Brief overview

Grainger Town is the historic heart of Newcastle upon Tyne. Based around classical streets built by Richard Grainger a builder and developer between 1835–1842. Some of Newcastle upon Tynes finest buildings and streets lie in the Grainger Town area of the City centre including Grainger Market, Theatre Royal, Grey Street, Grainger Street and Clayton Street. These buildings are predominately four storeys, with vertical dormers, domes, turrets and spikes.Richard Grainger was said to 'have found Newcastle of bricks and timber and left it in stone. Of Grainger Towns 450 buildings 244 are listed of which 29 are grade I and 49 are grade II*. Grainger Town covers approximately 36 hectares and the architecture is dubbed ‘Tyneside Classical’ architecture, One of the streets of Grainger town, Grey Street was described by Pevsner as ‘one of the finest streets in England’. The area also includes a Mediaeval 13th century Dominican Friary, pieces of the historic Town Walls and many fine Victorian buildings. Almost all of Grainger Town is within Newcastle’s Central Conservation Area, one of the first to be designated in England. The majority of the buildings are in private ownership. The area around Grey's Monument and Grey Street is expanding fast with high quality shopping outlets, designer fashions and jewellery. It is here that you will find the Central Exchange with its tiled Edwardian Central Arcade. Inside are shops and the Newcastle Tourist Information Centre for maps and guides to the City. This article is about a city in the United Kingdom. ... Richard Grainger was a builder in Newcastle upon Tyne. ... Sir Nikolaus Pevsner CBE (January 30, 1902 – August 18, 1983) was a German-born British historian of art and, especially, architecture. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Buddhist monastery near Tibet A monastery is the habitation of monks. ... Manchester Town Hall is an example of Victorian architecture found in Manchester, UK. The Carson Mansion is an example of a Victorian home in Eureka, California, USA The term Victorian architecture can refer to one of a number of architectural styles predominantly in the Victorian era. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... The Edwardian period or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom is the period 1901 to 1910, the reign of King Edward VII. It is sometimes extended to include the period to the start of World War I in 1914 or even the end of the war in 1918. ...

1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s

In the 1960s and 1970s parts of Grainger Town were demolished to make way for projects such as the Eldon Square. In the 1980s and early 1990s this once prosperous area of the city was overtaken by new centres of retail and commercial activity. In the early 1990s Richard Grainger’s legacy was in poor shape as shops and offices moved out to other locations. The residential population of the area was falling rapidly to 1,200 and showing no signs of improvment. Around 100,000 m² of floor space were vacant, The area exhibited all the classic symptoms of urban decay This led to calls for clearance of listed properties and whole streets. Structural problems became evident with 47% of its 244 listed buildings classed as being 'at risk' and a further 29% classified as vulnerable. The once prosperous area was now in the realms of a very poor environment. This meant that any investor confidence was low. All these factors led to the Grainger Town project being established. Eldon Square is a shopping centre in Newcastle upon Tyne in the United Kingdom. ... Urban decay and renewal in Cincinnati Urban decay is the popular term for both the physical and social degeneration of cities and large towns. ...

The Grainger Town project

Project Information

A programme of property development and environmental enhancement was started in 1993 with Newcastle City Council and the English Heritage. This tackled most of the worst buildings at risk and began to stop the spiral of decline. In 1996 Newcastle City council and the English Heritage along with English Partnerships decided that the area could no longer be left to take care of itself. So in 1996 EDAW were commissioned to produce a regeneration strategy for Grainger Town and to prepare a bid for Government funding. Grainger Town will become a dynamic and competitive location in the heart of the City. The aims of the project was to make Grainger Town a high quality environment appropriate to a major European regional capital. Arrangements were then put in place to make this a reality. The project was to take place over a six year period. The Grainger Town project got underway in April 1997 and by its close in March 2003 over £174,000,000 had been attracted into the area including £146 million from the private sector, exceeding the Projects target of £74 million. English Heritage is a United Kingdom government body with a broad remit of managing the historic environment of England. ... English Partnerships (or EP) is a regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by Regional Development Agencies on a regional level. ... This article is about the continent. ...

The projects major achievments

The Union rooms

JD Wetherspoons, a U.K. pub chain, spent 13 months restoring the French Renaissance style of the former Union Club opposite Newcastle Central Station. The pub was renamed The Union Rooms. Impressive architectural features include a 15 foot high stained glass window and a huge stained glass dome, replacing the originals which fell into disrepair during the 20 years that the building stood vacant. The Moon Under Water in Hounslow J. D. Wetherspoon plc (LSE: JDW) (commonly referred to as Wetherspoons or spoons) is a British pub chain founded by Tim Martin. ... This article is about the cultural movement known as the French Renaissance. ...

Bar Luga

Built in 1835 by Richard Grainger for the Bank of England, the Grade II listed was rescued from disuse and decay with the help of a CAP grant in 1997. Following the extensive repair of the ground floor, now occupied by Bar Luga, fully let offices are located on the remaining four floors. Headquarters London Governor Mervyn King Central Bank of United Kingdom Currency Pound Sterling ISO 4217 Code GBP Base borrowing rate 5. ...

The Gate

Land Securities developed a new 19,235 m² retail and leisure complex which opened in 2002. The Gate is a covered multi-level centre with a glass front, housing a 12 screen multiplex cinema, a sky bar with views over the city, a variety of restaurants, and a fitness centre. The Gate provided 400 new jobs when open and a further 600 during construction.

Other achievments

• 1506 jobs created as well as a further 800 in Grainger Town due to the increased confidence in the area.
• 286 new businesses set up.
• 80,900 sq. m. of new and/or improved commercial floorspace.
• 121 buildings, many of them listed properties and classified as ‘Buildings at Risk’, brought back into use
• Grey's Monument repaired and cleaned.
• 289 flats and apartments completed many located within the Grainger Street and Clayton Street areas.
• Westgate House which is an eleven storey office block, perhaps Newcastle’s most unpopular building, acquired by ONE North East for demolition and redevelopment.

Greys Monument, above the Monument Tyne and Wear Metro station Greys Monument is a monument to Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey built in 1838 in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. ...

Sources

Newcastle City Council/Grainger Town

Document on Grainger Town

Document on the Grainger Town project

Newcastle City Councils info on Grainger Town project