2 - 28 Chirton Wynd, Byker Wall

Two short terraces of thirteen houses and shop. 1976-78 by Ralph Erskine's Arkitektkontor; site architect Vernon Gracie; structural engineer, White, Young and Partners; main contractor Shepherd Construction Limited. Pale modular metric brick on timber frame, with weatherboarding. Blue metal monopitch roofs with plywood box beam purlins. Two storeys, save for no. 2, which is single-storey shop closed in December 1999- January 2000.

Nos. 4 and 6 are set back, with pergola to no.4, carriagearch and curved garden wall to rear. Nos. 4-14 are stepped, save for nos. 10 and 12, and all have bright green eaves, save for no. 12, which has a soft blue; green weatherboarding below first-floor strip windows, where no. 14 has brown band, save for no. 12 which is brown. Yellow metal door hoods to nos. 8-14, the latter on side elevation, with bird box. Nos. 4 and 6 have red metal hoods to rear, and blue doors. No. 4 has green weatherboarding to rear (carparking area), while nos. 10-14 have green eaves.

Nos. 16-28 set behind orange retaining walls to pedestrian route (Chirton Wynd) to front, and to car parking area to rear. Stepped terrace, with 16 and 18, and 24 and 26 forming pairs. Pedestrian front has bright green weatherboarded eaves, some brown weatherboarding (notably to no. 16) between first-floor stripped windows, and softer green below. Red metal door hoods to nos. 20-28, that to latter set on side, behind corner bird box. Bird box also to no. 16, with built-in seat to retaining wall to side. Attached fences between each unit with prominent triangular tops. Rear elevation plained, with brown and green weatherboarded eaves to nos. 18, 10, 24 and 26. All windows of timber in timber subframes, with aluminium opening lights, save to no. 28, where ground floor renewed in upvc. Prominent porte cochere of red timber with plastic sheeted roof forms part of group with rear retaining wall. The terraces form a prominent group on the main route through the Chirton area, leading to and from Headlam Green.

The Byker area, first extensively developed in the 1890s, was earmarked for redevelopment from the late 1950s, with a new motorway to the north. In March 1967 the Housing Architect's Department proposed the building of a barrier block to shelter the area, and this idea was supported by Ralph Erskine, who was invited to develop the area for Newcastle Corporation in 1969. His Plan of Intent, published in 1970, promised a complete redevelopment programme of housing and landscaping with cost yardsticks, while maintaining the traditions and character of the neighbourhood, and to rehouse the residents without breaking family and social ties. His achievement in rehousing 40% of the original residents on the original site was exceptional, as were his methods of keeping the community informed of development and seeking their support and suggestions for the low-rise housing. In achieving these goals Erskine sought to exploit the south-facing sloping site, to develop a system of pedestrian routes through the estate and to provide a `specific "local" individuality to each group of houses.' The estate was redeveloped in a rolling programme of no more than 250 units at a time, to try to maintain the community's infrastructure. The idea was a sheltering perimeter block, which protects the estate from traffic noise and creates a micro climate, with low-rise housing in its lee. The modular metric facing brick of 290mm x 90mm x 65mm was developed by Crossley and Sons in County Durham, in collaboration with the City of Newcastle. When mortared, it forms a 12" by 4" by 3" unit. The inventiveness of the decoration, developed following the relatively muted `pilot scheme' at Janet Square, marks Byker out from other post-war housing for bringing the humane concepts of `romantic pragmatism' with its neo-vernacular details and materials to public housing in a unique way. It is probably also the greatest achievement of this important and idiosyncratic international architect. `If there is something marvellously lighthearted about the design, this I would say is the topographical keynote of the new Byker' (Architectural Design, June 1975, p.333).

Sources
Tyne and Wear Archives
Architectural Review, December 1974, pp.346-62
Mats Egelius, Ralph Erskine, Architect, Stockholm 1990, pp.148-60 LISTED GRADE 2*