Beacon House, Western Way

By Ryder & Yates. 1959. 11 storeys high, with a central tier of recessed stair balconies over the entrance. Rutter Carroll - in 1954 builder James Liddell commissioned tall flats at Whitley Bay. Four 11-storey blocks were proposed in a large green open space sheltered by earth scultpures. Beacon House was the first of the four blocks. It contained 44 luxury flats overlooking the sea in a 'skyscraper'. It was the first multi-storey block of flats in the North-East. It is built of reinforced concrete using the plate floor system form of construction, has cavity brick external walls with polyurethane insulation. The flats were faced in white mosaic with blue brindle brick set in panels below the pre-cast concrete windows. On the roof there is a circular enclosure for the water storage tanks. The entrance features a perforated drum. Inside the walls of the communal areas were lined in Formica-faced timber panels decorated with artwork by Peter Yates. Alongside the flats there were garage courts, parking areas and soft landscaping. The other three towers were never built. The original windows have been replaced and patterned brickwork applied to the gable wall, but the essential original form survives.