R. Welford (1879) records that the subsiding tanks of the Local Board of Health stood next to Salter's Bridge. There were six tanks, each 80 feet x 8 feet, and capable of holding 58,000 gallons of sewage. They occupied the top of the embankment that skirts the private road to Gosforth House on the west. On the other side of the road next to the Ouse Burn were the filtration beds. When the sewage had passed through one or more of the tanks, and all the solid matter removed, the liquid runs under the raodway to the filtration beds. These were a field divided by cemented channels, from where the liquid flows over the soil and passes into drainage pipes below. The tanks were opened in 1876, the filtration beds in 1879. Both were designed and built by Mr Thomas Thomson C.E., the Board surveyor. The subsiding tanks cost £1,872 and the filtration beds £1,220.

The Sun Picture Hall was a converted slipper factory which had been built in 1902 to plans by W. Ellison Fenwick of Elson Square. The factory closed by 1909 and plans were plans for its conversion to a cinema by Gateshead architect W.R. Storey. The lessee and manager was Heaton merchant Carl Albert Aarstad. Seating was for 350. The Sun opened on 29 November 1909. In August 1913 Benjamin Spoor took over the cinema. Occasional variety shows were given right to the end. The Sun never installed sound. It was last licensed on 2 February 1934 and closed later that year. The building was demolished and the site is now occupied by a funeral directors.

Opened by Armstrong Electric Theatres Ltd on 10 March 1913. The architect was Percy L. Browne. The Scala had a spacious tiled entrance with marble staircases to the dress circle. There were 1200 seats which were upholstered in red plush. It cost £7000 to construct. Reseating later reduced the capacity to 986. The organ was a 2-manual Vincent. Throughout the 1920s music was provided by the Scala Orchestra. In 1928 the General Theatres Corporation (later Gaumont-British) took over. Talkies arrived in 1930. In April 1936 Sol Sheckman (Essoldo circuit) took over the Scala. The cinema closed on 1 July 1961. It was demolished and replaced by a supermarket (Tesco's).

The church hall was later used as a gymnasium for boxers appearing at St. James' Hall.

Beech Grove Congregational Church was built in 1896. S.J. Stephenson, architect, drew up plans to convert the church into a cinema in February 1932. The two spites were shortened and the Westmorland Road frontage hidden behind stucco. The owner was H.T. Smelt who owned the Plaza on Westgate Road. The cinema had 791 seats. The interior décor was by Fred A. Foster of Nottingham in the 'Spanish hacienda' style with trailing vines and bunches of grapes. In 1948 the Savoy became part of the Essoldo circuit and was allowed to decline. A freak storm damaged the roof in December 1965 and a fire broke out in a store room in May 1966. The Savoy closed. It reopened in October 1969 as a bingo club. Demolished in 1997.

Opened on 17 October 1934. The architects were Marshall and Tweedy, the owners were E.J. Hinge, S. Bamford and Norman Chapman. The cinema had 1384 seats. The façade of the building was white. It had a dome on the roof which was lit inside with coloured lights and there were scarlet, yellow, green and blue neon tube lighting. The foyer was accessed through wide swinging doors and up a flight of stairs. The interior décor was shades of flame red fading into cream. The walls were rose-pink and cream with green and gold bases and there were rows of pink lights on the tiered celling. The aisles had luxuriously deep green and orange carpet. In the mid 1970s the owners proposed to demolish the cinema and replace it with a five-storey entertainments complex. The scheme was turned down. In June 1978 the Royalty was bought by Whitley Bay Entertainments (the owners of Spanish City). Plans to convert it into a bingo hall were opposed. By May 1980 the cinema was owned by Paul Burton, manager of Dexy's Midnight Runners. The Royalty held occasional pop concerts. The cinema licence was not renewed in October 1981 and the Royalty closed. The cinema was demolished in May 1984 and flats built on the site.

The churchyard was consecrated in 1832. It was extended to the south in 1858 to accommodate a large number of burials from the workhouse. Further land was added in 1899. The churchyard was closed for burials in the 1960s. The churchyard contains the graves of several rich and powerful families (HER 12878-12886). The most famous is Richard Grainger (HER 9085). A 'Graveyard Group' was formed in 2009 to map the graves and collect information about the people who were buried there. Over 500 graves have been mapped so far. Burial records suggest that more than 9000 people were buried in St. James' Churchyard up until 1911. Contact judith.green@unn.ac.uk

John Atkinson Pendlington was a businessman with a passion for cricket. He was a member of Benwell Cricket Club and invented the Linear Method of cricket scoring. He lived on Fairholm Road in Benwell until he died in 1914.

Milvain was a ship owner. He lived at North Elswick Hall (site of Sacred Heart School) for over 40 years. His grave is marked by a marble tablet on the south wall of the church. There is also a stained glass window in his memory. One of the buildings at Newcastle General Hospital was named after him (the Milvain Building was latterly used for administration and has now been demolished) {1}. Henry Milvain (1804-1890) moved from Scotland to Newcastle aged 17. He became an apprentice to a draper before turning to shipping. He was also a River Tyne Commissioner. Milvain proposed the building of a hospital on the site of the workhouse on Westgate Road and laid the foundation stone for what is now Newcastle General Hospital.

Maughan was the first vicar of St. James' Church. He held the post from 1843 until 1877. He married Mary Atkinson, widow of Robert Thomas Atkinson who was John Buddle's nephew.