| Newcastle Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 The Town Hall | |
| Location | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Coordinates | 54°58′14″N1°36′44″W / 54.97052°N 1.61221°W |
| Built | 1863 |
| Demolished | 1973 |
| Architect | John Johnstone |
| Architectural style(s) | Italian neoclassical style |
  Shown in Tyne and Wear | |
The Town Hall was a local government building located in St Nicholas Square, Newcastle upon Tyne. It was the headquarters of Newcastle City Council until November 1968.
In the 1830s, a group of local businessmen decided to form a company, to be known as the "Corn Market Company", to finance and commission a purpose-built corn exchange for the town. They site they selected was on the north side of St Nicholas Square (between the Bigg Market and the Cloth Market), where corn merchants had previously carried out their trade in the open air. [1]
The foundation stone for the corn exchange was laid by the mayor, Thomas Emerson Headlam, in 1837. [2] It was designed by John and Benjamin Green, built in ashlar stone and was officially opened on 16 November 1839. The corn exchange was 156 feet (48 m) long, 45 feet (14 m) wide at the north end and 82 feet (25 m) wide at the south end. [3] However, by the early 1850s, the Corn Market Company was in financial difficulty, and the directors, who did not have adequate funds to maintain the building properly, agreed to hand over the site to Newcastle upon Tyne Corporation for development. [1]
Meanwhile, civic leaders decided to use the site for a new town hall: until that time civic leaders had held their meetings in the Guildhall. [4] The foundation stone for the new town hall was laid by the mayor, Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell, in 1855. [5] The design, which was undertaken by John Johnstone in the Italian neoclassical style, [6] involved incorporating the corn exchange into the central section of the building as an assembly hall capable of accommodating 3,000 people: a large concert organ was acquired at that time. [7] The design also involved a council chamber and municipal offices for Newcastle Town Council. [7] The main frontage of the new building, facing the cathedral, had four Corinthian order columns on the ground floor and also on the first floor while the rear elevation, facing onto the Bigg Market, had a tower with a cupola. [5] The works, which cost some £50,000, were completed in 1863. [8]
The first organised dog show in the UK was held in the assembly hall in the building in 1859. [9] The town council, which became a city council in 1882, [10] failed to maintain the building properly and the tower had to be demolished in the 1930s. [11] [12]
By the middle of the 20th century condition of the town hall had deteriorated to such an extent that the council was forced to relocate to modern facilities at Newcastle Civic Centre in Barras Bridge in November 1968. [13] A "winter zoo" involving lions, tigers, monkeys, exotic birds and snakes continued to be held in the building in the late 1960s [14] [15] but, ultimately, the town hall had to be demolished in 1973. [16] The site was subsequently redeveloped to create a complex of modern office buildings known as No. 1 Cathedral Square (the southern section) [17] and Stanegate House (the northern section). [18]
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is 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.
Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. In 2011, it had a population of 13,097.
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.
Eldon Square is a shopping centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It opened in 1976 and was built on the site of Old Eldon Square, a famous part of Georgian Newcastle designed by John Dobson in about 1824. This redevelopment, which left only the eastern terrace standing, has been criticised, with one writer calling it "the greatest single example of architectural vandalism in Britain since the war".
The history of Newcastle upon Tyne dates back almost 2,000 years, during which it has been controlled by the Romans, the Angles and the Norsemen amongst others. Originally known by its Roman name Pons Aelius, the name "Newcastle" has been used since the Norman conquest of England. Due to its prime location on the River Tyne, the town developed greatly during the Middle Ages and it was to play a major role in the Industrial Revolution, being granted city status in 1882. Today, the city is a major retail, commercial and cultural centre.
Richard Grainger was a builder in Newcastle upon Tyne. He worked with the architects John Dobson and Thomas Oliver, and with the town clerk, John Clayton, to redevelop the centre of Newcastle in the 19th century. Grainger Street and the Grainger Market are named after him; sometimes the whole area of Newcastle developed in the Neoclassical style around Grey Street and Grainger Street is referred to as Grainger Town.
Newcastle Civic Centre is a municipal building in the Haymarket area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Designed by George Kenyon, the centre was built for Newcastle City Council in 1967 and formally opened by King Olav V of Norway on 14 November 1968. It is a listed building with Grade II* status and is the joint-eighth tallest building in the city, standing at a total of 200 feet (61 m).
John and Benjamin Green were a father and son who worked in partnership as architects in North East England during the early nineteenth century. John, the father was a civil engineer as well as an architect. Although they did carry out some commissions separately, they were given joint credit for many of their projects, and it is difficult to attribute much of their work to a single individual. In general, John Green worked on civil engineering projects, such as road and rail bridges, whereas Benjamin worked on projects that were more purely architectural. Their work was predominantly church and railway architecture, with a sprinkling of public buildings that includes their masterpiece, Newcastle's Theatre Royal.
Coxlodge is an area situated between Fawdon, Gosforth and Kenton in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
The Leazes Park Synagogue is a former synagogue in Leazes Park Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
The Guildhall is an important civic building in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is a Grade I listed building.
The North of Tyne Combined Authority is a mayoral combined authority which consists the local authorities of Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, and Northumberland, all in North East England. The authority came into being on 2 November 2018 under the statutory name Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside and Northumberland Combined Authority. The three local authorities previously formed part of the North East Combined Authority, which still exists in a smaller form. The two combined authorities cooperate on the North East Joint Transport Committee.
County Hall is a municipal building in Morpeth, Northumberland, United Kingdom. It is the offices and meeting place of Northumberland County Council. The current building was completed in April 1981, after the county hall was moved from the old county hall in Newcastle. A statue of a Viking Warrior stands outside the building and was moved there from Doxford Hall.
County Hall is a former municipal building, now a hotel, in Castle Garth, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The county hall, which was the headquarters and meeting place of Northumberland County Council from 1910 to 1981, is a Grade II listed building.
The Moot Hall is a former courthouse at Castle Garth in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The structure, which overlooks the Tyne Bridge, is a Grade I listed building.
Sir William Haswell Stephenson (1836-1918) was an English industrialist, Methodist and philanthropist, and mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne.
The Old Town Hall is a municipal building in West Street, Gateshead, England.
William B. Parnell was an architect active in the 19th century particularly in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. A number of his works on Newcastle Quayside near the then future location of the Tyne Bridge were built following the Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead in 1854. Noted architect Frank West Rich served as an apprentice under Parnell.
John Johnstone (1818–1884) was an architect who was responsible for the design of many public buildings in North East England in the mid 19th century.