Jesmond Dene Banqueting Hall

The building was commissioned by William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong as an entertainment facility for important guests to complement the large mansion (since demolished) that he had built to the west of Jesmond Dene in 1835. Armstrong had tunnels built to connect his house with the banqueting hall. The banqueting hall was designed by John Dobson in the Italianate style, built in rubble masonry and was completed in 1862. The design, which was orientated from north to south, was a rectangular structure with tall round headed windows at both ends. The design of the gatehouse, the only part of the structure visible from Jesmond Dene Road, involved an asymmetrical main frontage of three bays.…