[Steve Ellwood]

Some advanced information on this years forthcoming Heritage Open Days which this year will run from 11th to 14th September.

This interesting snippet from the English Heritage web site @ http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/...perties/sallyport-tower-tower-street-ne1-2hy/

Sallyport Tower, Tower Street Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 2HY

Scheduled and Grade I tower forming the Lesser gateway in Newcastle's Medieval Town Wall; Company of Ship's Carpenter's meeting hall above. C14 Town wall; 1716 meeting hall.

Opening Arrangements
The site will be open on the last Wednesday of every month by appointment. Interested parties should contact Dave Heslop on 0191 2116235.

The site will be included in the Heritage Open Days programme as part of the City Guides tour of the Medieval Town Walls on all four of the open days (11th- 14th September 2014).

Heritage Open Days: Yes
Grant Recipient: Newcastle City Council
Access Contact: Mr Dave Heslop
Telephone : 0191 2116235
Email Address: [email protected]
Admission Charge: No
Directions: Located in Tower Street, Newcastle upon Tyne. Rail: Newcastle Central Station (1 mile) 15 minutes walk.
Parking Spaces: 0
Wheelchair Acces: No
Toilets for the Disabled: No
Guide Dogs Allowed: No

Sallyport Tower is one place that I've never been inside so will definitely be making a booking when it becomes available later this year.

This image from the Newcastle Libraries Archive Collection on Flickr:

011998:Stockbridge Newcastle upon Tyne 1880
Type : Photograph Medium : Print-black-and-white Description : A view of Stockbridge with the Sallyport Gate in the distance. Two women can be seen looking at one of the buildings.

Details for all Heritage Open Day events will be published mid-July and will appear on http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/

 

[Steve Ellwood]

Heritage Open Days 2014

I see the directory on the HOD's web site is starting to be populated but certainly looking at the events in Newcastle it isn't finished yet - worth looking at and keep checking back to:

http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/directory

 

[Steve Ellwood]

Heritage Open Days 2014

I see the directory on the HOD's web site is starting to be populated but certainly looking at the events in Newcastle it isn't finished yet - worth looking at and keep checking back to:

http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/directory

More sites now showing on the HOD's directory at the above link and remember that most of the bookable events can be booked from today, 1st August 2014. Some highlights of the Newcastle events:

Good to see that Alderman Fenwick's House is again on the list as it hasn't taken part in HOD's for a few years now.

Holy Jesus Hospital also open - its not usually open for tours these days.

Two tours of Jesmond Old Cemetery, consecrated in the morning and unconsecrated in the afternoon as there is so much to see.

Sallyport Tower (Town Walls) is also open which is a very rare concurrence.

The CastleGate - Newcastle Electric Tramways Power Station - Not been in here so that will be on my list.

Plenty of guided walks, if you feel energetic why not take the Walking the Walls tour, a circular walk around the former Town Walls.

 

[GBDT]

More sites now showing on the HOD's directory at the above link and remember that most of the bookable events can be booked from today, 1st August 2014. Some highlights of the Newcastle events:

Good to see that Alderman Fenwick's House is again on the list as it hasn't taken part in HOD's for a few years now.

Holy Jesus Hospital also open - its not usually open for tours these days.

Two tours of Jesmond Old Cemetery, consecrated in the morning and unconsecrated in the afternoon as there is so much to see.

Sallyport Tower (Town Walls) is also open which is a very rare concurrence.

The CastleGate - Newcastle Electric Tramways Power Station - Not been in here so that will be on my list.

Plenty of guided walks, if you feel energetic why not take the Walking the Walls tour, a circular walk around the former Town Walls.

Just got the T&W booklet today, but for some reason Gateshead is not part of it! Doing their own thing?

Cheers
GBDT

 

[Steve Ellwood]

Just got the T&W booklet today, but for some reason Gateshead is not part of it! Doing their own thing?

Cheers
GBDT

Yes they seem to have pulled out of the joint Tyne & Wear effort for HOD's, only Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland shown on the local site @ https://www.hodstw.org.uk/

I'm sure I recall Gateshead Council pulling all funding for HOD's last year.

There are of course still events, albeit only 9 this year, in Gateshead and these can be found @ http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/directory/town/Gateshead

 

[wj_gibson]

I was a bit underwhelmed by Alderman Fenwick's House, I must say.

 

[Steve Ellwood]

Aldermen Fenwick's House

I was a bit underwhelmed by Alderman Fenwick's House, I must say.

Yes I know what you mean but I suppose that's due to it being a 'working' building but its one of those places not usually open to the public and thus the chance to neb about is unavoidable.

These images were taken during the 2001 HOD's when only the main stairs and one upper room were available:

Images hosted on http://GeordiePhotographs.fototime.com/Alderman Fenwicks House

 

[Newcastle Historian]

August 2nd 2014.

Yes Gateshead seem to have pulled out of the joint Tyne & Wear effort for HOD's, only Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland shown on the local site @ https://www.hodstw.org.uk/

I'm sure I recall Gateshead Council pulling all funding for HOD's last year.

There are of course still events, albeit only 9 this year, in Gateshead and these can be found @ http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/directory/town/Gateshead

Setback for Tyne and Wear heritage open days as Gateshead pull out of co-ordination due to cutbacks
By Tony Henderson, The Journal, August 19th 2014

The biggest heritage event of the year in the North East has suffered a setback with one council pulling out its co-ordinating role because of financial cutbacks. Tyne and Wear Heritage Open Days (HODS), which runs from September 11-14, is the biggest regionally-organised event of its type in England. It has earned its steering group a Star Organiser award, presented at a ceremony in London by national HODS patron Loyd Grossman, National Trust chairman Simon Jenkins and Griff Rhys Jones, president of Civic Voice.

For the last 12 years Tyne and Wear HODS has been a joint effort between the councils of Newcastle, Sunderland, Gateshead and North and South Tyneside, but Gateshead does not appear in this year’s Tyne and Wear HODS booklet which lists events.

Gateshead Council said they would still be backing events and offering buildings for use but that they would not be able to act as a coordinator due to financial contraints. Last year Tyne and Wear HODS visitors could choose from 204 heritage buildings and allied happenings such as walks and talks. This generated 52,832 visits. This compares to 2002 when 84 buildings and events attracted 19,500 visits.


Read More - http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/setback-tyne-wear-heritage-open-7633648

 

[Newcastle Historian]

.

From the "Old Newcastle Project" Facebook Page . . .

Only three weeks until Heritage Open Days - one of the best weekends of the year!

Meet characters from the past around the Castle Keep and Black Gate area on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September 11am-4pm. From a Roman soldier to a Victorian cobbler, you'll be able to hear first-hand the fascinating stories of the city's Castle inhabitants.

You will also be able to visit the Castle Keep FREE of charge, where we're pleased as punch to be unveiling a special display from the Royal Institute of British Architects.

More information on this, and dozens of other free amazing events taking place 11th-14th September in Tyne and Wear, available here: https://www.hodstw.org.uk/

Source - https://www.facebook.com/OldNewcastleProject?hc_location=timeline

 

[Steve Ellwood]

Heritage highlights set to be revealed - North Tyneside

From the North Tyneside Council web site @ http://www.northtyneside.gov.uk/browse-display.shtml?p_ID=554971&p_subjectCategory=23

Heritage highlights set to be revealed
22-AUG-14 Issued by: Angela Melvin

Heritage Open Days are returning to North Tyneside this September, with a record 43 free events and activities for the public to enjoy.

This year's Heritage Open Days run from 11 to 14 September and once again offer a packed programme, including a behind-the-scenes look at the Tyne Tunnel, a unique home which also houses a publishers, poetry readings commemorating the age of steam and special heritage walks.

One of the highlights is set to be a tour of The IRON House in Cullercoats, home of IRON Press and its editor and local playwright, Peter Mortimer. Peter's home will once again be open, on Sunday, 14 September, hosting a journey described as a 'psychedelic perambulation' through almost four decades of creative artists and their eccentric imprints within the house's walls.

Northern Voices will host a special event at the White Swan Centre in Killingworth as part of the Stephenson 200 celebrations, on Friday 12 September. This event includes readings from 'North Tyneside Steam', the recently published book by local poet Keith Armstrong and photographer Pete Dixon, marking the anniversary of the invention of the Blucher steam locomotive by George Stephenson.

For those looking for something a little more unusual, there is an opportunity on 13 and 14 September to tour the Tyne Tunnels, with behind-the-scenes viewings of the control room, new pump room and pedestrian escape tunnel.

Old favourites such as the grade 1 listed St George's Church in Cullercoats; Segedunum Roman Fort in Wallsend; and a heritage walk at the Rising Sun Country Park in Benton continue to feature in a packed programme.

Cllr Eddie Darke, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism, said: "We have once again shown that the heritage of North Tyneside is one of the most exciting in the region and has something of interest to people of all ages.

"We look forward to Heritage Open Days and they are always popular, providing a chance to explore and discover more about both the traditional and more unusual aspects of our local heritage."

Tyne and Wear Heritage Open Days programmes are available free from all libraries and can also be viewed online at www.hodstw.org.uk.

This is the thirteenth year of Heritage Open Days in Tyne and Wear, organised through the national partnership and sponsored by the Port of Tyne.

 

[Steve Ellwood]

Tyne Theatre gives up its secrets thanks to Heritage Open Days

Courtesy of the Journal Live, copyright NCJMedia Ltd @ http://www.thejournal.co.uk/culture/arts-culture-news/tyne-theatre-gives-up-secrets-7716186

Tyne Theatre gives up its secrets thanks to Heritage Open Days
Sep 04, 2014 19:00 By David Whetstone

Ever walked past an interesting building and thought you wouldn’t mind having a peek inside, getting behind an ornate front door, perhaps, or finding out where that staircase leads? That’s the beauty of Heritage Open Days, which will see a host of buildings across Tyne & Wear throwing open doors that usually remain tormentingly closed.

One participating building is the Tyne Theatre & Opera House – currently the Mill Volvo Tyne Theatre but previously known as the Stoll Picture Theatre and even the New Tyne Theatre – on Westgate Road, Newcastle.

It opened in 1867 as the Tyne Theatre and Opera House, the brainchild of Joseph Cowen, politician and industrialist, who saw it as a place for ordinary people to find entertainment and betterment via Sunday lectures. That changed with the arrival of Augustus Harris, who ruled the roost from 1887 until 1896. Grand and expansive, he upped the ante, bringing in West End shows for which better-heeled North East theatre-goers willingly paid top dollar.

Under his management a grand saloon – in keeping with an age of grand plans – was created out of an adjacent building which had been a roller skating rink and hall of varieties. Howard & Wyndham, which built up a theatre empire during the late 19th Century, ran the place from 1896 until 1917, when it was acquired by Oswald Stoll and turned into a cinema, which it remained for years and years, latterly keeping the wolf (and maybe the wrecking ball) from the door by showing seedy cinematic offerings from Scandinavia.

This, you’ll see, is a building with more history than you can easily absorb at a single sitting, as Jack Dixon can tell you. t was my privilege recently to be led by Jack into many of this Grade I-listed building’s nooks and crannies, climbing steep and hidden staircases to reach ever more vertiginous vantage points beneath the old roof, now leak-proof thanks to recent painstaking work. Jack’s history and this building’s extremely complicated recent history are inextricably linked. He initiated a Save the Stoll campaign when the building closed in 1974 and led a contingent of amateurs who paid a peppercorn rent to get the stage put back into use.

Read more @ http://www.thejournal.co.uk/culture/arts-culture-news/tyne-theatre-gives-up-secrets-7716186

 

[Ken O'Heed]

Discover South Tyneside's fascinating heritage - Heritage Open Days 2014

From South Tyneside Council website News and Press Releases

EXTRACTS

History buffs in South Tyneside are being given a rare opportunity to explore the rich architecture and culture on their doorstep with the return of Heritage Open Days (Thursday 11th to Sunday 14th September).

Heritage Open Days provides visitors a unique chance to discover and enjoy, sometimes hidden and often curious, interesting architectural treasures, with free access to properties that are usually closed to the public or normally charge for admission.

This year the four-day campaign celebrates its 13th in Tyne and Wear and there is a fantastic line up of walks, talks and tours taking place across more than 20 South Tyneside venues and locations.

AND

As part of South Tyneside's Heritage Open Days, there will be tours of Jarrow Town Hall, South Shields Town Hall in Westoe Road, and the Old Town Hall in the Market Place, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at Bede's World in Jarrow and South Shields Museum and Art Gallery.

Those interested in local history can also take a Victorian Heritage Walk around the Marine Parks or learn about the history and heritage of South Tyneside with screenings of films made by local film maker Gary Wilkinson and introduced by Tom Kelly, at both the Customs House and the Central Library in South Shields.

Other attractions include South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade Watch House, North East Maritime Trust's old fisherman's workshops, Arbeia Roman Fort, The Customs House, Westovia Theatre, Jarrow Salvation Army, Age UK, One Trinity Green business premises, West Boldon Lodge and Whitburn Windmill.

Award winning artist Graham Hodgson will also be exhibiting a collection of art work on the region's industrial heritage at Creating Change Gallery at 85 Westoe Road, South Shields and the Cleadon Environment Forum will be displaying the natural heritage of the village in the Old School Room at All Saints Church.

St Hilda's Colliery in Station Road, South Shields, is usually closed to the public but will open for the event. The colliery played an important role in developing ventilation, lighting and safety in the mines. The head stocks and engine house remain.

Church buildings taking part include the significant St Paul's Church and Monastic Site in Jarrow as well as Christ Church, Jarrow Grange, St Hilda's Church in South Shields, All Saints Church in Cleadon and St Nicholas Church in West Boldon.

Full article on http://www.southtyneside.info/article/22773/Discover-South-Tynesides-fascinating-heritage

KEN

 

[Steve Ellwood]

Heritage Open Days start today, so looking forward to seeing some photographs from these venues not usually open to the public. :cheers:

 

[Stamford]

Just been to Alderman Fenwicks and in case it's not been mentioned, the first floor conference room, a third floor store room with "original wallpaper" and the roof are all open and accessible as well as obviously the main staircase too. Shame about the flat light and lack of sun currently, but some slightly different views of the city skyline currently available. Only open today too.
If sun and blue sky appear, will go back later too.

 

[Adrian_Swall]

Jesmond HOD

Done three locations today.
Been to visit the Jesmond Dene Real Tennis Club.
Great tour round there. The council have to maintain the outside but the club the interior.
Rules of the game a bit esoteric but interesting building.

Next up a trip to the Newcastle Cricket Club on a very warm day.

Next to St George's Church with a fantastic guide Cyril Winskill.
Beautiful Grade 1 building built in 1888.

 

[Stamford]

Have done 6 today - Pictures will be uploaded later this evening

Alderman Fenwick's House
Tynside Cinema
Brunswick Methodist Church
Grainger Market (but not on the tour as I was a bit late, so was just a walk around the market really)
St John The Baptist Church
The Castlegate

Excellent day with some very knowledgeable guides, the best of whom was the lady at Tyneside Cinema.

Starting tomorrow with The Tyne Theatre at 10am and see where my day leads me from there.

p.s. Only decided to do Tyne Theatre today after reading the article Steve posted from the paper - Rang at 3:15 this afternoon and they were fully booked, but took my number as they were running a waiting list and were possibly going to try to add in an additional tour. Phoned me at 5pm and offered me a place on 10am tomorrow anyway. Just goes to show, it may not be too late if you want to try something that states booking only. Also goes to show how important it is to be considerate if you have booked and find you can't go, to let them know as there may be others on waiting lists.
Even places that state max numbers are not being too strict. Castlegate stated max 20, but there must have been 45-50 on my tour this afternoon.

 

[GBDT]

Next to St George's Church with a fantastic guide Cyril Winskill.
Beautiful Grade 1 building built in 1888.

Cyril is a brilliant bloke. If it's not too late, tell him that George from Planning is asking after him. The very last publication I did at the Civic was for him.

Cheers
GBDT

 

[Steve Ellwood]

Jesmond Old Cemetery

My day was spent in Jesmond Old Cemetery where we had tours of the western side in the morning and eastern in the afternoon.

Well attended for a Thursday (i.e. a work day), about 60 in total and the weather was perfect.

Might get to see some of the events on Friday and Sunday but Saturday will be spent walking the walls

This is an image of the waiting guests for this mornings tour:

Image hosted on http://GeordiePhotographs.fototime.com/Jesmond Old Cemetery - Vol 1

 

[Ken O'Heed]

Dunston Staithes - open to public & work in progress, 12/09/14 Part 1 of 3

These pictures (over 3 posts) taken by myself Friday 12/09/14 in period approx 1245 - 1400 when the timber staithes structure was open on Heritage Open Day 2014

Lower structure was open & upper structure from land up to the first gantry unit, (where staircase in use by Owen Pugh contractors for the works being carried out)

Images hosted on Photobucket

More on following post

KEN

 

[Ken O'Heed]

Dunston Staithes - open to public & work in progress, 12/09/14 Part 2 of 3

Part 2 of 3

These pictures (over 3 posts) taken by myself Friday 12/09/14 in period approx 1245 - 1400 when the timber staithes structure was open on Heritage Open Day 2014

Quite a lot of others on the structure most of them with cameras

including this one Clash01 (Ken Fitzpatrick) with whom had a lot chat after previously meeting him one the Derwent Tower (Dunston Rocket) demolition scheme

Area where main structural works being carried out

Images hosted on Photobucket

More on following post

KEN