Tyne and Wear HER(9042): Benwell, Benwell Lane, The Mitre PH (Benwell Towers) - Details
9042
Newcastle
Benwell, Benwell Lane, The Mitre PH (Benwell Towers)
Benwell
NZ26SW
Domestic
Dwelling
House
Early Modern
C19
Extant Building
House, later bishop's house and chapel, now public house. 1831 by John Dobson for
Thomas Crawhall; chapel added 1887. Ashlar with plinth; rendered ashlar and
coursed squared sandstone left wing; Welsh slate roof to chapel. Main house roof
not visible, other roofs graduated Lakeland slate and Welsh slate. Main house:
irregular plan, castle style. 2 high storeys, scattered fenestration. Projecting
third bay contains double panelled door in Tudor arch. Windows of 2, 3 and 4
lights, some blind, with chamfered stone mullions and transoms and drip moulds.
Battlemented parapet to roof with central turret. Left wing: 2 storeys, 8 bays
and 3-bay house at left in plain style; sash windows and blind windows; hipped
roofs. Former chapel at rear in Perpendicular style has 4 bays and linking bay
with oriel window. Interior shows closed-string stair with barley-sugar balustrade,
grip handrail and newels with pendants. Library has Jacobean-style panelling and
ceiling. Panelled ceilings with Tudor bosses in other ground floor rooms; marble
chimney pieces. Historical note: donated in 1881 by J.W. Pease, the Quaker banker,
to the Diocese of Newcastle created in 1882. The previous building on the site,
the home of the Shafto family; incorporated a tower house. Sources: W.H.Knowles
"Benwell Tower, Newcastle" Archaeologia Aeliana series 2 vol. XIX, pp 88-98;
W.S.F. Pickering (ed.) A Social History of the Diocese of Newcastle 1882-1982
1982, pp 47-49. LISTED GRADE 2
2117
6448
NZ21176448
Department of National Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural and Historic Interest, 11/94; N. Pevsner and I. Richmond, second edition revised by G. McCombie, P. Ryder and H. Welfare, 1992, The Buildings of England - Northumberland, page 515; W.H.Knowles "Benwell Tower, Newcastle" Archaeologia Aeliana series 2 vol. XIX, pp 88-98;
W.S.F. Pickering (ed.) 1982, A Social History of the Diocese of Newcastle 1882-1982, pp 47-49; T. Faulkner and A. Greg, 1987, John Dobson Newcastle Architect 1787-1865; T. Quinn, 1990, Bygone Benwell; Archaeological Research Services, 2010, The Mitre, Benwell, Newcastle upon Tyne - Archaeological Assessment and Building Recording; Bennison, B, 1998, Lost Weekends, A History of Newcastle's Public Houses, Vol 3, The West