We are hoping to add more information to our database of historical places in the North East, so we are calling on all those with a memory or knowledge of an area to contact us at info@northeastengland.org
We are a non-profit website, so unfortunately we can’t pay, but you will get an author mention on the article when it goes live.
Thank you and hope to hear from you soon.
Originally constructed by Richard Grainger (John Dobson was the architect) in 1824, Eldon Square now stands as the largest City Centre shopping mall in Great Britain.
In 2008 money was spent by the owners on the revamp of the war memorial, which is now landscaped and has access to the lower level of shops.
It is currently undergoing major regeneration which will see a large portion of the centre going to Debenhams, previously this space was allocated to the Green Market.
CSC who own Eldon Square caused an outrage when they closed down the Green Market, although the bigger picture was to bring in a large department store, they robbed many smaller local businesses and sole traders of a platform to sell their goods. Many were offered places elsewhere within the shopping centre, but due to less public traffic passing by their trade was cut by a massive percentage.
Eldon Leisure, located on the top floor, still continues to be as popular as ever, with a gym and meeting rooms available for parties and the public. Eldon Leisure 5 a side is very popular with local pub teams, who play on a Saturday morning in the local leagues.
Eldon Square bus station was relocated to make way for the development of Debenhams and Tesco.
It covers 13 acres and is home to over 140 shops, all big brands, it also provides a leisure centre that is used by all ages. Newcastle City Council have a reported 40% share in Eldon Square.
Located in Heaton, Chillingham Road is an area known mainly for its student poplulation and also Chillingham Road primary school. The road itself is the main link between the Coast Road and Shields Road, although another street called Heaton Road takes some of the traffic.
What I love about Chillingham is how the streets are named after numbers, like Second Avenue, makes me feel like I’m in America, but I’m not, I’m stuck in Heaton.
The area itself is growing in popularity for shoppers, especially since the arrival of Tesco and also Sainsburys, which allowed those in Chillingham Road a diverse range of shopping goods, especially Tesco as they are excellent value for money.
The Chillingham Arms is a renowed local pub, your always greeted with a friend smile and the atmosphere is fantastic for any night out.
Newcastle Central Station, is the railway station in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne, England and is the main stop on the East Coast Main Line.
The Central Station was designed by John Dobson for a company which later became the North Eastern Railway. The Station was built in conjuction with Robert Stephenson between 1845 & 1850.
It is a Grade 1 listed building and was opened in 1850 by Queen Victoria, it is also connected to the Tyne & Wear Metro station.
An underground station for Tyne and Wear Metro trains was constructed during the late 1970s, and opened in 1981.
The station is known for its very complex diamond crossing, this allowed access to the High Level Bridge and also th e East Coast main line and is considered to be the most well known crossing in the world.
The Millennium Bridge was designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects and built by Gifford on behalf of Gateshead Council, it was opened on the 17th September 2000.
Nicknamed the Blinking eye, it is the worlds first and only tilting bridge, that costs only £3.60 to tilt the bridge due to the enviromental design of the bridge.
It serves both the walking public and the cycling public, with 2 parts of the bridge that serve them.
It was lifted into place using the massive Asian Hercules II, one of the worlds largest floating cranes.
The bridge is featured on a £1 coin.
Alnwick Garden was first started by the Duke of Northumberland, he employed Capability Brown to landscape the garden in the late 18th century.
The current garden was created by the Duchess of Northumberland, Alnwick Garden is situated adjacent to Alnwick Castle. The land was given by the Duchess, along with £9m to fund the project.
The stunning gardens surround a cascading fountain which is the centre piece, it is also home the the Poison garden. The poison garden has many highly toxic plants, it has special permission from the Home Office to grow plants, like Tobacco, Opium Poppies, Magic Mushrooms and Wild Lettuce, which can be used as a tranquilliser.
Alnwick gardens offers the public a unique chance to see beauty at its finest, every effort should be made to view in person as photos of Alnwick garden don’t do it the justice it deserves. I have seen some photos that are fantastic, especially when it has been snowing as it reminds me of Narnia for some strange reason, they do create a gorgeous backdrop for a Alnwick Garden Wedding.
An image of the Angel of the North stands proudly on a bus shelter in London, underneath the image reads “East England North”.
Now having lived in the North East of England all my life, I have become a bit wound up at the sight of East England North being posted all over several parts of the country.
Why on earth people would want to change the name of the region, North East England has a ring to it, East England North sounds like someone is just making it up.
I would suggest that everyone write to their MP and demand the area to be known as North East England.
Built between 1973 – 1978, the Byker Wall is recognised as one of the most recognisable buildings in the region.
Designed by the architect Ralph Erskine, it provides 620 maisonettes across 200 acres on site, all buildings are in an unbroken chain.
The Angel of the North ranks alongside the Tyne Bridge as the iconic image of the North East, when people are asked to sum up the North East England in one landmark they refer to the Angel of the North.
Designed by Turner Prize winning artist Antony Gormley OBE in 1994, the Angel took several years to manufacture at Hartlepool Steel Fabrication. The structure posed several issues as the span of the wings (54m/177ft) match that of a Boeing 747, as you can imagine it was a project that took considerable patience and attention to detail.
The structure is made from Steel, and stands at 66ft, making it a very imposable figure as the high volume of traffic passes by on the A1 & A167, even more impressive is The Angel of the North can withstand winds of 100mph.
The cost of the Angel of the North was highly debated by the people of Gateshead, especially as Gateshead was considered an area of poverty within the North East, people were outraged that £1m was to be spent on this, however money was granted by the National Lottery which helped to soften the blow, and since then the amount of visitors and revenue brought to the area has significantly dwarfed the cost.
To view Angel of the North pictures you can search the postcode – NE9 7TY.
Angel of the North facts: -
Height – 20m
Span – 54m
Cost – £1m
Material – Steel
Located – Gateshead.
Metro Centre, located in Gateshead, is the largest shopping centre in the European Union. The original land was bought by Cameron Hall developments for the sum of £100,000 and later sold to the CSC for £364,000,000, with the Church Commissioners getting 10% of the sale value.
It opened on the 14th October 1986, constructed with finance from the Church of England Commissioners, and was thought of by former Newcastle United Chairman and current President Sir John Hall, through his Cameron Hall developments.
It was also home to Metro Land, which was a indoor themepark (the largest in Europe), until its closure in 2008.
The transport links to the Metro Centre are quite extensive, buses run from city centres on a regular basis and due to the route they take they have only 3 stops, making them express services. The route itself serves many areas, therefore it suffers a lot from congestion, however it was modified to 3 lanes of traffic to help alleviate this problem.
The Metro Centre also has a massive Odeon cinema, with a VIP service and also an IMax screen which is very popular with those visiting. The cinema took the place of Metro Land which closed due to apparent lack of demand, however this proved to be unfounded as many customers were left furious at the decision to close this.