Allan House, Newcastle
introduction | desk based assessment | building & photographic survey | building appraisal | conclusions & bibliography
Part 1: Desk Based Assessment
Methodology
The Desk Based Assessment was undertaken in accordance with a specification issued by NCC. The Historic Environment Record (HER) was consulted on the 17 th October. Records held at the local studies library and Tyne and Wear Archives were consulted on the 17 th , 18 th and 25 th October.
A general study area was determined by NCC (Figure 15) and records pertaining to material in this were accessed and synthesised.
A series of site visits were made by Mike Griffiths and Associates on the 9 th September, 17 th, 23 rd and 25 th of October.
Archaeological & Historical Context
Prehistoric Period
No finds from the Prehistoric have been made in the area. However, the name of the Ouseburn may suggest a pre-Roman origin. 'Usa', meaning water is a term of Celtic (600 BC - 43 AD) derivation (Room 1992, 396-7).
Roman Period
Direct occupation evidence for the Roman Period (43 - 410 AD) is equally scarce within the immediate vicinity of the study area. The earliest record of settlement in the region is the establishment of the Pons Aelii by Emperor Hadrian (117-38 AD) at the eastern limit of the Vallum Hadriani (Hadrian's Wall) (MacKenzie 1827). This Roman military station underlies modern day Newcastle. The presumed course of Hadrian's Wall lies 300m to the north of the site, attesting a strong Roman presence in the area. However, no archaeology of this era has been identified close to the development site.
Early Medieval Period
In the Early Medieval Period (410-1066 AD) Newcastle was known as Monkchester, and lay within the demesne of the kingdom of Northumbria. The Roman wall continued as a focus for power in the early Anglo-Saxon period, with a royal residence, possibly on the site of the Pons Aelii, established by the 7 th century. With the arrival of Christianity in the same period the region saw a concentration of monastic foundations, including those at Jarrow, Wearmouth and Lindisfarne; together with a further royal establishment at Bamburgh. The infrastructure of the area suffered considerably from the Viking incursions of the 8 th and 9 th centuries, and subsequently the territory became part of the autonomous kingdom of the Earls of Northumberland, until the Norman Conquest (Ibid.). Again, however, direct evidence for settlement along the lower Tyne is scarce, with none pertaining to the immediate area under review.
Medieval Period
Newcastle acquired its current title in the Medieval Period (1066-1550 AD), in c. 1080, when a new castle was built by Robert Curthose, son of William I (1066-1087), presumably in reference to the then still standing Roman remains of the Pons Aelii (Ibid.)
The Byker place-name is first recorded in c. 1198 as the serjeantry of William of Byker (Dodds 1930).
In 1344 documents record the foundation of St. Ann's chapel (HER 1421) by Robert of Byker for the hermit, John Segerstone, on a plot of land 200ft square. This grant also provided a right of access, 20ft wide, from the chapel to the River Tyne (TWMAD 2002).
The density of medieval occupation in Byker and around the Ouseburn in the period is largely unknown, with agriculture probably representing the most widespread land usage. Records indicate, however, that from an early stage limited exploitation of the region's coal by the Burgesses of Newcastle was taking place, and possibly within the environs of the Ouseburn (TWMAD 2002; 2003).
Post-Medieval and Early Modern Periods
In the Post-Medieval (1550-1800 AD) and Early Modern Periods (1800-1939 AD) Byker became above all a centre of trade and industry. Speed's map of 1610 shows urban expansion along the riverside core and northwards towards Hadrian's Wall at this time, but is insufficiently detailed to allow evaluation of the current site.
The geographical location of the area, with easy access to the Tyne, coal resources and plentiful sand (from the ballast dumped by the river-way's ship-traffic), made it ideal for the siting of one of Britain's earliest glassworks. The glassworks of Robert Mansell (HER 5077) started production in 1617 and acquired a royal monopoly six years later. By 1624 three glass manufactories are recorded, which were producing 6000-8000 tons of glassware per annum. The works produced window, mirror and vessel glass, as well as spectacles. The monopoly was maintained until the end of the English Civil War. In contrast, by 1676, twenty-one leases of land for glass production had been recorded for the city (Brand 1788). Glassworking continued on the Mansell site into the 19 th century, with the 1856 First Edition, 25" 1 mile, Ordnance Survey recording the site of the Broad and Crown Glassworks and St. Lawrence's Bottle Manufactory (Figure 10 : HER 4683). The size of these works, however, indicates a marked reduction in scale (if not necessarily output) from earlier operations. Indeed, the considerable extent of the glassworks by the late 18 th century is attested on Hutton's 1772 map, which illustrates three complexes stretching along the north bank of the Tyne, southwards from the Ouseburn (Figure 4). Named the High, Middle and Low Glass Houses, they were accessed from the western side of the Ouseburn, by the original 17 th century Glashouse Bridge (HER 4684). These are likely to be the works then operated by Henzell, Tizack and Tittery, though they may well be based upon the earlier Mansell factories. Originally Huguenot immigrants, the Henzell-Tyzack company is named as the sole glass manufacturer in Newcastle by 1759.
The impact of the English Civil War (1642-5) on the Ouseburn area is evidenced in the 1649 record of 'the old fort', located on a 'parcel of ground within Conney Close' (HER 5483). This detail is contained in a lease, granted by the Common Council to Edward Greene, for the construction of a windmill (HER 5484), the location of which is first recorded on Corbridge's map of 1723, together with Coney Close (Figure 3). The placement of the windmill accords with the area on the earliest Ordnance Survey plan recorded as Millers Hill (Figure 10), the location of which is directly relevant to the site under review. However, with the acceptance that it lies within the triangle of land bounded by Tyne Street, Cut Bank and Ouse Street, the exact location of the mill is uncertain. The perspective view from which Corbridge produced his map places the windmill close to Coney Close (subsequently Nelson Street). But the later plans of Hutton (1772) and Beilby (1788) site it closer to the junction of what subsequently became Tyne Street and The Cut (now Cut Bank), and thus outside the Allen House plot; and possibly within the course of the new road constructed in the 1870s (Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 11 ). It is possible that Millers Hill would seem an appropriate location for a fort but no indication of scale or record of earthworks is recorded. It is probably more likely that the fort was located further toward the river, to the southeast of Coney Close with a sister fortification on the opposite bank of the Ouseburn. It would seem probable that the forts were constructed by the royalist defenders of the city to meet the Scottish army raised by Lord Leven in 1644. The city was surrounded and suffered siege and heavy bombardment before capture. A further addendum to which, is the appearance by the time of the 1856 Ordnance Survey of the annotation 'Battlefield' on the open ground of the 'Brickfield' site (HER 4156) to the north west of The Cut.
As was the case with other industrial centres of the north, such as Sheffield and Preston, Newcastle's urban population and industry burgeoned significantly between the late 18 th and mid-19 th centuries as part of what is now termed the Industrial Revolution. The rapid urbanisation of the Ouseburn region at this time, necessary to accommodate the influx of manual and skilled industrial labour is apparent from a comparison of the map sources. The change is particularly pronounced in the short time from Cole's map of 1808 to Wood's map of 1827 (Figure 6 and Figure 7). Contemporary with the latter's map, 4000 people are recorded as living between Byker Colliery and the Ouseburn, in what MacKenzie described as the 'plebian district' (MacKenzie 1827). This number had increased to 7263 by 1861 and to 45460 by 1901.
By the time of the 1856 Ordnance Survey (Figure 10) the area had become a centre for multiple industries, including ropery works, coal mining, glass production, chemical works, iron smelting, ship-building, confectionery production, brick-firing, and pottery manufacture. Of particular note are the Maling Ouseburn Bridge Pottery works (HER 4967). The Maling family, originally of Huguenot descent, founded their pottery business in Sunderland in 1762. It was Robert Maling, the founder's grandson, who moved the operation to Ouseburn in 1815. By 1859 the two kilns of the Ouseburn Bridge works proved insufficient to meet demand and a new bigger pottery was opened nearby on Ford Street, known as the Ford A Pottery (HER 4968). This manufactory, with its 13 kilns, allowed for the mechanised production of 750,000 pottery items per month. In 1878 a further, even bigger works, Ford B Pottery, was opened half a mile to the east, which is reputed to have been able to produce 1,500,000 pottery items per month. Combined, the two Ford works employed over 1000 people by 1900. The Ford A works closed in 1926, following a long period of fuel starvation, due to the miners' strike. The Ford B works continued to operate until 1963.
Victoria Tunnel (Appleby Miller
1927; Speak 1997)
The successful industry of the Ouseburn and Byker regions relied heavily on the Tyne for export and import. The building of the Victoria Tunnel was designed as a solution to the problem faced by one colliery, of the unfeasibility of over-ground access across a heavily urbanised landscape. Today it is regarded as one of the most significant regional monuments of the Industrial Revolution.
The Victoria Tunnel (HER 4091) was the second subterranean wagon-way built in Newcastle for the transportation of coal, the first being the late 18 th century East Kenton Colliery tunnel of Kitty's Drift. The tunnel was commissioned by the Porter and Latimer mining company, who required it to solve the serious problem of getting coal from their Spital Tongues Colliery (modern-day Ancrum Street), which commenced operations in 1835, to the Tyne waterfront. Work started on the new tunnel in June 1839 under the direction of the engineer, Mr Gillespie, with c. 200 men employed. Its arched passageway was driven through boulder clay for a total length of 1½ miles, with a drop of 68m, and to a maximum depth of 26m. Its route is shown plotted on Oliver's map of 1844 (Figure 9). It is interesting to note from this and later plans how its line followed the course of the higher ground of St. Ann's and Millers Hill, presumably to allow for the greatest degree of above ground clearance. The tunnel was lined with stone and brick and had internal dimensions measuring 2.26 metres high, by 1.91 metres wide. It was designed so that the loaded coal wagons descended the tunnel under their own weight, being drawn back to the colliery by a stationary steam engine. In January 1860 the tunnel closed after only a short period of use, following the failure of the venture (Appleby Miller 1927; Speak 1997).
The tunnel remained closed until 1939, when it was converted into an air-raid shelter at a cost of £37,000. This involved the construction of a number of new entranceways into the tunnel in addition to a series of blast walls along its length. As part of these works a new entrance was constructed on Ouse Street with a short length of new adjoining tunnel running beneath the Allan House plot. The licence drawn up between The Tyne Tees Steam Shipping Company and the Crown to enable these works is held at the Tyne and Wear Archives (TWAS DD.TT 57). At the end of the war, most of the fittings were removed and all but the Ouse Street entrance was bricked up. Regarding the tunnel's current condition, prior to the war the southern section of the tunnel had been truncated by the early 20 th century building of the confectionery works (HER 5472), as well as by the new Glasshouse Bridge. In addition to which, some damage may have occurred as a result of Blitz bombing. The result of this is that a 50 metre section of tunnel, nearest the Tyne, is no longer extant. In the 1960s the tunnel's length, between Queen Victoria Road and Ellison Place, was also utilised to convey a sewer pipe (Ibid.).
The tunnel was surveyed Patrick Parsons Ltd in 2001 and 2006 (PPL 2001; 2006). The comparison of these examinations identified serious distortion in the tunnel brick lining, which it was concluded had occurred since 2001 as a result of workings at ground level. The section of tunnel most affected (blast walls 4 and 5) is situated to the west of the current development, below St. Ann's Yard.
The Victoria Tunnel was granted Grade II listed status in 2004 and is generally acknowledged as one of the most important structures to survive from the early Victorian coal industry (Ouseburn Partnership Website).
With respect of the current development, the tunnel runs east-to-west directly beneath the development site, underneath the northern transept (the blacksmiths) of Allen House (Figure 2). At this point the tunnel floor is situated approximately 9.29m AOD (ceiling height +2m), with the tunnel 5.0m below the current ground level. At the eastern end of the Allan House Yard the tunnel is recorded as being 2m below the current level. The shallow depth at this point appears to be localised to the steeply sloping entranceway which was constructed after 1931 when the garage and workshops were constructed. Over most of the courtyard area the ground cover is in the region of 4m.
Tyne Tees Steam Shipping Company Limited
The application of the steam engine to ocean going ships made the commercial coast-liner a reality. The first passenger carrying paddle-steamer to embark from Newcastle was the Gateshead built Rapid. The 24-ton vessel left Newcastle Quay in 1823 on a route from Newcastle to London. In the subsequent decades several entrepreneurs embarked on the mission of 'steam communication' between the Tyne and Thames. Steamships promised big business in an era when their rapid speed, and in time, roomier accommodation, offered an attractive alternative for passengers and light goods at a time when slow coach travel was the norm (Keys and Smith 2006).
The Tyne Steam Shipping Co Ltd was formed in 1864 out of the interests of W.D. Stephens, those of the Tyne and Continental Steam Navigation Co and the Newcastle, Antwerp and Dunkirk Steam Shipping Co. The venture was intended to coordinate the trade and coasting interests of the Newcastle Quayside. Between 1864 and 1903 the company operated routes out of Newcastle, to Hull, Yarmouth and London, as well as to the Continent: including Antwerp, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Dunkirk and Copenhagen. In the 1890s the number of passengers carried annually exceeded 20,000. The company owned in excess of twenty-five vessels, which ranged in size from the 323 ton Fusilier to the 1456 ton New Londoner. However, the risk inherent in coastal travel in the period is attested by the loss of around one-third of their number.
The Tyne Tees Steam Shipping Co Ltd was formed in 1903 by the merger of the Tyne Steam Shipping Co Ltd with three other concerns: the Tees Union Shipping Co Ltd; the London-based subsidiary firm Free Trade Wharf Co Ltd; and, the Furness Withy and Co Ltd. The company had their main offices at 25 Westgate, but in 1908 had new premises built to house 'new stores and works' on City Road at the site of Millers Hill, within plot of land No. 3003, as indicated on the 1896 Second Edition Ordnance Survey, 10ft to 1 mile (Figure 12). The building was designed by the architect J. Watson Taylor (b.1851) of St. John Street, Newcastle and was constructed to provide support and maintenance for vessels moored at the company's wharfs on the Quayside and at Gateshead. The building is first recorded in Wards Trade Directory in 1909-10. The building commands views along the company's wharfs and was ideally located at the bend of the river to be a major landmark to riverbourne traffic entering or leaving Newcastle. The building is now known as Allan House after the current occupiers, Allan Joinery, who purchased it in 1966/7 (Terry Sutherland, pers. com.); though the original sign recording the shipping company is still visible above the carriage arch (HER 5579).
To accommodate the company's workers houses were bought in the early 20 th century on Ouse Street. These were converted from tenements to flats in the 1932 (TWAS 22437).
Following the merger the company maintained its London and Continental services. It continued to operate throughout the First World War, though experienced some losses. In 1915 the 1540 ton Sir William Stephenson was mined and sunk off Great Yarmouth, and two years later the 1004 ton Grenadier was torpedoed off the Suffolk coast (Keys and Smith 2006).
By 1929 passenger numbers were in decline. The then chairman Sir Arthur Munro Sutherland admitted at the annual general meeting that buses had 'cut very heavily' into the company's profits. The last passenger ships ran in 1934 (Keys and Smith 2006) and the company shifted its emphasis to its cargo trading from Newcastle, Middlesborough and London to Holland in an attempt to remain viable. In 1943 the company and its subsidiary Free Trade Wharf Co Ltd were brought by Coast Lines Ltd, who continued to operate until 1967 (Mathias and Pearsall 1971).
Considerable records relating to the Tyne Tees Steam Shipping Co Ltd survive in the holdings of Tyne and Wear Archives Service (Ref. DT.TT). They include: corporate records; financial records; shareholders records; staff records; records of vessels; freight records; property records; publicity material; letters, photographs and documents regarding the Free Trade Wharf Co. Study of these documents is beyond the timescale and capacity of this assessment, but are referenced here for their good potential for the study of local economic and social history.
Map Regression Analysis
Antiquarian Cartographic Sources
The 16th and 17th century maps of Saxton (1576), Speed (1610) and Astley (1638) are insufficiently detailed to be useful in regard of the study area. The plan in Gardiner's England's Grievance (1654) illustrates buildings along the northern shore of the Tyne and denotes 'Bicar', but does not record the Ouseburn.
It is not before the 18 th century, therefore, that any record of the specific vicinity under review, regarding its topography and land usage, is known. Warburton's map of 1716 shows Byker, and the course of the North Shields Turnpike (HER 1191), but adds no further detail. Corbridge's map of 1723 (Figure 3) provides a number of significant details, but stops short of the Ouseburn and its immediate environs. The perspective from which the map was drawn creates some distortion, nevertheless a number of its feature can be rectified with those of later maps. It clearly denotes 'The Shore' and 'Coney Street', which became in the 19 th century 'Clarence Street' and 'Nelson Street', which are now known jointly as Horatio Street. A line of urban development is shown along The Shore, with a ropery (HER 4153) set on a ridge of higher ground above it, atop what is today Ropery Bank. Behind it, towards the Ouseburn, Corbridge illustrates two conspicuous hilled areas, between which is set another area of building. These structures may correspond with those shown to the south of the New Bridge in Hutton's 1772 map (Figure 4). St Ann's Chapel is also shown by Corbridge, together with the line of the enclosure that bounded it. The windmill (HER 5484) illustrated on the easternmost series of hills appears also to approximate with the location provided by Hutton and is doubtless the wooden mill built in the 17 th century on 'a parcel of land about the old [civil war] fort (HER 5483)'.
The maps of Armstrong (1767), Hutton (1772, Figure 4), Beilby (1788, Figure 5), Brand (1788) and Cole (1808, Figure 6) demonstrate that the area remained largely undeveloped during the 18 th century. Of note, however, is the Ouseburn Cornmill (HER 4680) shown on the western bank of the river's bend and a range of buildings immediately to the north of the site. They also confirm the routeways of the period, including the recently built New Bridge (HER 4157) and 17 th century Glass House Bridge (HER 4684), as well as for the first time detailing the environs of the Ouseburn. These include notably The Ballast Hills Burying Ground (HER 1597) and the High Glass Houses (HER 1915), the successor of the Mansell glassworks (HER 1915).
Considerable developments are apparent in the early 19 th century cartographic sources. On Wood's map of 1827 (Figure 7) the Coney Close Windmill is no longer shown, its demise no doubt the result of Ralph Rewcastle's opening of a steam mill at the Ouseburn Bridge in 1815. The detail of the map suggests that the land which it had occupied, including the location of the current site, had been turned over to agricultural use, indicated by illustrated ridge and furrow. The ropery, now in the possession of Joseph Crawhall, as denoted, is now shown as fully enclosed. Considerable urban expansion is also apparent on both sides of the Ouseburn, including the buildings of the Maling Ouseburn Pottery (HER 4967) and the steam mill. The arrival of this important industry probably explains the rapid development of urban residential properties in the vicinity. These are shown in detail on Oliver's map of 1830 (Figure 8), with new rows of terraced housing with rear yards along the lines of Tyne Street, Ouse Street and The Cut. The triangular area of ground between these roads is still shown as an undeveloped raised promontory at this time. Oliver's 1844 map (Figure 9) shows that rapid urban development continued into the Byker region. Also, illustrated for the first time on this plan is the course of the recently completed Victoria Tunnel (HER 4091).
Ordnance Survey
The earliest Ordnance Survey is the First Edition 1856, 25" to 1 mile (Figure 10). Many of the details of this map have been used to inform the entries in the local Historic Environment Record (HER), though in the vicinity of the study area there is little change from Oliver's map of 1844. For the first time the raised ground behind Tyne Street is annotated as Millers Hill, in remembrance of the Coney Close Windmill, whilst also clearly denoted are such industries as the Corn Mill, the Iron Foundry (HER 4681), the Ouseburn Pottery, Firebricks Manufactory, St. Lawrence's Ropery (HER 5142), Broad and Crown Glass Works, Bottle Manufactory (HER 4683), as well as the quayside features of the Nelson's Slipway (HER 5016) and Spital Tongue Staiths (HER 4331). These Quayside features were part of the 1840s improvements to the river frontage, which also saw the building of a series of new jetties, including the London, Hamburg and Rotterdam wharfs; their names giving a clear indication of the destination for trade and passengers out of Newcastle in the era.
The character of the buildings in the vicinity of the current development proposal can be confirmed by the detail of the 1862 First Edition Ordnance Survey, 10ft to 1 mile (Figure 11). It shows the continued occupation of the area by residential terraces with rear yards, punctuated by numerous public houses, including The Golden Lion, Blue Bell, Plumbers' Arms, The Lamb, Mason's Arms and Royal Sovereign; as well as a single police station. This map clearly shows that the southwestern half of the development site was occupied by a number of buildings which must have been constructed between 1808 and 1827. One such building is known from the building control plans to have originally been a public house (TWAS 13370) and the related drawings clearly show that it was terraced into the western slopes of Millers Hill. It is probable that the other buildings are part of the residential development that ranged along Ouse Street and were likewise terraced into the southern slope.
The subsequent major developments of the Millers Hill area from the 1870s are shown on the 1896 Second Edition Ordnance Survey, 10ft to 1 mile, and the smaller-scale 1898 Second Edition Ordnance Survey, 6" to 1 mile (Figure 12). This comprised a new trunk route constructed at the rear of the houses fronting Tyne Street, which truncates Millers Hill on an east-to-west course, implemented to join the New Road (now City Road) and the newly built Glasshouse Bridge. The construction of this New Road required the remodelling of Millers Hill in addition to the demolition of several buildings along or adjacent to the route of the road. These included those structures identified in the 1862 map on the southern half of the development site. Following these ground works a newly embanked area is shown at the rear of plot No.2469, possibly representing dumped spoil from the road works. Also annotated for the first time is the Cattle Sanatorium (HER 4685) off Ouse Street, built in 1876-7. Another major change apparent by this time is the development of the 'Battlefield' site to the north of St. Ann's Chapel into an area of residential housing.
The plots shown on the 1896 Ordnance Survey correspond with the subsequent development areas shown on the 1919 Third Edition Ordnance Survey, 6" to 1 mile (Figure 13). Specifically plot No.3003 matches closely that purchased by the Tyne Tees Steam Shipping Co Ltd for their new headquarters, with the L-shaped profile of the building following the southern and western boundaries. Comparison with the earlier Ordnance Survey record shows this building to have been partially built over the previously occupied plot of residential housing that was both built and removed in the 19 th century to make way for the new road.
By the time of the 1952 Ordnance Survey, 6" to 1 mile (Figure 14) significant change is apparent. The whole of the street frontage along Ouse Street, Cut Bank and Tyne Street had been removed and partially replaced by 'Warehouses' and a 'Garage'. The Allan House building is denoted as an 'Engineering Works'. In addition, new buildings had been added at the rear of the works, along the Ouse Street frontage, within the plot previously occupied by the New Bridge Inn and tenements shown on the earlier maps. With the removal of many of the houses, the extent of the surviving natural terrain is apparent. A small proportion of the Millers Hill hilltop survives to the west of the Allan House site, whilst to the south the now vacant Tyne Street frontage is shown as steeply banked. It can also be seen how the Allan House Building is terraced into the east face of the slope, with the City Road driven east-to-west across the hilltop. As shown on the Ordnance Survey maps, the northern edge of Millers Hill appears largely unchanged from its mid-19 th century profile.
Historic Photographs
No historic photographs of Allen House were identified during the assessment from the collection held at the Local Studies Library.
Goad Insurance Plans
The site lay outside the scope of the Goad Insurance Plans held at the Newcastle Local Studies Library.
Building Control Plans
A study of the relevant building control plans and The Tyne and Wear Archives identified three separate plots that were relevant to the development site. These are summarised in Appendix 2. The earliest of these comprised an application for alteration to the New Bridge Inn on Ouse Street (TWAS 13370) dating to 1890. The plans clearly show that the rear of the property had been terraced into the existing hillside with a retaining boundary wall and steps leading to Millers Hill behind. The building was demolished in the 1930s and its location corresponds with that of the southern end of the garage and workshops of Allan House on the corner of Ouse Street and City Road.
A second application for development within the Allan House site was turned down in 1894. Plans were submitted for the construction of lodging houses for single women and single room tenements on Millers Hill by the Newcastle Corporation (TWAS 16322). The application drawings, which are accompanied by a letter of objection from a local resident, were never approved. The accompanying block plan illustrates the layout of Millers Hill in 1894 and includes a series of spot heights for the site. The plan, which is not reproduced here, depicts the mound of spoil which is shown in the 1896 as being some 140 feet long and 12 feet high within the confines of the current application. It also shows the extent to which edges of Millers Hill had been terraced by various phases of development, with the Allan House site located at the southern tip of the landform with steeply sloping edges to the northeast and southeast.
The third set of plans held within the archive relate to the construction and later additions to Allan House itself (TWAS 22437). Drawings relating to the original build comprise a series of coloured floor plans and the courtyard elevation of the building. The City Road elevation (southwest facing) is, unfortunately, not present. The purpose of each room/space is clearly labelled on the floor plans and provides a comprehensive record of the use of space in the layout of the original building (Figure 17 - Figure 20). The original drawings also indicate the extent of the slope on the eastern edge of the site. A section through the proposed retaining wall on Ouse Street indicates that natural slope was revetted and the ground behind levelled up with a combination of rubble and clinker for probably a quarter of the courtyard. The ground floor plan indicates that much of the southern half of the courtyard was reduced and levelled in preparation for the construction of the building.
The original layout of Allan House extended only so far as the rear boundaries of the existing properties on Ouse Street. The accompanying block plan shows that a large portion of the current courtyard lay within the yards to the rear of a series of tenements on Ouse Street. It was not until the 1930s that these buildings were demolished and the land acquired to make way for the current structures on the site. In 1908 the Ouse Street buildings are marked as being owned by The Corporation . This includes a triangular parcel of land where the current site access is located, indicating that when Allan House was built, the only access to the yard was thought the covered entrance on City Road.
The plans for the 1930s Garage and Workshop were drawn up by a local architect firm Marshall and Tweedy. The drawings include detailed coloured elevations and floor plans of the buildings. The ground floor pan for the workshop marks an area of fill which corresponds with the location of the site of the New Bridge Inn building, demolished for the purpose. A revised plan of the courtyard from this time also labels some of the rooms in the Allan House building. This suggests that while the use of some spaces had changed within the building by the 1930s the general activities being undertaken had remained the same.
Other plans relating to TWAS 22437 included an application to convert tenements on Ouse St to flats for employees of the Tyne Tees Shipping Company in 1931 and an application for the construction of temporary garage on Ouse Street dating to 1946.
Historic Environment Record (HER)
Statutory Designations
Six Grade II listed sites exist within the environs of Allan House. These are the Sailor's Bethel (HER 1949), Blenkinsopp Coulson Fountain (HER 5211), the Victoria Tunnel (HER 4091) and Ouseburn School (5580): also, listed separately are the schools walls and railings, and the caretaker's cottage. The Lower Ouseburn Conservation Area extends this number to ten. Also within this area, 300m to the north of the current site, is the World Heritage Site of Hardian's Wall
Historic Environment Impact
Including the listed structures the HER records thirty-six sites and monuments within the vicinity of the development location (Figure 15). A summary table of these is provided in Appendix 1. These have been individually assessed to reason the impact of the current site proposal on each.
No sites are recorded before the Medieval Period (1066-1550 AD); though Hadrian's Wall may be taken as a strong indication of a Roman presence in the region. The historic Quayside is the single feature for the medieval era, with an origin in the 14 th century. Hence, no known archaeology earlier than the post-medieval period stands to be affected.
Eleven post-medieval period (1550-1800 AD) features are recorded, with most linked to the important 17 th century Mansell Glassworks. However, of these sites, only two lie within the vicinity of development area. These are the windmill (HER 5484) that is likely to be located to the northwest of the site, and the civil war fort (HER 5483), which has been suggested as being situated south of the site flanking the Ouseburn.
The vast majority of sites, twenty-four in all, represent the early modern period (1800-1939 AD). These are a strong reflection of the important industrial heritage of the region, including aspects of the quayside, shipping, coal mining, iron smelting, glass working, pottery production, spiritual life and social housing. Besides Allan House itself (HER 5579), only one other site stands to be impacted. This is the locally and nationally important Victoria Tunnel (HER 4091).
Previous Archaeological Work
No previous archaeological work has been undertaken on the site. A survey relating to the Victoria Tunnel was compiled in 2001 and 2006 by Patrick Parsons Ltd. Work has recently been undertaken on nearby developments. These can be summarised thus;
2002, Unpublished. 'St. Ann's Yard, Byker, Tyne and Wear: Archaeological Assessment and Buildings Survey', Tyne and Wear Museums Archaeology Department: This comprised a desk-based assessment and archaeological building survey of this site, which is situated immediately to the north of the junction of the City Road and Cut Bank. The surviving brick buildings are the standing remains of a 19 th century horse-drawn haulage company's yard, stables and offices. No archaeology of the medieval or earlier periods was encountered, including evidence relating to the chapel of St. Ann. The Victoria Tunnel runs beneath this development. Recent survey work has demonstrated damage to the tunnel sections that lie beneath the yard.
2003, Unpublished. 'Heaney Site, Hume Street, Ouseburn, Tyne and Wear: Archaeological Assessment and Photographic Survey', Tyne and Wear Museums Archaeology Department: This comprised a desk-based assessment and archaeological building survey. It revealed some standing brickwork of the 19 th century glassworks, but no other remains.
Impact Assessment
Site Potential
With the obvious exception of the Victoria Tunnel, the site must be considered as having a low potential to contain in situ below ground archaeological deposits. The map regression exercise has indicated that for much of history the site was open ground and probably exploited for agriculture well into the 19 th century. Unlike other areas of Ouseburn, Millers Hill appears to have been surrounded by predominantly residential development on The Cut, Tyne Street and the western side of Ouse Street and was not the location of the significant industries that characterises other parts of the valley. The southern section of the development site is depicted as containing a number of Victorian houses that were demolished prior to 1880 and a public house, demolished in 1930. It is highly likely that these buildings were terraced into the slopes of Millers Hill, which would have resulted in areas of disturbance and truncation. Indeed the construction of Allan House itself and its subsequent expansion appear to have involved remodelling the landform with various amounts of cut and fill resulting in further disturbance of the Victorian houses. In this context the remains of the Victorian buildings are considered to be of local importance.
The Victoria Tunnel is known to run beneath the courtyard and blacksmith's wing of Allan House. Its significance is without question and its location and structure are a major constraint to any development of the site. Any proposals should ensure that disturbance of the structure and its fabric are avoided through design.
Impact
Whilst the development proposal seeks to refurbish the main element of Allan House and reuse the existing structure along Ouse Street, it also proposes to demolish the blacksmiths wing of Allan House and construct a new building in its place. The central courtyard will be developed into a Bistro and the redevelopment of the Garage and workshops on Ouse Street will involve the demolition of the steel roofed element and substantial new build at this location. The finished site levels indicate that outside the excavation for foundations and services there will be little additional ground reduction on the site.
The foundation design for the new build has not been finalised and will be determined following a site investigation. The current notion is to use a series of augured piles to avoid and bridge the Victoria Tunnel structure (MCN 2006). These would be linked by a series of ground beams supporting a floor slab.
Recommendations
In light of the low archaeological potential of the site and areas of truncation identified in the desk based assessment it is recommended that there would be no significant gain in knowledge from further archaeological investigation on the site. If additional information relating to depths of overburden is required then this could be achieved through monitoring the geotechnical site investigation. The remains of the Victorian structures under the southwest corner of the development do not merit further investigation.
It is recommended, however, that the final design plans for the foundations of the structures are reviewed and assessed to ensure that there will be no impact on the Victoria Tunnel and that any works are monitored to ensure that this is the case.
introduction | desk based assessment | building & photographic survey | building appraisal | conclusions & bibliography