Newcastle's Lost History

Become a patron to support the channel and gain access to exclusive videos idea polls and support the creation of topics:

This video takes Amber Films unfinished film "Demolition 1972" and aims to provide a conclusion and modern update to this.

📹 GREATEST HITS:

Follow Jordan Reeve

Video Description Text:
this video covers a cycle tour around newcastle upon tyne and gateshead viewing some of the icnonic landmarks.

ABOUT JORDAN REEVE

A full time planner, Jordan Reeve specialises in creating videos about the built environment to tell its stories. The topics cover historical development of cities alongside psychogeography style walks, this aims to uncover the urban environment as well as pose questions about the space and place in which we live, work and play. He lives in Newcastle Upon Tyne and attempts to showcase the modern face of a former industrial city, which is still finding its way in regeneration.

[patmillar]

Born in 1954 in Newcastle, in a house that stood where the Civic Centre now stands, i can honestly say the councils have been destroying the city and outlying areas for all of my lifetime. Such a shame they couldn't have loved Newcastle as much as those who lived and worked there.
Great video 👍

[alisondodd]

Remember these beautiful buildings, breaks my heart to see the monstrosities they’ve been replaced with….

[Rita]

I was around in 1972 and felt we had lost things which could never be replaced (such as Eldon Square). Some were no great loss but the Central Motorway and other linked roads and walkways ruined many places which today would probably have been repurposed. Excellent work, thank you Jordan.

[alanscott]

I often wonder what used to be where the BRUTAL ARCHITECTURE now stands. Thanks for sharing Jordan.

[Steve-ewtz]

My Scottish town has not torn down a single historic building and instead maintain them really well so they still look brand new. They knew the buildings were far too beautiful to be torn down and I think have been legally protected for quite a while now. Our town hall, some hotels, churches, some housing, shops all date back to the 1800s. I never took these beautiful stone structures for granted but now I just respect them even more. Fantastic production quality though!

[FaaizKhan]

fascinating to see how short-term some of those redevelopments proved to be - makes you wonder about the longevity of current projects

[Vince_uk]

Brilliant video on what in many cases is a tragic destruction of the city.

[ians]

Excellent video. It's so sad. I visited Newcastle for the first time last year and was in awe, seeing the beautiful architecture of Granger Town but how much better could Newcastle be now if these other buildings hadn't been demolished and replaced by eyesores? The problem is, even with all the progress we've made in the past 100 years, we are no longer able to create beautiful buildings.

[paulthompson]

As soon as the word council is mentioned in any town or city it just spells disaster the Big Market town hall is a good example

[Bribie]

When I was doing my A levels at Walbottle Grammar in the 1960s two of us used to wag off to the Library and spend days in the reference library doing our own learning and as it happened that year we were the only two to get their A level in Biology. I believe the teacher got moved on.
A tragedy that this lovely old library got trashed.

[philw]

There was a fair amount of corruption involved, allegedly. Shame really - it could have been a real gem of a city with all its industrial revolution era architecture. I was born in 72 so never saw it in its original state. However, it still remains one of my favourite cities - friendly, liveable, accessible, and still way ahead of many of most of the cities in the midlands where i now live.

[kevingray]

The demolition of the original Eldon Square with its C18th (listed) terraced buildings to make way for the shopping mall cause a huge controversy in the early 70's .
T Dan Smith Newcastle's former Chief Executive had led the assult on the city in the late 60's wanting to turn it in to the "Brazilia of the North" as he put it. Smith was later jailed for corruption for his part in the Poulson Affair which had involved architects construction companies and local politicians all over the North of England who had syphoned off public funds during their redevolopment of a several major city centres.

[smullen]

Great work Jordan. I really enjoyed seeing some of the fantastic architecture we once had before the town was plundered.

[TheWinterwraith]

The destruction hasn’t ended either. Just look at the demolition of the Odeon Cinema, the last of the city’s historic cinemas. Or the almost intact medieval hall that was discovered during the redevelopment of High Bridge, which was then conveniently ‘accidentally’ knocked down to make way for the new version of the Bacchus pub. Those developers should have been prosecuted, but no doubt back room deals were done.

There’s very little of left of pre-1970 Newcastle, and nothing that has been built in the years since has been designed to last. Look at Manors area - the Warner Cinema complex built in the late 80s. Demolished a few years later to be replaced by office blocks, which are now in the process of being demolished again. Redeveloped three times in a little over 30 years? That is sheer madness.

[bobstirling]

So many town and city centres were destroyed in the 60s and short-sighted planning philosophies have destroyed so much of our heritage.

[lornaburgess]

I started my first job ín Newcastle in 1971 walking from the old Haymarket bus station past St Jame's and the Newcastle Brewery on to Blandford St to the dress factory I worked in at Duke House .I went back recently and there are no original buildings left. I can remember being sent to the button factory and collecting the daily newspapers from the little newsagents on the corner of Westmoreland Road near the Marlborough cafe.

[hereIam]

Great vid. At nearly 60 I can recall visiting the scap yards/ cars etc at the Quay side with my father, I'm still in awe at the transformation.
A great miss to me is the pub known as the Robin Adair placed at Scotchy Bridge [ Scotswood- named incidently where the Scots rested before attacking ]
The Robin Adair with the large plaque showing a coachman coach and horses, the pub built entirely from slate placed horizontal.
What an amazing building I'd always admired ... vanished !
The Scotswood Road itself lined with pubs/ clubs all the way into Newcastle ... all gone ! And their unique architecture/ design.
There's still a vast amount of stunning architecture from stone to rose granite everywhere.

A link to the history of Newcastle formerly called "Monkchester " before the conquest and the building of the New-Castle

[christopherlogan]

Absolutely brilliant that Jordan. The way you used old footage and new footage and narrated it to bring it all together. Some of the things you pointed out really have ruined parts of the city. Demolition of the Town Hall was absolutely senseless and the raised parts by the central motorway are a bloody eyesore. Keep up the good work!

[Colt-hdbn]

What was done to the original Eldon Square was sacrilege in my veiw

[owenrichardson]

I really enjoyed your video and agree about the brutal demolition of historic buildings that were replaced by substandard edifices that don't last.