2010

NZ1665 : Former Mechanics Institute, High Street, Newburn

taken 14 years ago, near to Newburn, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England

Former Mechanics Institute, High Street, Newburn
Former Mechanics Institute, High Street, Newburn
Was used as an elderly persons' residence but this closed in 2004. The building has been the subject of several applications for demolition.
An ornate and very attractive building, built by Spencer's Steelworks in 1884.

The Spencer family were early industrialists operating in Newburn. The first John Spencer established a mill for the manufacture of files at the beginning of the C19th century. His son, also named John, was Managing Director of a huge industrial concern employing 1,500 workers. They made steel plates, springs and other items for the railway, shipping, armaments and mining industries all over the world. The large steel plates for the ship Mauretania were made in the Newburn factory. The factories were closed in 1926 and demolished in 1933. LinkExternal link (Archive LinkExternal link )

The Institute provided an alternative to the village public houses and alcohol was usually forbidden. It provided a reading room, library and rooms for lectures, meetings and parties. The clock in the end wall was provided to aid people catching trains from the nearby station but the Institute was struck by lightening shortly after it was built and it failed to work.

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Andrew Curtis and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Building [28] · High Street [16] · Public House [9] · Mill [3] Other Photos: · View across the River Tyne, east of Newburn Bridge ·
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NZ1665, 209 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Andrew Curtis   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Friday, 23 July, 2010   (more nearby)
Submitted
Friday, 23 July, 2010
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NZ 1669 6526 [10m precision]
WGS84: 54:58.9000N 1:44.4449W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NZ 1673 6529
View Direction
Southwest (about 225 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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