English
Français
Benwell
Benwell is an area in the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Until 1974 it was in Northumberland.
Nearby Places View Menu
0 m
Benwell and Scotswood
Benwell and Scotswood is an electoral ward of Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England. The ward encompasses the portion of Benwell that falls into NE15 while the other portion that falls into NE4 is in the Elswick ward. This ward also encompasses Scotswood housing areas, Denton Burn housing areas, as well as the Newcastle Business Park, which is located on the banks of the River Tyne and houses offices of companies such as British Airways and the Automobile Association. The population of the ward is 13,759, which is 5.3% of the total population of Newcastle upon Tyne. Car ownership in the area is 45.1%, lower than the city average of 54.7%. The 2011 Census gave a population of 12,694.
128 m
Benwell Nature Park
Benwell Nature Park is a Local Nature Reserve in Benwell, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Many natural habitats have been established including a pond and marsh, meadows and hedgerows, woodlands and stone outcrops. A picnic area near the pond and a herb garden close to the Park Building have also been created.
The park came into being in 1982 after the demolition of two streets, Joan and Helen Street, and half of Atkinson Road. All that remains visible of these streets now is a length of cobbled back lane at the southwest corner of the park. A community orchard was planted in 2004 to mark the 21st anniversary of the park.
Its creation has been largely due to involvement of the local community, volunteers and the city's schoolchildren. The park has won many awards and accolades over the years including the Green Flag Award, and from Northumbria in Bloom.
134 m
The Mitre, Newcastle upon Tyne
The Mitre is a building situated in the Benwell area in the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is a Grade II listed building.
A tower house known as Benwell Tower was built in 1221. It became home to a branch of the Shafto family of Bavington Hall until the 1770s, when it was sold by Robert Shafto (the son of Bobby Shafto, immortalised in the song of the same name).
In 1831, the present building (originally known as Benwell Towers) designed by the Tyneside architect John Dobson replaced the old house and has since provided a number of different functions. It became the residence of the Bishop of Newcastle in the 1880s (when Newcastle upon Tyne became a separate see from the diocese of Durham). During World War II it became a fire station, and then became a training centre for the National Coal Board in 1947.
By the 1970s the building had become The Silver Lady nightclub and later The Mitre pub, before achieving national fame in 1989 as the Byker Grove youth club in the BBC children's television series Byker Grove. The final episode of Byker Grove was filmed in August 2006. Benwell Towers was put up for sale by the owners in 2007.
In June 2009 a local newspaper reported problems with Japanese knotweed on the site, that was still said to be for sale.
In September 2010, local newspaper The Evening Chronicle reported that the building had been purchased by an individual on behalf of a community organisation. It will be used for community-based purposes.
In December 2012, planning permission was granted for the creation of an Islamic Faith school, the Bahr Academy. The development was also to include a community building, coffee shop and events space open at weekends. The building was vandalised in July 2016, shortly before the school's opening. In 2019 it was broken into and vandalised.
159 m
Benwell Dene
Benwell Dene is a Victorian building in the suburb of Benwell, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. It was designed by Alfred Waterhouse for Dr Thomas Hodgkin and was built in 1865. Hodgkin donated the house to the Royal Victoria Home in 1894, and bequeathed the gardens and grounds to the people of Newcastle as a public park. The building subsequently became the Royal Victoria School for the Blind. After the school's closure in 1985, the structure was converted into a hotel. It is a Grade II listed building.