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Kali Lindsay

The 13 historic buildings at risk in Newcastle

When you walk around Newcastle it is safe to say there are beautiful buildings that have been around for generations.

But for some buildings, sadly, their future might not be so safe.

A look at Historic England's Buildings At Risk register shows that some of the city's well-known landmarks are in a poor condition and need work to be saved.

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The Cooperage on the Quayside is deteriorating due to a lack of maintenance, while a number of buildings on Grey Street are in a poor condition and suffering from rot.

Woolsington Hall, which was gutted by a fire in 2015, is also on the list, but repair works to make the structure wind and weather tight are under way. A number of churches and cemeteries across the city also make the register.

Here are the buildings that are on the list:

The Cooperage, Quayside

The former Cooperage pub on Newcastle's Quayside (Newcastle Chronicle)

Designation: Grade II listed

Condition: Poor

Occupancy: Vacant/Not in use

One of a group of late-medieval buildings on the Newcastle-upon-Tyne water front. Sandstone ground floor, supporting timber-framed upper floors.

Gabled front of one bay and three storeys, with jettied first and second floors.

Originally a merchant house and more recently a public house and restaurant.

The building is vacant and deteriorating due to a lack of maintenance.

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Church of All Saints, Pilgrim Street

Designation: Grade I listed

Condition: Poor

Occupancy:  Vacant/Not in use

Former church, built between 1786-96 by David Stephenson to replace a medieval church on the same site. Classical style, with baroque tower.

All Saints was closed by the Church of England in 1961 and the building was subsequently occupied as an urban studies centre and concert hall before being temporarily used for worship by a faith group.

Some works have been undertaken to stem the ingress of rainwater, however, further repairs are required and a new use needs to be found.

The building has been subject to heritage crime. Discussions are underway about the site’s future.

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The Keelmen's Hospital, City Road

Keelmen's Hospital off City Road (newcastle chronicle)

Designation: Grade II listed

Condition: Fair

Occupancy: Vacant/Not in use

Almshouses  was constructed in 1701 for keelmen and keelmen's widows.

The building was last used as student accommodation but is now vacant and disused.

It was a target of vandalism but the owner has improved security. Options for re-use are being actively explored.

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5-13, Grey Street

5-13 Grey Street (Newcastle Chronicle)

Designation: Listed Building grade II*, CA

Condition: Poor

Occupancy: Part occupied/part in use

Four-storey shops and houses built circa 1835, probably by John Wardle for Richard Grainger.

The property is now largely vacant and roof and rainwater goods in a poor condition with spalling and delamination shown on elevations.

Interior suffering from dry rot. Proposals for reuse are being discussed.

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Presbytery attached to St Michael's church, Westmorland Road

St Michaels Church,Westmorland road (Newcastle Chronicle)

Designation: Listed Place of Worship grade II*

Condition: Poor

Occupancy: Vacant/Not in use

A three-storey presbytery, attached to the south-east corner of St Michael's church, with a gabled front, stone walls and slated roofs.

The building has not been actively used for some time. Gutters are choked with vegetation, there is some water ingress, and internal cracks adjacent to the end gable wall could indicate structural movement.

Many of the external building elements are deteriorating and in need of a comprehensive programme of repairs. Discussions are underway to find a new use for the building.

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Church of St Michael with St Lawrence, Avondale Road, Byker

Church of Saint Michael and Saint Lawrence, Byker (Newcastle Chronicle)

Designation: Listed Place of Worship grade II

Condition: Poor

Parish church built in1862-63 to the design of WL Moffat. A north aisle and vestry were added in 1936.

The building has suffered from roof leaks, general dampness and heritage crime.

Urgent repairs were completed in 2013 with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic England Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme.

Further funding was awarded in 2017, through the Heritage Lottery Fund Grants for Places of Worship scheme, for a supplementary phase of repairs to enable the building to dry out.

Those repairs are due to be completed in 2018.

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Woolsington Hall, Woolsington

Designation: Grade II listed

Condition: Very bad

Occupancy: Vacant/ Not in use

A compact late-C17 country house, with later additions.

It has service buildings, all set in fine gardens and parkland.

A planning application to convert the building to a five-star hotel and spa was approved by the Local Authority in 2015.

The Hall was gutted by a fire in December 2015 and the owners are now carrying out stabilisation and repair works to make the structure wind and weather tight.

Life Transformation Church (former Church of St Paul), Havelock Place, High Elswick

Life Transformation Church, Havelock Place (Newcastle Chronicle)

Designation: Listed place of worship Grade II

Condition: Poor

Former parish church of 1856-9 designed by John Dobson. Closed in 2006, the church lay vacant and subject to heritage crime.

It was taken over by the Life Transformation Ministry in 2009.

Funding through the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic England Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme enabled a first phase of urgent repairs to be completed in 2014.

Further funding, this time through the Heritage Lottery Fund Grants for Places of Worship scheme, facilitated a second phase of urgent repairs that were completed in 2017.

Further works are required to secure the site's long-term use.

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Church of St Luke, Claremont Road, Newcastle upon Tyne

St Luke's Church (Newcastle Chronicle)

Designation: Listed Place of Worship Grade II

Condition: Fair

Completed in 1890 to designs by Oliver & Leeson, St Luke's has a short nave with south porch, paired transepts and a chancel with north vestry and south chapel.

It is constructed of red brick with steeply pitched roofs of Welsh slate, stone window surrounds and a west belfry. A scheme of external repairs was completed in 2014.

Proposals for the repair of the interior are being developed to enable the main body of the church to be brought back into use for worship.

Whilst these proposals develop, the adjoining parish hall is temporarily being used for worship

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Christ Church (and hall attached), Shieldfield Green

Christ church Shieldfield green (Newcastle Chronicle)

Designation: Listed Place of Worship Grade II

Condition: Poor

Parish church of 1859-61, by AB Higham, constructed of squared sandstone with ashlar dressings and Welsh slate roofs.

The roofs are coming to the end of their life and water ingress is damaging internal plaster work.

Funding, through the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic England Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme, allowed a first phase of roof repairs to be completed in 2015.

Discussions are under way about a second phase.

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Church of St Matthew, Summerhill Street

Church of St Matthew Summerhill street (Newcastle Chronicle)

Designation: Listed Place of Worship Grade II

Condition: Fair

Built in 1877 by the local architect RJ Johnson, with a striking west tower added in 1895 by Hicks & Charlewood.

The church has sandstone walls and a roof of plain clay tiles. The interior is tall and spacious with double aisles on either side of the nave.

Funding, through the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic England Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme, enabled the completion of repairs to the nave and chancel roofs, and rainwater pipes, in 2014.

A phased programme of work is being developed to address issues affecting the external stonework.

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St John's Cemetery, Newcastle upon Tyne

St Johns cemetery, Elswick (Newcastle Chronicle)

Designation: Registered Park and Garden grade II, 4 LBs

Condition: Generally satisfactory but with significant localised problems

A burial board cemetery dating back to 1857 where the twinned northern entrance lodges and ornate joining arch (all listed grade II) are derelict and subsiding, the latter permanently propped.

The chapels (grade II) are unused and fenced off although in fair condition. Boundary walls are subsiding.

Many monuments are in poor condition, including the Mather Tomb (grade II), which is also fenced-off to prevent further damage.

Terraces and steps on Miser Hill are in poor condition and overgrown.

Westgate Hill Cemetery, Newcastle upon Tyne

Westgate Hill Cemetery in Newcastle (Newcastle Chronicle)

Designation: Registered Park and Garden grade II, 4 LBs, part CA

Condition: Generally satisfactory but with major localised problems

One of the earliest garden cemeteries in England (1829) and the earliest in the North East.

Despite having lost its chapel, and the original layout being obscured by vegetation, the character of the site remains legible.

The remaining monuments are of a style particular to early cemeteries and many have been damaged through weathering, vandalism and ivy growth.

Invasive weeds and scrub, along with vandalism, anti-social behaviour and minimal management, risks the loss of further legibility and fabric.

Liaison with the Council has developed a project to produce a conservation plan for the site.

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