Newcastle Civic Centre

Civic centre: Council Chamber, banqueting hall, associated civic suite and local government offices. Designed 1950, site start 1956, 4-storey blocks 1958, 12 storey block 1960-63, council suite 1965. G W Kenyon, City Architect. Concrete structure, faced generally with Portland stone ashlar, also Cornish granite, Broughton Moor stone, hand made bricks; double glazed windows, bronze frames. Many high quality materials internally, including Norwegian slate, Portuguese marble, English oak, travertine. Courtyard plan:- 12 storey office block to north (with tower and carillon at west end), 4-storey blocks to east and south (rates hall), 2 and 3-storey civic suite to west over vaulted arcade, banqueting hall extending to north and elliptical council chamber on columns extending to west. Civic suite especially designed to very high standard, showing Celtic/Scandinavian influences and executed with a high standard of craftsmanship. Building contains important examples of public art, including:- Geoffrey Clarke: aluminium gates at main entrance and in banqueting hall; David Dewey: carved lettering; John Hutton: engraved glass screen in entrance area; J R Murray:' sea horses on carillon; Victor Pasmore: glazed murals in rates hall; John Piper: Aubusson Tapestry, north wall of banqueting hall; Charles Sansbury: external flambeaux and metal screens: David Wynne: River God Tyne external sculpture and Swans in Flight (courtyard). Also the Wren stone, adjacent to south door of block 3 -understood to be one of the original stones selected by Wren for St Pauls Cathedral 'and bears his signature of approval'. The Civic Centre is an important public building of the period; the quality of materials and craftsmanship is extremely high and the building contains numerous works of art of high quality. LISTED GRADE 2*