Milburn House, Dean Street

HER Number:
9179

District:
Newcastle

Site Name:
Milburn House, Dean Street

Place:
Newcastle

Map Sheet:
NZ26SE

Class:
Commercial

Site Type: Broad:
Commercial Office

Site Type: Specific:
Commercial Office

General Period:
20TH CENTURY

Specific Period:
Early 20th Century 1901 to 1932

Form of Evidence:
Extant Building

Description:
Following a fire in 1900 which destroyed Robinson's print works and paper warehouse and adjacent buildings, J.D. Milburn (shipping owner) bought the land following the fire for the construction of an office block. Oliver, Leeson and Wood were appointed as architects of the new building which would occupy the steeply sloping triangular site. Other people who worked on the building include: Stephen Easten (builder), Swinney Bros (metal frame of building), H Watson and Sons (heating) and George Laidler (interior decoration and glazing). When building started a metal barrier was inserted between the site and the St. Nicholas's Church to avoid vibration damage. Huge foundations were also dug for the new building including 30ft+ deep pile foundations on The Side. The building officially opened in 1905. This building was listed Grade II in 1987 with the following description: 'Office block. Dated 1905 on plaques; begun 1902. By Oliver, Leeson and Wood. Dark red granite basement and entrances; rusticated sandstone ashlar ground floor; brick with ashlar dressings above. Welsh slate roof with stone gable copings. Triangular plan with 3 light wells. Free Baroque style. Left basement; 5 storeys and attics; 13 bays. Tower-like first bay, of plain brick with ashlar bands, has full-height pilaster and banded gable chimney. Basement dies into slope at 8th (entrance) bay containing double door and fanlight in hollow-chamfered arched reveal in Ionic doorcase. Similar arches in 4th and 12th bays contain round- headed windows; sash windows in other bays. Ground-floor cornice, bracketed over arches to support 3-storey stone-mullioned-and-transomed canted oriels; intermediate windows have keyed elliptical brick arches on first and second floors, flat stone lintels in band on third; all sashes with projecting stone sills and upper glazing bars. Third-floor cornice. Fourth (attic) storey has stilted Diocletian windows, with drip moulds, above canted bays; and elliptical-headed windows elsewhere. Top cornice; console bracketed high gables: above the canted bays, contain stone- mullioned-and-transomed windows in aedicules. High-pitched roof has paired sashes in dormers. Rounded corner section at left: 5 bays under turret. Rear to The Side of 20 wide bays, stepping up a steep slope, with varying numbers of floors and 4 entrances; the highest bay has large top sundial; that next to it contains niche with bust of Admiral Collingwood and inscription commemorating his birth in 1748 in a house on that site. Interior has much high quality wood and bevelled glass; circular balustrade to principal lift well with heraldic glass, by Laidler of Newcastle, facing light well. Low-relief panels,in Arts and Crafts painted-leather style, in Dean Street entrance hall; much original detail and Art Nouveau tiling,the latter overpainted.' LISTED GRADE 2

Easting:
425070

Northing:
563990

Grid Reference:
NZ425070563990

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
Department of National Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural and Historic Interest, 21/212, 23/212, 24/212; Grace McCombie, 2009, Newcastle and Gateshead - Pevsner Architectural Guide, p. 22 and 150; Grundy, J, n.d. The History of Milburn House; https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1355252