Remembering HISTORIC NEWCASTLE - Old Photos, Maps, even Stories . . .

[Newcastle Historian]

On my list of ’51 suggested thread titles’ (see Post 9 of the ‘Planning & Moving Threads & Posts’ thread) at number 42 I suggested a ‘History of Newcastle’ thread could be started. At post 10, maxtoon had the same idea - so here it is.

There are lots of fabulous ‘old photos’ already on our old main (Full list of Projects) thread, that could usefully be transferred over, but I thought I would start this new thread off with some photos (and a story) from 1969.

Not every posting onto this thread needs to have a theme or story, but this first one has . . .

CALLERS of Northumberland Street . . . the fire of 1969.

For those of you who do not know about this famous Newcastle store, the name of the shop was pronounced ‘Ca-llers’ and not ‘Cor-lers’ (as in phone-callers) though it may at first look like that with it’s spelling!

Anyway, on the evening of Sunday 30th November 1969, there were crowds of excited children and parents looking around the Callers animated Dickensian-themed display. Remember, the display at the front of the shop was real competition to the Fenwicks Christmas Window, at that time. With the Callers display, you could actually ‘walk in’ around the large recessed arcade windows, even when the shop was shut.



However, on that November evening one of the crowd there saw a thin plume of smoke rising gently from one of the mechanical toys in the display, and rushed to a nearby telephone box to call the Fire Brigade.

Within a few minutes the entire display, built mostly of papier-mâché and polystyrene, was alight, the flames being helped along nicely by the electric fans powering the toy windmills decorating the ceiling of the store’s arcade entrance. The fire quickly took hold, spreading throughout the shop and into the building’s upper floors by the time Fire Brigade arrived.

They could do nothing to save the building, but their efforts were vital in ensuring the flames did not spread any further, or leap across the road to the other side of Northumberland Street, which would have been disastrous. 88 firefighters using 15 appliances struggled for about five hours to bring the blaze under control, and another four to extinguish the conflagration using high expansion foam.

Three photos of the fire, two taken on Northumberland Street, and the third around the corner on Saville Row, where there was also an entrance to the store. This 'Saville Row' bit actually remained open long after the eventually newly built Callers store closed, as Callers Pegasus Travel Agents.







This was the worst fire seen in Newcastle City Centre for years, causing upwards of two million pounds (in 1969 money) worth of damage. Callers and the adjacent Van Allan and Richard Shops were completely gutted. The building façade was declared unsafe, and demolished shortly afterwards.

Miraculously, only three people were injured.

This next short paragraph, is my own 'personal' memory of that day . . . A friend of mine called me that evening, to say he had seen the fire, and he drove me down to town and we both watched it from a nearby car park!! Looking back on that now, we were both being a bit ‘ghoullish’ doing that, perhaps! But, I remember we stayed because we were so fascinated by it - we just could not believe that our fabulous CALLERS shop was being destroyed in front of our eyes, and that we would never see it (as it had always been) again! BELOW, is a photo of the 'shell' of the building, after the fire had died down . .



After the fire, Callers was indeed rebuilt and reopened a year or so later, with large ornamental pebble-dash style panels above the shop window (see below, re these). I remember it still had a good space for a ‘window display’ at the front, but it wasn’t quite as good as the previous buildings ‘arcade’ style . . . perhaps understandably!

While Callers Northumberland Street store was being re-built throughout 1970/71, the business continued to trade in some good temporary premises around the neighbouring parts of the City Centre. At Saville Row there were various frontages (see next photo) and similarly along Prudhoe Street (see photo a 'bit' further down past the next two). Prudhoe Street led off Northumberland Street on the opposite side to the site of Callers destroyed store, roughly where the Eldon Square entrance / Northumberland Arms Pub, now are.

The temporary 'Saville Row' shops, in 1970.


Below is the temporary 'Saville Row' shops again (a bit further to the RIGHT of the above photo) courtesy of 'maxtoon', from Post 192 of this thread . .
image hosted on flickr


The temporary 'Prudhoe Street' shops, in 1970.


Then, after Callers finally closed down for good, in the early 1980s, the new building changed hands a few times, it was even a branch of Hamley’s toy store for a while, and is now HMV. Remnants of the “Callers pebble dash cladding’ that was above the front window of the new shop (this feature is now long gone) can actually still be seen at the back of the building (see photos, taken in 2005). The remaining cladding at the back is at first floor level, as the new Callers was built with the T Dan Smith plan in mind of eventually being linked to a first floor level segregated pedestrian deck. The (then) BHS/C&A new building nearby (now BHS/Primark) was also designed to receive the pedestrian deck that never arrived, as can be seen from the 'support blocks' sticking out at first floor level, that appear around that building. (Photo of BHS/Primark building NOT shown here on this post)

Taken by me, in 2005. The back of the '1971 re-built Callers store' (now 'HMV Records') . .


Taken by me, in 2005. The back of the re-built store (now 'HMV Records') . .


Hope you enjoyed the photos and the story!


Written later, on 1st November 2009 . . . I have just found the below 1971 photo of the FRONT of the re-built store. This shows those ornamental 'Pebble Dash' panels on the front of the shop, that all these years later after Callers closed down (as shown above in the two recent photos) are STILL THERE around the back . . .


Two Callers 'Advertisements'. The first is from the 1970s (showing the NEW store in the advert) and the second one is from when they were still in the old store, in 1960 . . .



AND, here is a photo of the 'old' store (that burnt down) shown as it was at Christmas 1964, courtesy of the Evening Chronicle, on December 7th 1993 (nearly 30 years later) . . .


THEN, amazingly in November 2009, I find this unique photo, taken in 1970 from the newly built nearby 'John Dobson Street Flats', showing the actual construction taking place of the NEW Callers building (now in 2009 'HMV Records') in the massive gap on Northumberland Street. It even shows the small 'link-through' Callers store on Saville Row, that became Callers Pagasus Travel Agents. A GREAT photo to find!!! . . .



Then, yet another November/December 2009 series of 'discoveries' . . . here are SIX more "Callers photos" . . .

1 - As mentioned in the actual article about the fire at the start of this post, the original pre-fire Callers Store had large ‘walk in’ recessed arcade-style windows, that you could go in and walk around to look at the window displays, even when the shop was shut. This next photo shows one of the recessed 'arcade window displays'. You can see that it is one of the windows inside the recessed arcade area, because the floor 'in front of' the window is made up of the ornamental arcade floor material, rather than of the normal Northumberland Street paving stones. This photo is dated exactly 12 months before the fire, at "Christmas 1968" . . .


2 - Another 'recessed arcade' window display from "Christmas 1968" . . .


3 - This 3rd newly-found photo is dated "Christmas 1969 on Newcastle City Libraries 'official photostream' Website. If the '1969' date is correct, this is a quite SAD photograph, as it must have only been taken a very few days before the 1969 fire destroyed the entire store. Remember also . . the FIRE itself actually started in one of these recessed window displays, just like this one (perhaps in this 'very one', who knows) . . .


4 - Not an 'old' photo, but this is a dramatic photo of the famous "Callers Clock" which was paid for by the Caller brothers, who owned the store, and stood outside the Callers Store throughout the 1970s and 1980s, until it was moved to its current location outside Haymarket Metro Station, where it still is today . . . This is really, the LAST 'physical evidence' remaining today in the City Centre, of Callers ("The Home of Good Furnishing") and their very long-standing presence on the Newcastle Retail Scene!


5 - Another 'Callers Clock' photo, taken on 4th December 2009 . . .


6 - This 3rd Callers-clock photo, also taken on 4th December 2009, shows that it was erected (originally outside their shop in Northumberland Street) in 1972, to celebtrate their '75th' Anniversary (1897-1972) . . .



Here is the clock being presented to the City, in 1972. This article is from the "Newcastle CITY NEWS No. 143", dated September 1972 . .




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[johnnypd]

had no idea that's how the previous building met its demise. do you have any pics of it still standing?

[Newcastle Historian]

Originally Posted by johnnypd

had no idea that's how the previous building met its demise. do you have any pics of it still standing?

Hi Johnny,

Yes, the Callers Fire was one of the famous events in the region, back in the day! The only photo I have available at the moment that shows the full original building as it was, was actually taken AFTER the fire . . . sorry it's so small.



However, I have a wealth of books and pamphlets from that era, so I will try to find the time to have a look through them, and if I find a decent photo I'll 'scan it in' and post it on here. I cannot find any decent ones on the net.




LATER EDIT (NOV. 2009) - Photo of the previous building, now added to 'Post One'.

.

[maxtoon]

Nice post historian ..

I think i've probably got a few images of the original store somewhere .. will try and dig them out and get some posted

[bigchrisfgb]

That looks like another great building we lost, I think I may stay from the thread in future, it's too depressing seeing what we once had.

[Newcastle Historian]

Originally Posted by bigchrisfgb

That looks like another great building we lost, I think I may stay from the thread in future, it's too depressing seeing what we once had.

Yeah, I think you should stay off this thread Chris, with all the GREAT stuff that will doubtless be appearing on here . . . you could end up SUICIDAL!

Nah, you'd better be on here mate, I wanna know what you 'young-uns' think about the "City that you have never seen". Having said that, it won't all be about that, often it will be a celebration of things that are still here, but showing them as they used to look a, few years back.

[Newcastle Historian]

posted by - maxtoon, January 24th 2009 . . .

I just had to post these ...

Absolutely amazing to see how things have changed in Newcastle over the years !!!





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[Newcastle Historian]

posted by maxtoon, January 26th 2009 . . .

Ok guys, as requested !!

enjoy ....

Haymarket looking towards Town Moor 1966
image hosted on flickr


City Centre Looking West Over Pilgrim St, Grey St 1966
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The Civic Centre and Haymarket 1966
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The RVI, University and Haymarket, looking North to Town Moor 1966
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Haymarket looking towards Town Moor 1966
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Grainger Market, Monument and Old Eldon Square, 1966
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[Newcastle Historian]

Originally Posted by hollow man 26th January 2009
Got any pics directly over where eldon square now is maxtoon?

Reply by maxtoon 26th January 2009
sure do ... how about a side by side comparison 1966 and 2008 . . .

image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

[Newcastle Historian]

Originally posted by maxtoon, February 5th 2009 . . .

On the subject of by gone era's, thought you might all find these interesting.

Enjoy . . .

Pilgim Street, 1940s, showing Fire Station
image hosted on flickr


Northumberland Street in the 1950's, when it was still part of the main London - Newcastle - Edinburgh A1 road!!!!
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Market Street, 1950-55
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[Newcastle Historian]

Originally posted by maxtoon, February 12th 2009 . . .

Thought you'd like these images of the quayside from bygone years . . .

The Swing Bridge & the Quayside, 1900's . . NOTICE, there is NO Tyne Bridge
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The Quayside from Tyne Bridge, circa 1970
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Newcastle Quayside in the 1930's
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[Newcastle Historian]

Originally posted by maxtoon, 19th February 2009 . . .

Check out this image of Forth St/Stephenson Works and the area behind Central Station from 1972 ...

Also note the demolition work at Neville St/Grainger St junction, which is when the old 'Douglas Hotel' which contained the famous 'Long Bar' featured in Get Carter, was demolished . . .

image hosted on flickr

[Newcastle Historian]

Originally posted by maxtoon, 20th February 2009 . . .

Two of Newcastle's OLD Bus and Coach Stations, now either no longer in use or not there any more . . .

GALLOWGATE COACH STATION
image hosted on flickr


MARLBOROUGH CRESCENT BUS STATION, 1976
image hosted on flickr

[Newcastle Historian]

Originally posted by maxtoon, 23rd February 2009. . .

On the subject of Pilgrim St, I thought you might find these interesting ......

Pilgrim St Fire Station from the North - Modern view
image hosted on flickr


Pilgrim St Fire Station - Same view in 1933
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Carliol House from the South - Modern view
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Carliol House from the South - 1928
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1930s Pilgrim Street
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[bigchrisfgb]

Has anyone got any pics of what was before Monumant mall, both on Northumberland St, and at Monument. Though it's a fairly new building, I was only 3 or so at the time it was complete.

[Newcastle Historian]

Originally Posted by johnnypd, March 2009 . . . I think i'll have to agree with you there. in all honesty it's disgraceful. let's rebuild the ymca building:



With reply by maxtoon, 24th March 2009

The YMCA Building in all its glory!! The street to the left is the long lost High Friar Street which joined Newgate Street. It was split when Clayton St originally joined Blackett Street. The street runniing left from Clayton St is St Andrews Street which ran from Clayton St up to and past St Andrews Church.
image hosted on flickr

[Newcastle Historian]

Originally posted by maxtoon, 3rd July 2009 . . .

Speaking of the Central Station here's some old photo's I though you might like:

CENTRAL STATION IN THE 1950's
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1920's POSTCARD
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IN THE 1950's
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THE FAMOUS (LONG GONE) DIAMOND CROSSING - SAID TO BE THE LARGEST RAILWAY CROSSING IN THE WORLD (TAKEN IN THE 1960's)
image hosted on flickr

[Newcastle Historian]

Originally Posted by WilfBurnsFan on 6th September 2009 . . .

I was interested to see that the new access road from Sandyford Road into Northumbria University has been named 'Day Street' after a demolished street on, or very close to, the new. Just a gesture, I suppose, but it displays historical awareness.

Reply by Newcastle Historian, 6th September 2009 . . .

Hi WilfBurnsFan - Here is the mentioned DAY STREET, from my parents street map of Newcastle (which I now own) from the 1950s.


Originally Posted by toonlad, 7th September 2009 . . .

Looking at that map of Shieldfield (above) it almost seems like the motorway only replaced a big rail yard - so the communities of Shieldfield have been a bit isolated since even before the Central Motorway was driven through!

Reply by Newcastle Historian, 7th September 2009 . . .

A slightly 'wider' view of the 1950s City Centre street plan, showing more of the "pre-Central Motorway" City Centre, Shieldfield and Sandyford street-plan.

[Newcastle Historian]

Originally Posted by bigchrisfgb

Has anyone got any pics of what was before Monumant mall, both on Northumberland St, and at Monument. Though it's a fairly new building, I was only 3 or so at the time it was complete.

Chris,

This is where Monument Mall is at Northumberland St (corner with Blackett St) - so this shows the buildings that were replaced by Monument Mall there.

image hosted on flickr


I will find a picture of 'further along' Blackett Street, near Grey's Monument and post it later on, and I may have a colour picture of the above corner.

Cheers.

[bigchrisfgb]

Thanks, it's interesting to see.

Personally, by that picture I don't think we lost anything with that building, I much prefer Monumant Mall to that, though somemay find it bland, I personally think it's one of the best modern/newish buildings Newcastle has.

P.S. For the love of god, will this thread go onto page 2 soon.