Housing Department Area Offices

Following significant population growth, largely associated with the mining industry, a local board of health was established in Newburn in 1893. The local board established its offices in Mosley Street in central Newcastle. After the Newburn District Local Board of Health was replaced by Newburn Urban District Council in 1894, the town clerk for the new council was initially based in the offices in Mosley Street. After finding this arrangement unsatisfactory, the new council decided to commission dedicated offices. The site they selected was open ground on the west side of Newburn Road. The new building was designed by Edward Cratney in the Baroque Revival style, built in red brick with…

The building is constructed of brick, with a slate roof. It has two storeys, plus an attic and basement. It has an L-shaped plan; the front is five bays wide, while the left return is nine bays. The central bay features a central front door in an Ionic order doorcase, above which there is a cartouche of the former district council placed within a broken segmental pediment. On the first floor there is a sash window which is surmounted by a round headed pediment containing an oculus surrounded by garlands. The outer bays are also fenestrated by sash windows. At roof level, there is a square roof lantern with louvres and a dome.