Thistly Hall shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey Plan, 1862. Demolished in the mid 1970s during construction of Witherwack residential area.

Witherwack shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey Plan, 1862. Demolished in the mid 1970s during construction of Witherwack residential area.

In 1959 a motorway was proposed parallel to and south of Shields Road. Compulsory purchase in advance of road construction displaced 3000 people and broke the connection between Byker and the shops and facilities on Shields Road. Neglect and vandalism followed. Byker needed to be redeveloped. In November 1966 the Planning Department produced a booklet entitled 'Byker Neighbourhood: Guidelines for Development'. Proposals for redevelopment were progressed after a poll of residents in 1968. The Council appointed Ralph Erskine as architect in February 1970. He had designed houses at Killingworth in North Tyneside. The initial brief was to reappraise the draft proposals by Council architect, Douglas Cunningham. The aim was to house 9000 people at Byker. In July 1969 Erskine rented Nos. 45-47 Brinkburn Street, a former undertaker's premises. This became his project office both for Byker and a UK base for his Stockholm-based practice. In February 1970 Erskine produced his Plan of Intent ('A Report on the Byker Redevelopment Area'). There were to be two main traffic-free enclaves, mainly low-rise housing in sub-communities each with a specific local identity, a system of walkways partly based on existing streets, a 'wall' building to provide a sound barrier to the proposed dual carriageway, retention of existing community facilities (baths, churches, clubs), spaces provided amongst the housing for future community uses, shops and a doctor's surgery, 11 corner shops in amongst housing groups, new and existing schools, two care homes, a few small industrial units, district heating and an incinerator south of Walker Road, gardens for family dwellings, modular plans for dwelling types, a hierarchy of spaces - private, semi-private and private, a mix of people (families, elderly etc) throughout the housing. Design work was undertaken both in Byker and in Sweden. Vernon Gracie and Tony Smith were founder members of the UK office. The quantity surveyors were Gardiner & Theobold. Structural engineers were White Young & Partners. The estate is divided into different areas, physically and notionally. These were originally called phases or sub-communities, now referred to as neighbourhoods. 12 phases were built, a toal of 2010 dwellings. Janet Square was the pilot phase, built 1969-71 with 46 units. The perimeter block (The Wall) was begun 1971-74 with 212 dwellings. 165 units were added 1972-5. Kendal was built 1972-5 with 224 units. Grace Lee 1974-76 with 106 units. Gordon same time span, with 133 units. Dunn Terrace was built 1975-78 with 264 units. Bolam 1976-78 with 122 units. Chirton 1976-78 with 158 units. Janet Croft 1979-83 with 38 units. Raby Street 198-79 with 94 units. Carville 1978-80 with 161 units. Ayton 1978-80 with 152 units. Avondale 1979-83 135 units. A fundamental intention of the design was to provide a range of dwelling sizes (house, maisonette, flat, sheltered housing, care home) to suit the range of residents. The forms were also varied (terrace, number of storeys) to avoid the monotony of the 19th century terraces. The Wall is the tallest part of the estate - two blocks of curving sinuous flats and maisonettes, 5-8 storeys high. It was designed as a barrier to noise and pollution from the proposed motorway. South of The Wall are link blocks (Brinkburn House, Headlam House, Graham House, Jubilee Terraces). The link blocks gradually decreased the height and bulk of The Wall to the 2 storey housing below. Amongst the housing are a few feature buildings of 3 or 4 storeys to add variety (The Chevron, Bamburgh House, Headlam Green, Bolam Coyne, The Brow, Raby Cross Centre). The low-rise dwellings are grouped in short terraces (gossip groups) along pedestrian routes or around courtyards and squares. There are a handful of detached houses. The main fronts of the housings are south and west to take advantage of the light. Construction was based on quick pre-fabricated methods. The low-rise housing is largely timber-framed with ply-box roof beams and pre-insulated metal roof decking. Ayton is timber-framed with blockwork party walls. Avondale and Carville are brick-and-block construction with concrete tile roofs. The Wall has a cast concrete egg-crate cross-wall and floor construction, faced with brick-and-block cavity walling. The upper levels of the south elevation have cladding over the blockwork. The link blocks and feature buildings have load-bearing cavity wall construction with pre-cast concrete planks for floors and flat or sloping metal roofs. Community spaces included meeting rooms and hobby rooms. In 1992 there were 61 hobby rooms. The Byker Photographic Workshop on Raby Way uses a hobby room. The Raby Cross Centre incorporated 8 shop units, a doctor's surgery and social services office, six light industrial units and a pair of public toilets. A number of buildings were kept from 'old Byker' to provide points of reference to help local people find their way around the estate and to reinforce community ties. The historic buildings include Shipley Old Baths & Hall, 45 Brinkburn Street, St. Lawrence Church, Kingsland Church, St. Michael's Church. Several original boundary walls were left in-situ on Benson Place. 45 Brinkburn Street has been enlarged to create the Neighbourhood Housing Office. The older part of David Grieve House was the vicarage for St. Michael's Church. By the end of the redevelopment some parts of the Plan of Intent had not been built (Harbottle and Clydesdale). These and other areas were in-filled with housing in the 1980s by Boweys and other builders. These developments do not conform to the Erskine aesthetic. Vehicular circulation is laid out to the Radburn Principle (concentrated on the periphery of the estate). Street furniture was an integral part of the landscaping - bollards made from cut and creosoted telegraph poles, chain link fences, large boulders, fixed tables and benches constructed from timber slats, fragments of sandstone carvings and architectural details from demolished Victorian buildings (ruin bits). Many of these were salvaged from Newcastle's Town Hall. A complete door surround ?from Elswick Hall is built into the wall between 50 and 53 Ayton Rise. There is a children's climbing frame at Laverock Court and a shelter at Benson Place. Byker originally had a signage system with colour-coded maps and signs at each entry point to the estate. The maps have all gone and those street signs that survive are faded. There were brushed aluminium letterboxes of each front door engraved in black with the address. Not all of these survive. Erskine went on to design schemes in Myrstugeberget, Tappstrom and Helsinki. He was a consultant for the Greenwich Millennium Village in London. Ralph Erskine died in March 2005.

House located next door to the Jolly Fellows Inn (HER 16453 and 12071) on the north side of the village - probably 19th century in date. The building was two storeys in height and had a pan tile roof. The front elevation was divided into three bays with a central door flanked by sash windows with sandstone lintels and cills. The house had a series of small outbuildings. In the late 19th century the property was tenanted by Mr Richard Collins, a golf club manufacturer and merchant. Correspondence between Mr Collins and his landlord Joseph Brown are held at DRO (D/CG2/89) and includes a sketch plan of the house. Demolished 1950s.

The Elvaston Cottages were located on the north side of Ryton village. The cottages are likely to be 18th century in date. Their relation to the village green would also suggest that they are likely to be constructed on the site of earlier properties and plots.The two storey buildings were constructed in a single phase. The terrace was divided into two blocks, each with a separate two bedroom and one bedroom property. Each block had a shared yard and outbuildings. There were no cellars. Prior to 1902 the outbuildings included a washroom, pantry, coal house, shed and cycle store. Sanitation was limited to earth closets. The cottages were contructed of stone rubble with thick walls. The chimneys and internal stacks were brick with ceramic pots and slate roof. The sash windows in the front elevation had sandstone cills and flat arch linters. The ground floor windows were shuttered. The roof and chimneys appear to be later 19th century improvements but the bulk of the property is thought to be 18th century. The sash windows are without horns indicating an early 19th century date at the latest. Demolished 1950s.

The Cowen Cottages were located on the north side of Ryton village. Robert Cowen is listed in the tithe apportionment as a landowner in the area. The cottages are likely to be 18th century in date. Their relation to the village green would also suggest that they are likely to be constructed on the site of earlier properties and plots. The cottages comprised a two storey terrace of four buildings each with an outbuilding. A 1900 photograph shows the terrace with a slate roof and 19th century chimney pots. Each property had two rooms on each floor. The lower windows appear to be sash while the upper windows appear to be a simple casement. Demolished 1950s.

East-west aligned ditch or gully thought to be Roman in date. A portion of the ditch was excavated in 2012 by TWM. It measured 2.8m in width and was 0.7m deep. In profile the ditch had a steeply sloping northern face, a rounded base, and a southern face which was steeply sloping towards the base but became shallower to the south. Roman pottery was found within the ditch fill. Environmental samples indicated a background level of domestic waste. The feature may have been associated with an individual plot or area within the Condercum vicus.

Oil, grease and candle factory comprising of several buildings constructed in 1900 for Messrs Mawson, Clark and Co. The complex included a factory with a chimney, a reservoir and several railway sidings branching off the Derwenthaugh line. By the mid 1970s the buildings were extant although not in use as a candle factory. Now demolished.

Timber yard shown on the second edition ordnance survey plan, 1898. The yard probably formed part of the saw mills of Messrs Palmer, Hall and Co. which occupied a large stretch along the riverside.

In 1904 a new goods station office was built facing on to Forth Banks - currently known as Kings House. This three storey structure (with additional basement level) was possibly designed by William Bell, the architect for the North Eastern Railway from 1877 to 1925. The construction of this building was involved the demolition of the previous office accommodation which was located to the north of the brewery buildings. Associated with the construction of this building was the construction of a Weigh Office with a weighing machine either side, at the access to the yard area at the N end of Kings House. This was demolished sometime after 1962, likely when the Goods Station was demolished in the 1970s. The Kings House continued to be used as offices until the present development works. The building was recorded between 2011-2013 ahead of restoration as part of the Newcastle Area Command HQ development. Three different phases of internal recording were undertaken during soft stripping. Points of interest within the building include the prinicpal stairwell which uses creamy-yellow glazed brick, with a dado course of brown glazed brick which follows the slope of the stairs. There is also a possible original light fitting and original fireplace on the first floor. The original building contained a library, billiards room, reading room, drawing offices, stores and a residential area on the third floor. The clock tower room contains the original mechanism for the first clock although the current timepiece is digital.