A lock of hair, which had belonged to Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood, who was second-in command of the British fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805, was also stolen. [15] [16]
Prince Andrew, Duke of York chose the building, in September 2015, for the launch of a campaign by the Children's Foundation, of which he was the patron, [17] to help young people to improve their mental health. [18] As well as being the official residence of the lord mayor, the building is used for weddings and civil partnership ceremonies. [5]
Works of art in the mansion house include a portrait by Frank O. Salisbury of Sir Arthur Sutherland [19] and a portrait by Alfred Priest of Arthur Henderson. [20] There are also two paintings by James Wilson Carmichael, one depicting Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at Granton Pier in Edinburgh [21] and the other depicting a cutter in distress to the south of Dunstanburgh Castle. [22] There are also paintings by Henry Perlee Parker depicting local celebrations associated with the coronation of George IV [23] and the coronation of William IV and Adelaide, [24] and two paintings by Charles Napier Hemy, one depicting some fishermen trawling [25] and the other depicting a scene at Falmouth, Cornwall. [26] There is additionally a painting by Thomas Miles Richardson depicting the sheriff's procession to meet the judges in Newcastle. [27]
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located on the River Tyne's northern bank opposite Gateshead to the south. It is the most populous settlement in the Tyneside conurbation and North East England.
Jesmond Dene, a public park in the east end of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, occupies the narrow steep-sided valley of a small river known as the Ouseburn, flowing south to join the River Tyne. In north-east England, such valleys are commonly known as denes; the name 'Jesmond' meaning 'mouth of the Ouseburn'.
Charles Mitchell was a Scottish engineer from Aberdeen who founded major shipbuilding yards on the Tyne. He became a public benefactor who funded notable buildings that still survive today.
John Dobson was a 19th-century English neoclassical architect. During his life, he was the most noted architect in Northern England. He designed more than 50 churches and 100 private houses, but he is best known for designing Newcastle railway station and his work with Richard Grainger developing the neoclassical centre of Newcastle. Other notable structures include Nunnykirk Hall, Meldon Park, Mitford Hall, Lilburn Tower, St John the Baptist Church in Otterburn, Northumberland, and Beaufront Castle.
The Royal Grammar School (RGS), Newcastle upon Tyne, is a selective private day school for pupils aged between 7 and 18 years. Founded in 1525 by Thomas Horsley, the Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne, it received royal foundation by Queen Elizabeth I and is the city's oldest institution of learning. It is one of seven schools in the United Kingdom to bear the name "Royal Grammar School", of which two others are part of the independent sector.
Charles Napier Hemy was a British genre and marine painter.
Newcastle upon Tyne North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Catherine McKinnell of the Labour Party.
Newcastle City Council is the local authority for the city of Newcastle upon Tyne the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. Newcastle has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 the council has been a metropolitan borough council. It has been under Labour majority control since 2011. In 2024 the council became a member of the North East Combined Authority. The council is based at Newcastle Civic Centre.
Byker is a district in the east of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Home to the Byker Wall estate, made famous by TV series Byker Grove, Byker's population was recorded at 12,206 in the 2011 census. Byker is bordered by Heaton to the north and by Shieldfield to the north east. Until 1974 it was in Northumberland.
Newcastle upon Tyne East was a constituency of the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was held by Nick Brown, an independent formerly of the Labour Party, from its recreation in 2010 until its abolition for the 2024 general election.
Thomas Oliver was an English classical architect and surveyor active in Newcastle upon Tyne. He was one of a number of talented local architects who worked with Richard Grainger on the development of Newcastle, but his work tends to be overshadowed by that of John Dobson who has been given a great deal of the credit for the central part of the city referred to as Grainger Town.
The Sutherland Baronetcy, of Dunstanburgh Castle in Embleton in the County of Northumberland, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 16 June 1921 for the businessman Arthur Sutherland. He was Chairman of the Sutherland Steamship Co Ltd and of the Newcastle Commercial Exchange, Lord Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1919 and President of the Chamber of Shipping of the United Kingdom. The third Baronet did not use his title.
Jesmond Dene House is a 19th-century mansion house at Jesmond Dene, Newcastle upon Tyne, England which is now a hotel. It is a Grade II listed building.
Sir Arthur Munro Sutherland, 1st Baronet,, of Hethpool House, Kirknewton, Northumberland, was an English shipowner and philanthropist.
Jesmond is a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, situated north of the city centre and to the east of the Town Moor. Jesmond is considered to be one of the most affluent suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne, with higher average house prices than most other areas of the city.
Below is a complete list of High Sheriffs of Tyne and Wear since the creation of that county in 1974.
L. J. Couves and Partners were a British architectural firm from Newcastle upon Tyne in England.
Henry Perlee Parker (1785–1873) was an artist who specialised in portrait and genre paintings. He made his mark in Newcastle upon Tyne in the 1820s through patronage by wealthy landowners and through paintings of large-scale events of civic pride. Over a period of forty years his work was exhibited at the Royal Academy and the British Institution in London. Coastal scenes of fisherfolk and smugglers were a popular specialism. Through the distribution and sale of mezzotint prints of subjects such as William and Grace Darling Going to the Rescue of the SS Forfarshire, Parker became one of the north-east's best-known nineteenth-century artists. In Newcastle upon Tyne he was central to the setting-up of a Northern Academy for the Arts. Later, in Sheffield, he taught drawing at the Wesleyan Proprietary Grammar School, and in his later years he lived in Hammersmith, London. He had a large family and was married three times.
Fernwood House is a Victorian building, located in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. The building is regarded as one of the oldest and most notable buildings still standing in the area of Jesmond. The building is located on Clayton Road in Jesmond and was commissioned in 1864 by James Stoddard. Construction of Fernwood House was completed in February 1865. Shortly after its completion, it was sold to tea dealer, William Stewart. Stewart served as the Sheriff of Newcastle between 1876 and 1877, while living in the house.
Jesmond Dene Banqueting Hall is a former entertainment facility for important guests in Jesmond Dene Road, Jesmond Dene, Newcastle upon Tyne. The building, which is currently derelict, is a Grade II listed building.
Old Mansion House was used as a timber warehouse until it was destroyed by fire in 1895