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#1 ·
CALLERS FURNITURE STORE on Northumberland Street was destroyed in a huge fire on 30th November 1969, but was re-built on the exact same spot and re-opened in 1971 . . .

For those of you who do not know about this famous Newcastle store, the name of the shop was pronounced ‘CAllers’ and not ‘CORlers’ (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 was, and had been for many years, the BEST Christmas Display in Newcastle, in the days prior to the emergence of the 'Fenwicks Christmas Windows' in 1971.

With the Callers Christmas Display, you could actually ‘walk in’ around the large recessed arcade windows, even when the shop was shut.









On that November evening of 30th November 1969, some mechanical characters in the Callers' display caught fire and led to one of the worst fires Newcastle City Centre had seen for decades. Back in 1969, the shops were always closed on Sundays, but the street was still full of people enjoying the Christmas lights. This was a time when it was still part of the A1 and a busy thoroughfare at all hours.

It was mid-evening when a barman in the Northumberland Arms, looking across the street, saw a display figure in the window of Callers smouldering and sparking. He told his manager, David Richardson, who promptly dialled 999. Also, 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 he also rushed to a nearby telephone box to call the Fire Brigade. "Within two-and-a-half minutes of my call," said the Manager of the Northumberland Arms, "all the windows shattered with a crack and the building burst into flames."

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. In fact, the blaze took hold so fast that nearly 100 firemen, from Newcastle, Northumberland and Durham, armed with three turntable ladders, took hours to bring the blaze under control.

At one point they had to stand clear of the building because of the danger of collapse.

The red glow was visible over the City Centre and much of Newcastle and further afield around Tyneside. As police closed Northumberland Street, firemen tried desperately to contain the blaze, but the flames spread to Michael's nightclub and Richards fashion shop. Pat Watters, chief of the Newcastle Gateshead brigade, said the blaze was the biggest in Central Newcastle "for many years, and it was made all the worse, he said, because the furniture in Callers shop was highly flammable.” The firefighters 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. The near-100 firefighters using 15 appliances and struggled for about five hours to bring the blaze under control, with another four appliances used to extinguish the conflagration using high expansion foam.

It was the start of one of the biggest blazes ever to hit the City Centre, and was to cost the Callers £2m, a massive amount 44 years ago. Thankfully, only three people were injured including the leading fireman

Below are photos of the fire, some taken on Northumberland Street, and another 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.







Durham County and Northumberland County Fire Brigade engines wait at the southern end of Northumberland Street, to help putting out the Callers fire . .



^^ That is ROY CALLER (one of the Callers brothers) in the above photo, standing next to the policeman.


Excerpts from the EVENING CHRONICLE coverage of the Callers Fire . . .








This was the worst fire seen in the 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, just 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 . .



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' (which in 2005 had become 'HMV Record Shop' and I now 'JD Sports') . .


Taken by me, in 2005. The back of the re-built store (amazing that this bit of the exterior of the new 1971 Callers Store 'external cladding' still survives) . .



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 above two recent photos that I took in 2005) are STILL THERE around the back. ALSO below this photo are some other 1970s photos of the front of the store, showing that "John Collier" had joined them in the building, by then . . .





Following on from the above photos of the "new 1971" Store, here is a sad photo of it, with 'To Let' signs showing it about to CLOSE DOWN, in 1984 . .



Three Callers Advertisements. The first is from the 1970s (showing the NEW store in the advert) the second is from when they were still in the old store in 1960, and the third is part of their advertising of the famous annual "Callers International Golf Tournaments" they organised for many years . . .





And, SOME MORE old 'Callers Adverts' (their SLOGAN used to be . . "Callers, The Home of Good Furnishing") . . .


. . . .




AND, a rare item to see nowadays, an actual "CALLERS Plastic Carrier Bag" from their Gift Department in the 1970s . . .




HERE is another photo of outside 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) . . .



ANOTHER photo of the original old Callers Store, seen in 1943 on the left of the below photo of Northumberland Street . .



INSIDE the original Callers Store - photographed in 1966 . .



THE BELOW photos show the part of the Old Store that I remember the most. The fantastic "walk around" windows, that (as far as I can remember) you could walk around day or night.


CALLERS CHRISTMAS WINDOW DISPLAYS . . .

Some are taken from inside one of the walkways during the Christmas Displays in the 1960s, some looking out towards Northumberland Street (during the day and then at night). Fantastic memories, courtesy of the Facebook Site called 'Classic Photos of Central and East Newcastle' . . .





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 Another Christmas Display in the covered arcade of the original Callers building, at the front - Date unknown, but probably (like those above) 'Late 1960s' . . .


5 YET another Christmas Display in the covered arcade of the original Callers building at the front - Date unknown, probably (like those above) 'Late 1960s' . . .


HERE are six more "Callers at Christmas" photos, from the late 1960s . . .








Here is a unique photo of Callers, taken in 1970 from the newly built nearby 'John Dobson Street Flats', showing the actual construction taking place of the NEW Callers building 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!!! This same 'new Callers building' was until very recently 'HMV Records' and is now 'JD Sports' . . .



6 - 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!



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



8 - This 3rd Callers-clock photo, also taken on 4th December 2009, shows the 'dedication' details on the clock, revealing it was erected in 1972 (outside M&S before being moved to its 'permanent' spot outside the Callers shop on Northumberland Street) as a celebtration of their '75th' Anniversary (1897-1972) . . .



9 - The next two photos show the Callers Clock in its modern-day location in the Haymarket, in 2016 (1) With all clock faces removed for repair, and (2) With the repaired Clock Faces being re-fitted. . .




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



MORE MEMORIES of Callers, from other Forum Members . . .

July 29th 2011.

Just looking at the photographs of Callers store in Newcastle.

I worked as Creative Director of McConnells advertising the year after the fire, they handled the advertising for the Callers Group. We were producing the Christmas cards for the following Christmas, and any designs which featured 'candles' were immediately binned.

A simple mistake for a new designer, but thank heavens the client never saw them.
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July 30th 2011.

Always interesting to hear from people who lived through the times when an event happened!

The main personal memory I have of the Callers Fire, is that my mate rang me up and said that he had borrowed his Dad's car and that "Callers was on fire" so we should go and watch it.

Which we did!
August 7th 2011.

The Callers Fire of 1969

Going back to the first post on the site, the one I first came here to read actualy, I have some more information on how it came to be.

I was four at the time but remember that I had been taken to see the display the actual Saturday before the fire, by my grandfather. That year one of the displays was a "gnome fishing in a Hotpoint twin tub washing machine" similar to the one below.



Information about the day of the fire . . .

It was a man on his way home from work that discovered it, as he was having a look while it was free of children, He noticed the smoke coming out of the gnome and went to get help.

The big problem was that at the time there was not a phone box on Northumberland Street, due to the crowded pavements it would have been impractical to add one. The gentleman actually ran down to the fire station on Pilgrim street and rang the emergency bell on the door, as he was explaining to the duty fireman what the problem was the front window of Callers exploded out into the street due to the rapid combustion of windows full of polystyrene, shredded paper and rather volatile paints.

The rest you know, I got the whole story when I was eleven and was at an event held at the fire station for children of St Johns officers, again I was with my grandfather.

The photos you have of the fire were on the wall in the event room and I asked a fireman who actually attended that fire. It turns out that Chief Fire officer P. Watters had asked for the army to attend at the hight of the fire. Had they been unable to contain the fire with in another 30 mins he intended to blow up the buildings around Callers to prevent the fire spreading all the way up the street.

The prevailing wind was blowing up the street and they felt that they might lose most of the street as far as Northumberland Road. It was in the end saved by a drop in wind speed. The fire was carried live on Tyne Tees TV program 'Today at Six', live from the road by presenter Charlotte Allen, a very early outside news broadcast for the station.

As an addendum to it all, after the rebuild of the block of stores, a pair of phone boxes was erected near the end of the store in the entrance to Saville Row. They were paid for by Callers . . . "Once bitten twice shy".
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April 29th 2012.

Callers of Northumberland Street.

The Evening Chronicle yesterday (Saturday 28th April 2012) were asking for people to contribute their memories of the famous Callers store, on Northumberland Street . . .


.

Now, in some ways the most "Historic CALLERS Photo" of all.

Here are the 'Caller Family' just after they had arrived in the UK from Belorussia in 1900, Louis, Isaac and Charlie Caller can be seen on this amazing photo. Their origins as 'Cabinet makers' can also be seen . . .




It was their descendants, Roy and Ian Caller who ran the famous store (and its branches around the North East) in the 1960s to 1980s period. Roy B Caller was born in 1924 and Ian D Caller in 1930.


Finally, here is another copy of the above photo, plus one more "equally old" photo of the CALLERS FAMILY that emigrated to England, plus some explanatory narrative . . .



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#1,132 ·
Cheers, NH. I wonder if anyone (gives significant look) has any info/pics on/about Travers' Showrooms?

I really rate Couves. Not just Carliol House; amongst other stuff they did the (sadly lost) warehouse at the very foot of Hanover Street/Close, and the practice survived to do Haymarket Metro (now replaced by the blancmange mould). Too lazy to root out books to give more, but they were a top-notch C20 practice.

Wilf,

Are you talking about the '1950s extension' to 40/50/60 Bond, at the very bottom of Hanover Street/corner with the Close, with the round end and very high and narrow windows?

Photo (excuse the quality) . . .



I worked in that Bond for about five years you know, and (somewhere) I think I have some architects plans for it!! That 1950s bit was the only area that a 'fork lift truck' could be used. That part was "60 Bond".
 
#1,134 ·
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DEX GARAGE

This garage, and its retention or otherwise, is currently being discussed on the "East Pilgrim Street - Developments" thread.

However, for future reference purposes, I think that a copy of the below information should be stored on this thread . . .


Photo courtesy of 'Paul J White - Photostream' -


On the special architectural and historic interest of Dex Garage, New Bridge Street, Newcastle upon Tyne

Introduction

Designed in 1930 and opened a year later, Dex Garage was designed by Leonard J. Couves and Partners.

Prior to designing Dex Garage in 1930, the architects’ major project in Newcastle had been the 1924-28 Carliol House on Market Street – under the lead architects Tait, Burnet and Lorne – now listed at Grade II.

Dex Garage is a functionalist design largely based on simplified modernist principles, but it also has a number of decorative elements on its front elevation that are reminiscent of the Art Deco style.

It is therefore a building that largely reflects the British and international architectural scene of the 1930s.

Dex Garage timeline

  • 3 March 1930 Building Plans submitted
  • 2 April 1930 Building Plans approved
  • June 1930 Buildings demolished to clear the site
  • 12 May 1931 ‘recently opened’ Newcastle Evening Chronicle Assumed that it opened April/May 1931
  • 1970 South East Extension built
  • 1970 North West Showroom converted to clothes retail unit, Peters Stores
  • 19 January 1972 National Car Parks Ltd. began their leasehold tenancy
  • October 2007 Turntables removed.

Description

The whole façade is geometric in form, with symmetrical towers for the motor lift and passenger lift and stairs.

The flat roof parapets are geometrically set back from the façade, the central flush section raised on each of the towers and the central projecting bay emphasised similarly though not raised at parapet level. The form of the front elevation, with the vertical emphasis offered by the towers and two-storey projecting bay, is therefore strongly reminiscent of Art Deco architecture.

The broad and flattened concrete architraves around the ground floor doors with stylised square raised keystones are also reminiscent of the more angular version of the Art Deco style.

The architraves of the tower doorways are extended vertically to line through with the height of the enlarged ground floor opening. The architraves are continuous with the plinth skirting of the same profile.

Other features that could be described as Art Deco are the raised and layered decorative panels within sunken panels beneath each window of the stair tower and forming a full height panel to the motor lift tower which includes the raised lettering ‘DEX GARAGE’.

The square san serif lettering of ‘DEX GARAGE’ is typical of the 1930s, based upon Eric Gill’s Gill Sans of 1928 and Robert Bonfils’ poster for the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs.

A note on the architects of Dex Garage

L. J. Couves and Partners

Prior to designing Dex Garage in 1930, their major project in Newcastle had been Carliol House on Market Street under the lead architects Tait, Burnet and Lorne.

This Grade II Portland stone seven-storey office was built as the headquarters for the Newcastle Electricity Supply Co. in 1928.
Fitzroy Robinson

The South-East extension to Dex Garage was constructed in 1970 when the new multi-storey office building on Market Street was built.

This was designed by Fitzroy Robinson Architects of London, who also designed the Bank of England building at the bottom of Pilgrim Street. Aukett Fitzroy Robinson is now one of the top ten architectural practices in the UK with offices all over the world.

Rarity

As a building type that effectively concurred with the turn of the twentieth century, and is closely related to the central role that the automobile was to take on, early motor garages hold a very special position in early twentieth century architectural and social history.

Unfortunately, few of these early buildings survive to date. In this context, the Society considers Dex Garage to be of special architectural and historic interest as a rare example of early twentieth century motor garages. (For more information on the rarity of early garages see Appendix 1. For the list descriptions of the few listed examples of this particular building type see Appendix 2.)

In the architectural city guide Newcastle and Gateshead, published as recently as 2009 as part of the new ‘Pevsner Architectural Guides’ series, Grace McCombie particularly notes that Dex Garage is ‘an early example of ramped access’ (p.186).

In this connection, we wish to bring to your attention a recent listing of another car park by English Heritage (EH). In December 2009, EH listed the multi-storey car park on No. 8 Balderton Street, in Mayfair, London – initially known as ‘Macy’s Garage’ – at Grade II. Built in 1925 and opened early in 1926, just five years before Dex Garage, Macy’s Garage was listed by EH ‘for its importance in the evolution of the multi-storey car park as a distinctive C20 building type’.

The role of ramps for vehicular access and their

Significance as regards the evolution of this building type is discussed at length in EH’s assessment of ‘Macy’s Garage’ (see list description in Appendix 2).

Current state

Our understanding is that Dex Garage survives to date relatively unaltered and that all of the original metal casement windows remain on the front elevation, although white paint has been applied over the original black finish.

The original cast-iron hopper heads and downpipes also remain and have retained their original route.

Internally, many of original 1931 features also survive, both decorative and functional. The chauffeur’s lounge and washroom are also still in place, as too are the motor lift shaft (part) and passenger lift shaft.

The original decorative doors to this lift are in-situ on each floor, as well as the steel and mahogany balustrade and handrail to the staircase.

Parts of the original one-car showroom still exist and, though now another parking floor, the original roof level car showroom and workshop remain covered by the original corrugated steel and rooflit structure.

The turntable pits are still in position, although, sadly, the turntables themselves were removed in October 2007.

Local List

Dex Garage was presented to the Society’s Casework Committee on Monday 26th January 2009.

The Committee was concerned that the alterations to the building’s historic fabric may mean it is no longer of sufficient quality to merit statutory listing. Nonetheless, the Committee appreciated this is a particularly rare example and it was felt that Newcastle City Council should support its retention and re-use.

Appendix - Information on early motor garages

Notable early Motor Garages in Newcastle upon Tyne (*extant)

1897 Cooper’s Auction Yard, Westgate Road, Newcastle. T. Dawson; Grade II Listed. Originally built as a ‘horse carriage, cycle and auto car repository’.
3-storey with ramps and lift. Car showrooms on the 2nd floor with larger car lift and petrol pumps added in 1925. From 1926, used primarily as a garage and dealership for motor cars, the 1st floor had a 140ft circuit for allowing customers to try out cars before buying.

1924 Travers Motor Showrooms, Carliol Street, Newcastle. Cackett, Burns Dick; 3-storey motor showroom with a car lift from ground floor to basement.

1930 United Bus Company Depot, Portland Terrace, Newcastle. Grade II Listed.

1931 Dex Garage, New Bridge Street, Newcastle. Unlisted

Additionally, from the 'Sitelines' web site.

Dex is a garage built in the Arts in Art Deco style. Three bay, three-storey face with projecting end towers and central bay, over garage door. The remainder of the structure is concrete.

The car park has been extended over Erick Street and now faces Carliol Street above a one-storey nightclub building. McCombie (2009) - concrete 1930s, by L.J. Couves & Partners, and early example of ramped access.

The building was considered for listing by English Heritage in November 2009 but was not listed because although it was an early example of a multi-storey car park, other earlier ones survive, because the principal elevation lacks distinction and because the building has undergone changes which undermine its integrity (rooftop extension, extension to rear and changes to the front).

The first multi-storey car park to be built in Britain was in Wardour Street, London in 1903. This used a lift to raise the motor cars to the upper decks. Ramped car parks (or parking garages) emerged in the 1920s. The earliest was at Mount Pleasant, in Islington, London in 1922-3. By 1939 there were several ramped car parks in London but they were rare elsewhere. Buildings plans for the multi-storey car park in Newcastle were approved in 1930. The car park was open by 12 May 1931. The name Dex was in homage to the Lex Garage in Brewer Street, London of 1929 (listed grade 2), and was a pun on its parking decks. L.J. Couves & Partners had already designed the 1928 Carliol House with architects Tait, Burnet and Lorne.

The construction of the car park demonstrates the growing importance of the motor car and the need for car parking in the city. The concrete structure was built by Trussed Concrete Steel Co. Ltd of London. The car park is contemporary with the adjacent Paramount (Odeon) Cinema of September 1931. The building was more than just a car park. It had a forecourt for petrol sales, car showrooms, administrative offices, a workshop and a chauffeurs' waiting room and wash rooms. In 1934 plans for a roof top showroom, car wash and offices were approved.

A steel box was added to the original flat roofed uppermost deck in the early 1940s. The garage became the official retailers for Rolls Royce, Bentley and auto agents for Daimler and Lanchester. From 1963 until 1980 the garage was serving and selling Singer, Bentley, Jaguar and Rolls Royce. In 1970 a south eastern extension was built, designed by Fitzroy Robinson Partnership of London. The car showroom was converted to a clothes retail unit. Petrol sales ceased by 1980 and the forecourt canopy was removed. The turntables on each floor were removed in October 2007.

Dex Garage is trapezoidal in plan. It has a steel framed structure with suspended reinforced concrete floors, ramps, roof and staircases. The external walls are white painted rendered brick. The main elevation is symmetrical, five bays in width, with projecting tower-like four-storey sides. The left-hand side bears the inscription DEX GARAGE. A projecting central bay runs the height of the building from first floor level above the venicle entrance. There are three-light steel top hung casement windows. The cast-iron hoppers and down pipes are original. The sides and rear of the building are plain. Inside there are 11 staggered parking floors, providing parking for 376 cars. The ramps have original iron railings. The tower in the north-west corner contains a lift shaft with encircling stairs with a moulded wooden hand rail. Original lift doors with copper glazing. Original timber doors survive elsewhere. Numerous ancillary rooms such as the chaffeur's lounge and wash room, remain. The garage offices and show rooms lie either side of the main entrance. One of the offices retains a terrazzo floor with the word DEX cast within it. Some original signage is retained. The second floor contains the partial remains of a vehicle lift shaft and some original plant
 
#1,137 ·
I find it heartbreaking going down Hanover Street and The Close and seeing what a ghastyl mess has been made of the whole place. One set of steps had gates across it - albeit unlocked, but the steps were in a right state - and another set of steps had been doubled in width and rebuilt in concrete, destroying all character. Pitiful, pitiful, pitiful. And that's not even talking about the new flats there and their appalling, insulting, pig-ignorant name: 'Hanover Mill'. WTF has 'mill' got to do with anything on that site? Developers can be such wankers.
 
#1,140 · (Edited)
I find it heartbreaking going down Hanover Street and The Close and seeing what a ghastyl mess has been made of the whole place. . . . . .
What! ? !
You want to apologise? Its somone else's poor work!
There IS something to apologise for there, but it ain't your place to apologise for remarking on it, and remarking quite properly, I'd say !
You've identified the error. Thanks. So will the correct culprit now please step forward and apologise?
 
#1,145 ·
Judging by experience here in Birmingham from those many years ago, keeping on top (mixed metaphor there!) of the cleaning and maintenance of the canopies regularly was an essential action.

Strong sunlight followed by heavy rain would render the material very worn depending on the fabric; and in due course some hapless shopper would become the very soggy victim of a cave-in had a thunderstorm happened just recently, particularly if the canopy had been continuously left open in similar conditions for some days.:lol:
 
#1,146 · (Edited)
Newcastle Chronicle Ltd
How a Major Newspaper was produced in the 1930s.

Part 9 - 'Editorial & Works Entrance, Directors Lounge, Chronicle Hall, Canteen, Chronicle Club'.











Part 1 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=59969899&postcount=1061 - Introduction, and The Front Office.
Part 2 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=60343047&postcount=1075 - The Reporters Room.
Part 3 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=60725383&postcount=1087 - The Composing Room.
Part 4 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=61159821&postcount=1101 - The Library, Index and File Rooms.
Part 5 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=61419785&postcount=1107 - The Telephone, Telegraphic and Sub-Editors Rooms.
Part 6 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=61477739&postcount=1109 - The Press Photographers, Process, Stereotype and Stereo Jobbing Rooms.
Part 7 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=62112035&postcount=1118 - The Machine Room.
Part 8 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=62396343&postcount=1127 - The Despatch, Transport, Circulation and Excursion Departments.

.
 
#1,154 ·
Thanks for your comments about the 'Newcastle Chronicle Ltd' series, maxtoon.

Only TWO more parts to go, I think, and then the series will be complete.

As I wrote at the beginning of 'Part 1', this series is all thanks to my father, who had kept these old prints for many years, before I inherited them!

I don't think he actually had anything to do with 'the Chronicle' at all, but he did work for Tyne Tees TV for 'almost a week', before he resigned and joined the Merchant Navy. This was in 1960. He was quite a volatile character, at times!

.
 
#1,176 · (Edited)
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We have already (just last week) seen the below two photos of 'Cowens Monument', with (in the second one) the very prominent CROSS HOUSE in the background . .





NOW

Here are a couple more photos of Cross House (with Cowens Monument in there too!). They are both HISTORICAL photos, for one reason or another . . .


1 - The devastating fire of 1919, when ten people died . .



2 - The LAST photo of Cross House taken from high up in Westgate House in 2008, just before Westgate House was demolished . .



AND . . .

A few years ago a Forum Member called Baws, sent me a PM, then an e-mail, with this great OLD photo of (amongst other things) the Woolfs shop on Westgate Road, in the background, also a little bit of 'Cross House' on the right of the photo, and a little bit of 'Cowen's Monument' on the left of the photo.



He is a collector of Old Photographs from down in Catford, and he found the above amongst a load of old photos he bought there. Originally, he thought it was of a local shop, but his internet research led us to our forum, and that is why he sent the photo to me! He knows nothing more about the photo. In it, you can see that the group of people are standing on the opposite side of Westgate Road from the Woolfs shop. The number of the shop looks like, "67" Westgate Road.

They are standing in between Cross House (you can just see it on the right of the photo) and Cowens Monument on the left. I wonder what the occasion was, or what year it was taken? Was the ceremony to do with (say) the re-opening of Cross House after the Fire, or perhaps it was in connection with 'Cowen's Monument' . . . ?

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#1,152 ·
Memories of Tyneside revived by new DVD
September 2nd 2010, by Vicky Robson, Evening Chronicle


From the bustling Quayside market to Royal visits, a new DVD has been produced to show what life was once like in Newcastle.

The film, A Sentimental Journey, features rare archive footage dating back more than 100 years, to 1902.

It captures some of the city’s proudest achievements including the construction of one of its most famous icons - the Tyne Bridge, which officially opened in 1928.

The Queen’s visit in 1954 is also featured in the film. It followed her Coronation when she pledged to visit every major city in the country.

The 40-minute film was produced by the Six Townships Community History Group, a not for profit company based in Bedlington, Northumberland.

Group secretary John Dawson said: “Newcastle always was an important city. It developed from a Roman settlement but it owes its proper name to a castle built in 1080 by Robert II, who was the eldest son of William the Conqueror.

“It became an important place for wool and later, a major coal mining area. And when the River Tyne developed it was, in its time, one of the world’s largest working river ways. It’s amazing really because from there is actually 12 miles from the Tyne at Newcastle, to the sea and at one point, it was all lined with industry.

“And after her Coronation, the Queen made a promise to visit nearly all major cities in the country - and Newcastle was on her list, which shows how important the city had become.”

Other scenes on the DVD include tram buses in the city centre and a look back at the different shops and fashion over the decades.

John added: “At the end of the day, things are changing all of the time and they just slip by us, which is such a shame. But this DVD is a fantastic piece of history. It takes you back through so many changes that happened here and its nice to be able to watch the footage and remember them.”


ARTICLE HERE - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nort...f-tyneside-revived-by-new-dvd-72703-27186653/
 
#1,156 ·
How an area can rapidly change . . .

The exact same area of West Newcastle, photographed from the air on three different dates, over a (relatively short) 40 year period.


1950s



1980s

The same location, almost totally cleared by the mid-1980s.


1990s

By 1992 the very different 'Newcastle Business Park' is fully in place. As can be seen by the white buildings on the right, this site wasn't initially intended to be an 'office-based' Business Park.

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#1,157 · (Edited)
Famous Evening Chronicle vendor retires after 22 years
September 4th 2010, by Vicky Robson, Evening Chronicle



HIS booming voice has been a familiar sound echoing around the streets of Newcastle City Centre, for more than 20 years.

Come rain or shine, larger-than-life newspaper vendor Graham Head has brightened up the day for thousands of people who have passed by his pitch in the city centre.

And now, best wishes are being sent to the 61-year-old – nicknamed Smiley – who has retired from selling the Chronicle at his regular spot near Grey’s Monument.

The much-loved dad-of-one said he was “emotional” about leaving the job he had dedicated the past 22 years to, and described himself as “part of the furniture”.

“I’ve enjoyed myself and I’ve met a lot of people and over the years I hope I have made lots of people happy,” Graham said.

Graham, who lives in Westerhope, Newcastle, with his wife Flora, is originally from London’s East End.

He decided to settle on Tyneside after visiting Newcastle as a clown with the Robert Brothers Circus, walking the elephants up to the Town Moor from Central Station. Over the years his charismatic personality has entertained countless numbers of shoppers at his spot opposite the entrance to Eldon Square, and even landed him in front of the cameras with minor acting roles.

He appeared as an extra in the 1988 film Stormy Monday, which starred North East singer Sting and A-list Hollywood actors Melanie Griffiths and Tommy Lee Jones.

Graham’s familiar face also featured in another film, Paper Marriage in 1992, about a young Polish woman who comes to the UK in search of a paper marriage.

He was asked to be an extra in the production by the film crew, who were won over by his attitude when they spotted him at work selling the Chronicle at Central Station.

Speaking about his retirement, Graham said: “I’m a bit emotional, but I’ll be all right and it’s time I moved on.

“I want to speak up for the rights of disabled people and next year I’m going to go on a course to become a city tour guide.

“I would like to be an ambassador for Newcastle. And if the City Council ever want a town crier – then I’m their man!


FULL ARTICLE HERE - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nort...vendor-retires-after-22-years-72703-27201557/

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#1,160 · (Edited)
#1,161 · (Edited)
Newcastle Chronicle Ltd
How a Major Newspaper was produced in the 1930s.

Part 10 - 'Bookkeeping, Insurance, Leader Writers, Artists/Cartoonists, and finally 'Some Interesting Facts''.










and finally . . .




Previously, in this series . . .

Part 1 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=59969899&postcount=1061 - Introduction, and The Front Office.
Part 2 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=60343047&postcount=1075 - The Reporters Room.
Part 3 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=60725383&postcount=1087 - The Composing Room.
Part 4 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=61159821&postcount=1101 - The Library, Index and File Rooms.
Part 5 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=61419785&postcount=1107 - The Telephone, Telegraphic and Sub-Editors Rooms.
Part 6 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=61477739&postcount=1109 - The Press Photographers, Process, Stereotype and Stereo Jobbing Rooms.
Part 7 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=62112035&postcount=1118 - The Machine Room.
Part 8 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=62396343&postcount=1127 - The Despatch, Transport, Circulation and Excursion Departments.
Part 9 : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=62779635&postcount=1149 - The Editorial & Works Entrance, Directors Lounge, Chronicle Hall, Canteen, Chronicle Club.

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#1,162 · (Edited)
THE LOSS OF OUR STREETS, IN THE WEST END . . .

I remember having a long exchange about this a while back, I think it was on the 'West End Projects' thread.

A number of us were saddened by the (almost total) loss of streetscape in the inner West of Newcastle, and how this almost disconnected the area from the City Centre, whereas it all used to be (simply) 'all joined up', with normal civilised streets of buildings.

I used to be able to walk into the City Centre, down endless normal streets and roads, from my parents home in Crown Street, Elswick (near Westgate Hill School) so I know what it used to be like . . and what it is like now.

I have just stumbled across this PHOTO, that really illustrates this actually happening. In this photo (from 1963) you can see the Elswick and Scotswood areas along Scotswood Road, lierally "in transition".

In this photo there are areas of traditional streets left, then there are some brand new tower blocks, built at 'strange angles' (contrary to the existing street-plan) with just 'space' around them, and then there are some partly-demolished areas with flat spaces waiting for more new-builds.

You can actually see the 'old street houses' just (only just) clinging on (sometimes with nothing now behind them) along the side of Scotswood Road, nearest to the City Centre.

It is (to me) so sad to see THE BATTLE underway, and clearly being lost . . .



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#1,166 · (Edited)
What's the large white building in this photo, just beneath Elswick Hall?

Looks like a theatre from here, but I'm probably mistaken!


It was the "Savoy Cinema" (so nearly a theatre!!) which was on the corner of Westmorland Road and Beech Grove Road (which led down from Elswick Road).

It was a cinema made out of an old church (the 'Beech Grove Road Congregational Church', built 1896) that had been partially painted all white!

It was very cold in there in winter, I can tell you, as it was one of my local cinemas as a small child.

It has since been demolished and is now just an overgrown space with advertising hoardings.

Here it is (painted white on the front as you can see) taken in 1968 . .



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#1,167 ·
This is part of the discussion about this same subject that we had previously, on the 'West End Projects' thread. Makes for an interesting read . . .

The single biggest positive step NCC could make for that part of town would be physically reconnecting it to the city centre in some way. The simple fact is that for all the redevelopment that has taken place there, everything west of the Boulevard "feels" rougher than town, just because of being so cut-off. I don't know what the answer is, but simply tarting up Cruddas Park was never going to be it.
I find that the main problem with the West End is how fractured and low density it feels. You can walk to almost anywhere in the East (Sandyford, Heaton, Byker, possibly Walker) and North (Jesmond, Gosforth etc) of the city from the centre without having to be on a road that isn't a well defined street more than a small handful of times. The city seems to be continuous in that respect and therefore feels connected.

To the West you seem to be able to walk through huge tracts of undefined space (Elswick and Cruddas Park in particular having a lot of this), which like Seamaster's point about the boulevard, makes you feel very disconnected.

If the council looks to start filling in the empty and unused/underused sites closest to town and builds outwards, creating well defined routes to the centre, it would make the West End a much more attractive place to live.
Agree entirely with that, and yet it is only a relatively recent situation.

Until the mass destructions of "streets" and replacement of them with a combination of "nothing" and a "big road" and a "one-off buidling" or a "wall" or a "building facing in a different direction to the previous streetscape" (or whatever) that was planned to happen and then happened in the late 60s and early 70s and "contunuously thereafter" - Western Newcastle was every bit as 'connected' together and to the City Centre as North and East Newcastle still is.

To explain that rather long sentence!

When I lived in Elswick in the 60s as a child, I could just walk down decent civilised streets, continuously, down into the City Centre. You would come down (say) Elswick Road (and you could go off in any direction down real joined up "streets", but you could also keep on going up to 'the Big Lamp').

Then, on past the Big Lamp down Westgate Road (the West Road and Elswick Road 'merged' at the Big Lamp heading into town) past an increasing number of shops (including the, still there, bike shops) and into the early parts of the City Centre. You would pass the three cinemas (The Pavilion, The Stoll, The Essoldo) all very civilised . . and then you were into the City Centre.

I chose the 'Elswick Road/Wesgate road' route, but you could use Wesmorland Road (next one South) or Scotswood Road (next one South again) and you could divert off at right angles all the way along ANY of them, and you would still be going down normal civilised STREETS!!!!

OK, it was never a rich/middle class area and a lot of the housing needed replacing (no doubt) but they didn't have to DESTROY the STREETS.

This was a continuous City, it could so easily have remained that, it SHOULD have remained that.

For goodness sake, the MESS it is now in, the separation and the tracts of 'undefined space' are everywhere . . you cannot even walk the short distance to the ARENA (very close to the City Centre) without feeling it!

It is (purely) a 'planned' and 'planning' disaster, continuously (not just 60s and 70s) over the last 40 years or so. It is almost beyond saving. What is worse, I am pretty certain that this separation/devastation/undefined space issue, is not realised /noticed where it matters, and that N O T H I N G is currently being 'planned to be done' to repair it. Nothing.

Rant over . . (not worth ranting, nothing will happen)
number of posts that hit the nail on the head there.

Westgate Road is the only 'route' out of the centre that feels like a real city street with a bit of life to it and this stops as soon as you hit the Tower Blocks at the top of the hill. There is some more urbanity and activity further west around the hospital, wingrove road etc, but atm there's a big gap between this and the city. Flatten the huge area of council housing at Arthur's Hill, reconnect the two with dense housing on legible, coherent streets and it would help to spread the positives qualities of the city centre westward.

Scotswood Road is, sadly, probably too far gone now to attempt this. And it's only not because of Cruddas Park, but the more lowrise council flats/maisonettes nearer the city centre, and the College, which treats Scotswood Road as nothing more than a carpark entrance.
My parents Map of 1950s Newcastle (that I used on the 'Historic Newcastle' thread to show the pre-CME City Centre) now really clearly shows the route I used to walk, that I describe in the above post . . . with normal streets all-the-way!!
^wish it still looked like that Historian.

. . . and this photo along Westgate Road, captures what we have lost :

 
#1,172 ·
I'm sure it had been on fire at least once before it was demolished.

You are right about the Arson problem in the West End though, particularly the Elswick, Benwell and Scotswood areas.

Until last July, I lived in the lower end of Grainger Park Estate, just off Elswick Rd, and within the previous 18-24 monhts, there were numerous house, shop and car fires either in my own street, or within a few yards.

I'm pretty certain who some of the culprits were, but as with any crime, its catching them in the act thats the problem.

Its sad as I'd lived there all my life, but I'm now so glad I no longer live in Benwell.
 
#1,171 ·
^^

I have now studied an enlargement of the photo, and I don't think it is anything 'overlaid' on the photo - though I can see what you mean!

They just appear to be VERY newly laid (clean) concrete type roads, and if you look at some of the roads near and through the new flats in the centre of the photo, they are much the same in colour and appearance, for the same reason.
 
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