1-18 Brinkburn Court, Byker Wall

Perimeter block of 161 flats and maisonettes with two projecting link blocks. 1971-4 by Ralph Erskine's Arkitektkontor; site architect Vernon Gracie; structural engineer, White, Young and Partners; main contractor, Stanley Miller Ltd. In situ reinforced concrete cross-walls with concrete strip foundations to each cross wall and ground beams to support external walls. Pre-cast concrete cantilever brackets cast into cross walls. Roadside wall clad in brown, orange and red metric modular brick to road, with pale brick on inner face. Blue metal roofs supported on plywood box beam purlins rising to points over lift towers. Link blocks (Kendal House and Brinkburn Court) have concrete block work cross-walls with pre-cast concrete cantilevers for balconies and access decks built into them, and are clad in pale brick. Three to eight storeys. Two-storey family maisonettes at ground-floor level, set within walled gardens on inner face, with smaller maisonettes above. Tiny windows to north and west sides. Prominent and brightly coloured ventilator boxes. Prominent boiler flue to end of main range. Decorative square patterning to carriageway in Shipley Walk, with decorative stone detailing to inner face taken from C19 building. Gordon House on Gordon Road is three to four storeys with brown timber balconies. In end wall a carriageway with winged figure, perhaps of Mercury, said to be from Newcastle's Old Town Hall. Dalton Crescent rises in steps to eight storeys with blue balconies to inner face and red and blue to external face. Shipley Walk is five to eight storeys. Kendal House is three storeys, linked to perimeter block at second-floor. Brinkburn Court is a similar three storey block with a shop (No. 8) at the end. The interiors of the maisonettes, with stairs leading up from the kitchen/diner (still divided by original counter in some properties). LISTED GRADE 2*