The Guildhall is an important civic building in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. It is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

The original guildhall, which was commissioned by

Roger Thornton Roger Thornton (died 1430), the Dick Whittington of Newcastle, seems to have been a country boy who sought his fortune in town. He lived to become 'the richest merchant that ever was dwelling in Newcastell', and three times mayor of that town. ...

, was completed in the early 15th century and had to be demolished after being badly damaged in a fire in 1639. The new building was designed by

Robert Trollope Robert Trollope was a 17th-century English architect, born in Yorkshire, who worked mainly in Northumberland and Durham. His work includes: * Eshott Hall, about 1660 * Capheaton Hall, 1667-8 * Cliffords Fort, North Shields, 1672 * Callaly Castl ...

and completed in 1655. Following a poor harvest, the building was attacked by a crowd of 3,000 angry and hungry local people during a riot on 26 June 1740. Fine woodworks, paintings and court records were destroyed and at least one protestor was shot and killed by the military authorities. Five of the alleged ringleaders of the riot were sentenced to seven years of transportation. By the early 19th century both the north and south elevations had been re-fronted in the

classical style Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...

. The north elevation, which was re-fronted to the designs of William Newton and David Stephenson in 1794, was given a

Palladian style Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

entrance with four

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

columns on the first floor. Meanwhile, the south elevation which was re-fronted to the designs of John and William Stokoe in 1809, was given arcading on the ground floor and a

Doric order The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...

frontage on the first floor. The old Maison de Dieu, which had been completed by Roger Thornton in 1412, was demolished to make way to an eastern extension to the guildhall to the designs by John Dobson in 1823. The mayor and sheriff were allowed to hold the borough courts in the building and it was also the meeting place of Newcastle Town Council until 1863 when the council re-located to larger facilities at

Newcastle Town Hall The Town Hall was a local government building located in St Nicholas Square, Newcastle upon Tyne. History Until the mid-19th century civic leaders had held their meetings in the Guildhall. The town hall had its origins in the Corn Exchange whic ...

in St Nicholas Square. The interior of the building features a main hall which is long and wide and has an

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

ceiling. The "Merchant Venturers' Court" where travellers, sailing in or out of the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wate ...

, would meet, contains a large 17th century

chimney piece The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a fire grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and ca ...

, some fine oak carvings and some religious decorations, while the mayor's parlour is panelled and decorated with local scenes. The guildhall contains a number of paintings by George Bouchier Richardson (1822–1877) of local scenes, including the Entrance to the Side, the Pandon Gate, the old

Tyne Bridge The Tyne Bridge is a through arch bridge over the River Tyne in North East England, linking Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. The bridge was designed by the engineering firm Mott, Hay and Anderson, who later designed the Forth Road Bridge, ...

, the old Maison de Dieu and the old Exchange.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Newcastle upon Tyne Grade I listed buildings in Tyne and Wear City and town halls in Tyne and Wear Government buildings completed in 1655

History

See also

References