As part of a major seafront renovation in Whitley Bay, a large open area next to the Dome, called Spanish City Plaza was developed and officially opened by Alan Campbell, MP, on the 7th of April 2014.
Work on the Ouseburn Viaduct by Network Rail and Carillion Rail won a National Railway Heritage Award. The work was needed to strengthen the bridge, which is used by trains on the East Coast main line; a 20 mph speed limit had been imposed for safety reasons. The work, costing £12.5m began in 2010. Modern steelwork was added to strengthen the viaduct, without detracting from its appearance, and the 19th century wrought iron work was restored. The steep-sided valley made the work challenging and required the largest self-supporting scaffold in the country at the time, 30m above ground. The award was announced in December 2013 and a presentation ceremony took place on the 11th of April 2014, when John Ellis, Chairman of the National Railway Heritage Awards, unveiled a plaque on the viaduct.
A distinctive metal statue of a First World War soldier, by local artist Ray Lonsdale, was installed near the seafront in Seaham in May 2014. It is entitled '1101' (after the Armistice which went into effect at 11am on November 11, 1918), but commonly known as 'Tommy' by the local community. It was initially intended to be a temporary feature, however, a local fund-raising drive succeeded in retaining the statue.
The Response memorial in Newcastle featured on a postage stamp to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. This was one of six commemorative stamps released in July 2014, with another set of six stamps released each year up to 2018.
The Durham Light Infantry Memorial on the Market Place in Durham was unveiled on the 14th of September 2014. The unveiling ceremony was led by the Bishop of Durham, Paul Butler, and attended by DLI veterans and invited guests included the Ambassador of The Republic of Korea.
"The Core" opened in November 2014. It was the first building completed as part of Science Central - a new quarter of Newcastle’s city centre. The building, dedicated to 'Future City Challenges', hosts companies and part of Newcasle University.
Frank Atkinson, a founder of Beamish open-air museum, died on the 30th December 2014. He was a visionary museum director and curator. In 1966 he was instrumental in setting-up the working party to establish the open-air museum to preserve and exhibit the development of industry and the way of life of the North of England.
Co-Curate is a project which brings together online collections, museums, universities, schools
and community groups to make and re-make stories and images from North East England and Cumbria.
Co-Curate
is a trans-disciplinary project that will open up 'official' museum and 'un-officia'l co-created
community-based collections and archives through innovative collaborative approaches using
social media and open archives/data.
