Earlier Dead Houses were a small building in Sandgate near the Milk Market, with two rooms, "one for dead bodies and the other as a residence for the attendant, an old lady named Glass" and a small house next to the Ouseburn Police Station on Tyne Street.
Site Type: Broad
Hospital Building
SITEDESC
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition. The Dead House was a morgue where "the bodies of persons found dead within the boundaries of Newcastle are conveyed for identification" (Newcastle Daily Chronicle, 1889). The Dead House was two storeys high with dormer windows, stone built with a pantiled roof and an external flight of stairs to the first floor. The monthly chronicle of 1889 stated that 'the houses…are probably about a couple of hundred years old". Indeed the property does seem to be shown on Hutton's map of 1770. The building probably became a morgue in the 1870s, "provided by the Newcastle Corporation with certain conveniences such as tables, disinfectants, grappling irons etc". An account published 16th March 1889 in the Newcastle Daily Chronicle stated that "it is very small and scarcely adequate for the purpose. If more than three or four bodies were conveyed to it at one time they would have to be placed on the floor. When the bodies are in a state of decomposition the effluvia is very offensive". The morgue was operated by the River Police who occupied the premises next door (HER 10451). In the 1840s and 50s the Dead House could also call upon the services of "Cuckoo Jack", noted for his skill in recovering about 200 dead bodies from the Tyne. It was calculated that one person per week fell from both Newcastle and Gateshead shores and drowned in the Tyne. Between 1894 and 1896, 24 cases were recorded. The Dead House was removed during the eastward extension of the Quayside with the construction of Norway Wharf, later Spiller's Quay.
Site Name
Quayside, Dead House
Site Type: Specific
Mortuary
HER Number
10450
Form of Evidence
Documentary Evidence
Sources
Shown on Ordnance Survey Second Edition of 1896; Ouseburn Heritage Magazine Summer 2003, 16-19 (piece by Geoff Underwood)
YEAR1
2008
YEAR2
2008
English, British
Class
Industrial
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
DAY1
07
District
Newcastle
Easting
426530
Grid ref figure
8
Map Sheet
NZ26SE
MONTH1
1
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
564070
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Victorian 1837 to 1901
Place
Byker
Description
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition.
Site Type: Broad
Chemical Industry Site
SITEDESC
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition.
Site Name
Kangaroo Soap Works, St. Lawrence Road
Site Type: Specific
Soap Factory
HER Number
10449
Form of Evidence
Documentary Evidence
Sources
Shown on Ordnance Survey Second Edition of 1896
YEAR1
2008
English, British
Class
Industrial
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
DAY1
07
District
Newcastle
Easting
426590
Grid ref figure
8
Map Sheet
NZ26SE
MONTH1
1
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
564040
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Victorian 1837 to 1901
Place
Byker
Description
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition.
Site Type: Broad
Metal Industry Site
SITEDESC
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition.
Site Name
St. Lawrence Iron Works, St. Lawrence Road
Site Type: Specific
Iron Works
HER Number
10448
Form of Evidence
Documentary Evidence
Sources
Shown on Ordnance Survey Second Edition of 1896
YEAR1
2008
English, British
Class
Commercial
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
DAY1
07
District
Newcastle
Easting
426520
Grid ref figure
8
Map Sheet
NZ26SE
MONTH1
1
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
564160
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Victorian 1837 to 1901
Place
Byker
Description
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition.
Site Type: Broad
Eating and Drinking Establishment
SITEDESC
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition. Small typical corner-site building. Part of the tied estate of Newcastle's Manor Brewery (Ridley Cutter & Firth). Rebuilt in 1914. In 1938 it passed to Vaux who built an extension to the rear between Back Street and St. Lawrence Road. Later renamed the Tynesider. It closed in 1989.
Site Name
St. Lawrence Road, Rose and Crown Public House
Site Type: Specific
Public House
HER Number
10447
Form of Evidence
Documentary Evidence
Sources
Ordnance Survey Second Edition of 1896; Brian Bennison, 1997, Heavy Nights - A History of Newcastle's Public Houses, Volume Two, The North and East, p 26
YEAR1
2008
English, British
Class
Gardens Parks and Urban Spaces
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
DAY1
07
District
Newcastle
Easting
426670
Grid ref figure
8
Map Sheet
NZ26SE
MONTH1
1
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
563980
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Victorian 1837 to 1901
Place
Byker
Description
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition.
Site Type: Broad
Urban Space
SITEDESC
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition.
Site Name
St. Lawrence Square
Site Type: Specific
Square
HER Number
10446
Form of Evidence
Documentary Evidence
Sources
Shown on Ordnance Survey Second Edition of 1896
YEAR1
2008
English, British
AREA_STAT
Conservation Area
Class
Industrial
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
DAY1
07
District
Newcastle
Easting
424950
Grid ref figure
8
Map Sheet
NZ26SW
MONTH1
1
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
563640
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Victorian 1837 to 1901
Place
Newcastle
Description
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition.
Site Type: Broad
Wood Processing Site
SITEDESC
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition.
Site Name
Mansion House Saw Mills, The Close
Site Type: Specific
Saw Mill
HER Number
10445
Form of Evidence
Documentary Evidence
Sources
Shown on Ordnance Survey Second Edition of 1896
YEAR1
2008
English, British
AREA_STAT
Conservation Area
Class
Industrial
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
DAY1
07
District
Newcastle
Easting
424950
Grid ref figure
8
Map Sheet
NZ26SW
MONTH1
1
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
563670
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Victorian 1837 to 1901
Place
Newcastle
Description
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition.
Site Type: Broad
Fuel Production Site
SITEDESC
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition. Built over part of Mansion House (HER 6615).
Site Name
The Close, Northern Oil Works
Site Type: Specific
Oil Distillery
HER Number
10444
Form of Evidence
Documentary Evidence
Sources
Shown on Ordnance Survey Second Edition of 1896
YEAR1
2008
English, British
AREA_STAT
Conservation Area
Class
Gardens Parks and Urban Spaces
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
Crossref
6615
DAY1
07
District
Newcastle
Easting
424990
Grid ref figure
8
Map Sheet
NZ26SW
MONTH1
1
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
563690
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Victorian 1837 to 1901
Place
Newcastle
Description
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition.
Between 2018-2019 an archaeological evaluation identified the truncated sandstone remains of 19th-20th century warehouses and subsequent ancillary structures. Deposits showed extensive landscape remodelling. And a single sherd of medieval pottery was found in a previous borehole core.
Site Type: Broad
Courtyard
SITEDESC
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition.
Between 2018-2019 an archaeological evaluation identified the truncated sandstone remains of 19th-20th century warehouses and subsequent ancillary structures. Deposits showed extensive landscape remodelling. And a single sherd of medieval pottery was found in a previous borehole core.
Site Name
Mansion House Yard, The Close
Site Type: Specific
Courtyard
HER Number
10443
Form of Evidence
Documentary Evidence
Sources
Shown on Ordnance Survey Second Edition of 1896; Cockcroft, D and Nicholson, M 2019, Archaeological Evaluation at Riverview Melia Hotel, The Close, Newcastle upon Tyne
YEAR1
2008
English, British
AREA_STAT
Conservation Area
Class
Commercial
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
DAY1
07
District
Newcastle
Easting
425010
Grid ref figure
8
Map Sheet
NZ26SW
MONTH1
1
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
563720
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Victorian 1837 to 1901
Place
Newcastle
Description
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition.
Site Type: Broad
Eating and Drinking Establishment
SITEDESC
Shown on Ordnance Survey second edition. Closed in 1941.
Site Name
The Close, Queen's Head Public House
Site Type: Specific
Public House
HER Number
10442
Form of Evidence
Documentary Evidence
Sources
Ordnance Survey Second Edition of 1896; Bennison, Brian, 1996, Heady Days - A History of Newcastle's Public Houses, Volume One, The Central Area, p 40