The Guildhall is an important historic civic building in the centre of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. It is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The original guildhall, which was commissioned by Roger Thornton, 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 Cas ...

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 typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De architectura'' (c. 10 AD) by the Roman architect Vitruvius. Va ...

. 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 classical order, orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric order, Doric and the Corinthian order, Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan order, Tuscan (a plainer Doric) ...

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 is 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 t ...

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 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 hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

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, Northumberland, Warden near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The ...

, would meet, contains a large 17th century chimney piece, 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. The building has housed the Newcastle branch of the

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a chain of theme restaurant, theme bar-restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos, hotels and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll ...

since the summer of 2021. Guided tours are also available, but must to be booked online in advance.

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 Buildings and structures completed in 1655 Government buildings completed in the 17th century

History

See also

References