Newcastle Town Hall

The Town Hall was a local government building located in St Nicholas Square, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Newcastle Town Hall
The Town Hall (on the left of the picture)
LocationNewcastle upon Tyne
Coordinates54.97052°N 1.61221°W / 54.97052; -1.61221
Built1863
Demolished1973
ArchitectJohn Johnstone
Architectural style(s)Italian Neoclassical style
Shown in Tyne and Wear

History

Until the mid-19th century civic leaders had held their meetings in the Guildhall.[1] The town hall had its origins in the Corn Exchange which was designed by John and Benjamin Green and built in stone in St Nicholas Square (between the Bigg Market and the Cloth Market) by a private company in 1839.[2]

The foundation stone for the new town hall was laid by the mayor, Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell, in 1855.[3] The design, which was undertaken by John Johnstone in the Italian Neoclassical style, 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.[4] The design also involved a council chamber and municipal offices for Newcastle Town Council.[4] 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 back frontage, facing onto the Bigg Market, had a tower with a cupola.[3] The works, which cost some £50,000, were completed in 1863.[5]

The Kennel Club held its first organised dog show in the assembly hall in the building in 1859.[6] The town council, which became a city council in 1882,[7] failed to maintain the building properly and the tower had to be demolished in the 1930s.[8]

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 1968.[9] A "winter zoo" involving lions, tigers, monkeys, exotic birds and snakes continued to be held in the building in the late 1960s[10][11] but, ultimately, the town hall had to be demolished in 1973.[12] The site was subsequently redeveloped to create a complex of modern office buildings known as No. 1 Cathedral Square (the southern section)[13] and Stanegate House (the northern section).[14]

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References
  1. Ford, Coreena (3 February 2016). "Café at Newcastle's Guildhall could be on the horizon as leisure entrepreneur makes plans". The Chronicle. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  2. "Newcastle St Nicholas and the Corn Exchange, 1854". Co-curate. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  3. Johnson, Michael Andrew (1 October 2008). "Architectural Taste and Patronage in Newcastle upon Tyne 1870-1914" (PDF). University of Northumbria. p. 72. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  4. "Newcastle upon Tyne". Kelly's Directory of Northumberland. 1894. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  5. "Town Hall & Corn Market, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England". Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal. 1 October 1858. p. 331.
  6. "History of the Kennel Club". Kennel Club. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  7. "Recalling the fascinating history of the city of Newcastle - from A to Z". Chronicle Live. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  8. "Step back in time to Newcastle's Bigg Market and a 'lost' England of 1920". Chronicle Live. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  9. Keiran Southern (2015-07-15). "Newcastle Civic Centre: A history of one of the city's most recognised buildings". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  10. Morton, David (18 February 2015). "The winter zoo which was housed in Newcastle's Bigg Market in the mid-1960s". Trinity Mirror North East. Chronicle. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  11. "In pictures: Newcastle's historic Bigg Market through the ages". Chronicle Live. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  12. "Remember When: Newcastle's Bigg Market - then and now". The Chronicle. 22 May 2014.
  13. "Department for Work & Pensions". The Chronicle. 24 March 2018.
  14. "Integrated Regional Offices". Hansard. 1 June 1994. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
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