Ravensworth Road, Riverside Lodge Public House

This public house originated as the Cross Keys Hotel, rebuilt for John Rowell & son in the year of Queen Victoria’s death – the time of a great sea change in the political and cultural life of the country. It is fascinating that when first opened, provision was made for ‘a room entirely devoted to temperance requirements’; rather an ironic undertaking for an establishment generally intended for the opposite purpose! The building is of significant size, and uses a slightly exuberant, satisfyingly varied palette in terms of design and materials. It is bold and well detailed, and retains almost all of its original features. The frontage is extensive, constructed primarily in brick, with mock timber framing animating the 1st floor of the principal section and gables to either side. A subsidiary block set back to the south utilises proportionally more brick and is rather domestic in appearance, retaining the lead work to the 1st floor bay windows which was part of the original design for the whole upper floor. The sandstone dressings offer a pleasing visual contrast with the brick, expressed in cill and lintel bands and nicely moulded architraves. One of the key features are the tall, slender chimneys with cornice detail and narrow pots, which grace the various planes of the slate roof, as well as the rows of thick section timber framed glazing with multiple vertical lights. The attractive, quality detailing also includes cast iron rainwater goods, with some decorative curly brackets, and delightful terracotta finials. Simple cast iron grilles provide ventilation but unfortunately additional extraction vents have been introduced through the wall. This is virtually the only alteration to the original building, and, whilst flat-roofed, the rear extension has been constructed with great sensitivity, employing matching design elements and materials. It is a significant building in the area, with a strong visual presence on the street, and represents a good example of the explosion in pub rebuilding around the turn of the 20th century. MATERIALS Brick, stone, timber, render ARCHITECT James W Frazer (49 Grey Street, Newcastle) DATES 1901 (rebuilding) LOCAL LIST