Topics > Tyne and Wear > Newcastle upon Tyne > Byker

Byker


 

Byker is an inner city electoral ward in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England. It is in the east of the city, south of the Heaton area and north of St Peter's. Byker Metro station serves the area. The area also contains the Byker Wall estate. The population of the ward is 11,339, increasing to 12,206 at the 2011 Census, which is 4.4% of the city's total. Car ownership stands at 35.4%, much lower than the city average of 54.7%.

Byker has suffered the kinds of the social problems common to other inner-city urban housing areas, including juvenile crime and vandalism. In parts of Byker turnover of tenancies has been high. Families have moved away - particularly those in employment. Some shops and services have been abandoned and boarded up. In the mid-1990s it was estimated one in three of Byker's adult inhabitants was unemployed.

Byker is well known as the setting of the former BBC TV series Byker Grove and although set in the ward, the youth club featured in the series was filmed at The Mitre in the Benwell area in the west end of Newcastle.

History

Possibly the earliest form of the visible evidence of development in Byker was by the Roman Emperor, Hadrian. A wall, turrets and mile castles, stretching from the east to the west coast provided a barrier to invading border clans and tribes. Hadrian’s Wall lies just south of Shields Road and was excavated in the 1990s. The area was populated by soldiers and their suppliers of foods, livestock and trades, such as weavers, saddlers and blacksmiths amongst others. There are the remains of a mile castle or small fort near Brough Park dog track.

Byker first appeared in historical documents in 1198 ‘as the most important Serjeantry in Northumberland’ held by William of Byker, named William Escolland, who was a Norman noble. In 1549 the Mayor and Burgesses of Newcastle sought to extend the town's boundaries to include part of Byker Township, to take advantage of the land by the river ‘for the dropping of ballast for the coal trade’. The transaction was disputed due to financial disagreements and eventually settled in the House of Commons and the House of Lords in London.

Development

Until the 1960s, Byker was a Victorian working-class area of densely built terraces. Much of the housing needed major repair and some was considered unfit for human habitation (many houses lacked bathrooms), yet most residents wanted to stay in Byker, an area close to industry on the riverside. In 1966 Newcastle City Corporation took the decision to redevelop the Byker area. The council aimed to clear the slums but keep the community.

Byker was extensively photographed before its demolition, primarily by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, who lived in Byker from 1969. The photographs that Konttinen took toured China in 1980 and later appeared in the book Byker.

Ralph Erskine was appointed as the architect in 1969 for the new Byker. The development was run as a "rolling programme" so local people could continue living in the area during the building work. Residents were involved in the design process and it is thought the outstanding success of Byker was as much to do with this as its innovative architecture which used a very different style to the brutalist approach which was more common at the time.

On 21 May 2012 the area made news when a female Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) was sexually assaulted whilst on duty in the Morrisons branch on Shields Road, Byker. The assailant, Rory Douglas was detained by the female PCSO and then arrested. Later Douglas was put on trial in Newcastle Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to sexual assault and was given a conditional discharge and ordered to sign the sex offender register for 12 months.

New leisure and shopping facilities have been brought to the Shields Road area. There are street wardens operating in Byker to deter vandalism and other low level crime. Education and employment initiatives aim to break the cycle of unemployment. There are also proposals to improve the fabric of the Byker area and the Ouseburn Valley in general.

Education

The ward has three primary schools, St. Lawrence RC Primary School, Welbeck Primary School and Byker Primary School, which is equipped with a nursery class. The ward does not have any secondary schools, the nearest secondary schools are Heaton Manor School, Walker Technology College and Benfield School.

Recreation and leisure

Most of these facilities are in the bordering ward of South Heaton such as the East End Pool & Library on Corbridge Street. Open green spaces in the ward are very limited and the ward hosts the Byker in Bloom gardening competition which takes place in every summer. In 2008, Newcastle City Council agreed a lease of the former Byker Swimming Pool on Shipley Place which had remained closed and unused since the late 1990s, allowing it to be converted into an indoor bouldering and climbing centre known as 'Climb Newcastle'.

Transport

Byker is served by Byker Metro station on the Tyne and Wear Metro and Shields Road is served by numerous bus routes.

Boundary

Byker ward stretches from the Fossway and Millers Road in the north of the ward to the banks of the River Tyne in the south. It heads south onto the Shields Road bypass (A187) and continues along the A193 bypass along Shields Road to the Ouse Burn. It turns south down the Ouse Burn to the River Tyne and follows the river east, turning northwards to the west of the properties on The Oval (and excluding the Bakewell Terrace properties). Heading east along Walker Road, the boundary then turns north up Monkchester Road and continues north. It turns west along Dunstanburgh Road, and then north between Welbeck Primary School grounds and the properties on Allendale Road. It turns east along Welbeck Road, then north up Scrogg Road, east at Middle Street, and north along Langley Road. The boundary then runs along the gardens at the back of Whinneyfield Road before turning west down the Fossway.

Text from Wikipedia, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (accessed: 12/01/2017).
Visit the page: Byker for references and further details. You can contribute to this article on Wikipedia.
Newcastle upon Tyne Church of St Ann, City Road Ballast Hills Graveyard Byker Metro Bridge Former Ouseburn Schools, Walker Road Ouseburn All Saints' Parish, 1855 Byker at War Byker Metro Station Byker Wall Byker, 1848 Church of St Silas, Byker Church of St. Michael with St. Lawrence, Byker Community Housing Service, Byker Dent's Hole, Byker East End Library Map and Aerial View Old Swimming Baths, Byker Shields Road St Lawrence Colliery (c1831 - c1934) Tom Collins House, Byker Tyne Street
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058835:F class tram no.107 Byker Depot Byker Unknown Undated

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067398: Byker Wall, Byker, c.1982

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067320:Byker Wall Byker Unknown c.1980s

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052601:Fleet of buses Byker Depot Byker Unknown 1936

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037886:Byker Primary School Commercial Road Byker City Engineers 1978

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059256:Imperial cinema Byker Bank Byker Unknown c.1984

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046255:Byker Metro Bridge Newcastle upon Tyne City Engineers 1980

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037885:Byker School Byker Unknown around 1903.

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022564:Shields Road Byker Newcastle Upon Tyne City Engineers 1974

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057686:Warkworth Street/Shields Road Byker Unknown Undated

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043529:Northern Counties Meat Co. Shields Road Byker Unknown c.1907

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069439:Official opening of East End Library Byker Unknown 2000

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052157:Clock Tower next to Byker Metro Station

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Ouseburn
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Ouseburn
- "Around the Valley edges, significant and diverse populations live in Byker Wall, the St Lawrence area, St Ann’s and Battlefield estates and the Lime Square and Mariner’s Wharf developments plus …
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Shields Road, Byker

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Byker_ The Stags Head1

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Byker, Newcastle: Bolam Coyne

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Byker, Newcastle: East End Pool and Library

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Byker, Newcastle: Shields Road

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Byker, Newcastle: Byker bypass

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Byker, Newcastle: Raby Street

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Byker, Newcastle: Whickham Gardens

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Thomas W Robson, Byker, lost with Pathfinder

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James William De Voy, Byker, lost at sea

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The Byker Story

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Byker Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne

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Shields Road, Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne

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Church in Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne

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Byker Church, Newcastle upon Tyne

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048288:Byker Bank/Wilkinson's Court Byker Unknown c.1892-1902

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035351:Byker Buildings Byker Dept of Environmental Health c.1935

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016407:Trolleybuses Byker Depot Byker Unknown 1948

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071378:Interior Byker Depot Byker Unknown 1905

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053543:Grand Theatre Wilfred Street Byker Unknown pre 1954

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041143:Electric tram cars Byker Depot Byker Unknown c.1917

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037281:Road-sweeper pulled by a tram Byker Unknown 1910

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035441:Decorated tram Byker Depot Byker Evening World 1930

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067450:The Glendale Byker Unknown; mid 1990s

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045026:Allendale Road Byker City Engineers 1984

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015362:Byker Tavern 1920

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023437:Kendal Street Byker City Engineers 1975

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022565:Byker Newcastle upon Tyne City Engineers 1974

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046986: J. Mills Chemist, Shields Road, Byker

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578635:Bamborough (Bamboro') cinema Union Road Byker Unknown c.1963

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069207:Lipton 222 Shields Road Byker Unknown c.1920

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068678:Apollo cinema Shields Road Byker Unknown 1956

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063378:Shopping Centre Byker Maybury Malcolm 1996

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062894:Hare & Hounds, Raby Street, Byker

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056270:Children's party, Byker, 1908

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056273:Bolam Street School Byker Unknown 1910

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054603:Three children Quality Row Byker Halliday Fred 1912

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050961:Maling Street Byker Unknown 1906

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050779:St. Lawrence Bottle Works Byker Unknown 1908

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050780:St. Lawrence Bottle Works Byker Unknown 1908

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041791:Ford Street Byker City Engineers 1981

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034610:No.17 River Street Byker Dept of Environmental Health c.1935

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033719:Cumberland Arms Byker Unknown 1966

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022606:East End Police Station, Headlam Street, Byker, City Engineers 1974

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025218:Shields Road Byker Newcastle Upon Tyne c.1910

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022556:Shields Road Byker Newcastle Upon Tyne City Engineers 1974

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JH Patterson - Byker

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TW Patterson (Sanderson?) - Byker

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Es. S? - Byker

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Joseph H Sanderson - Byker

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062965:Headlam Street Byker Unknown 1961

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053592:Tivoli Picture Hall Walker Road/Raby Street Byker Unknown 1910

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048466:Street sweepers Gordon Road Byker Unknown 1910

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046300:St. Peter's School, Raby Street, Byker, 1927-8

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022300:Brinkburn cinema Brinkburn Street Byker Unknown 1972

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H Ponton - NF - Byker

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R Wilkinson- Byker

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Thomas Barkess - HMS Viknor - Byker

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Walter J Lake - RSF - Byker Bank

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A Gill - NF - Byker

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TW Sanderson - Byker

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T Reid, Byker, interned in Holland

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AV McGlen, Byker, killed

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J or T Gay, Byker, interned in Holland

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027355:St. Mark's Church Shields Road Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown c.1910

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Ivy Speed - Fundraiser - Byker

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Mrs Stevens - Byker - Sons with the Colours

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CE Snowball - Byker

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M Snowball - Byker

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063390:Jacksons Shields Road Maybury Malcolm 1996

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S Waterhouse - 13th NF - Byker (Killed)

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J Stephenson - 11th DLI - Byker (Killed)

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Byker Community Trust

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Simon Cotterill
Church of St Ann, City Road
  Co-Curate Page
Church of St Ann, City Road
- Overview Map Street View St Ann's Church is located by City Road / Breamish Street in the Battlefield area of Newcastle. The parish church was built 1764-1768 for the Corporation of Newcastle …
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The Old Manor House at Byker, as it appeared in the Eighteenth Century.

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Byker, Newcastle, September 1970

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Aerial view of Byker, 1978

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056141:Refuse Collectors Byker Unknown c.1912

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016475:Apollo cinema Shields Road Byker 1967

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021483:St Peters Byker Newcastle Upon Tyne 1971

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051768:Odeon cinema Shields Road Byker Unknown 1957-1958

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046354:Newcastle Corporation Tramways Staff Byker Depot Byker Unknown early 1920s

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034820:Brough's Buildings Byker Dept of Environmental Health c.1935

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025489:E. Chapman Corn Merchants Dalton Street Byker City Engineers 1976

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025219:Byker Bridge Unknown c.1905

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008560:St. Lawrence's Church Walker Road Byker Unknown c.1920

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055045:Advertising stunt Grand Theatre Byker/Scala Heaton c.1932

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048485:Avondale Road Byker Signey James 1968

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042934:Sand/Salt car 310 fitted with a snow plough Byker Depot Byker Unknown c.1947

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008261:St. Silas' Church Clifford Street Byker Unknown c.1912

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025490:E. Chapman Corn Merchant Dalton Street Byker City Engineers 1976

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025488:E. Chapman Corn Merchant Dalton Street Byker City Engineers 1976

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035030:Nos 10-13 Albion Row Byker Dept. of Environmental Health c.1935

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022365:Byker Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown 1973

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038369:Albion Row Byker City Engineers 1969

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030376:Stag's Head Headlam Street Byker 1966

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030379:Dues Bar, Byker, 1966

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034788:Ouseburn Road Byker Dept of Environmental Health c.1935

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041448:Tram interior Byker Depot Byker Unknown Undated

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037027:Ballast Hill Park Byker Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown 1936

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028871:Spires Lane Byker City Engineers 1976

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030369:New Hawk Inn Byker Bank Byker 1966

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063335:The Plough at Byker Byker Bank/Wolsely Street Maybury Malcolm 1996

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from Youtube (youtube)
Byker Drone Flight AMAZING HD! - Newcastle-Upon-Tyne - #EpicDroneClips No.5

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DJI Mavic pro drone over Byker Newcastle england

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Newcastle Greyhound Stadium

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Edward VII postbox, Crawhall Road, Newcastle upon Tyne

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Former Ouseburn Schools, Walker Road
  Co-Curate Page
Former Ouseburn Schools, Walker Road
- Overview Map Street View Newcastle Enterprise Centre (aka Ouseburn House) is a large building located on Walker Road by it's junctions with Albion Row and Ford Streets. The building was originally …
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Byker Newcastle: Stag's Head

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Byker Newcastle: Shipley Rise

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Byker Newcastle

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Byker Newcastle: Byker wall

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Byker Newcastle: Felton Walk

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Byker Newcastle: East End pool

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Byker Newcastle: Raby Crescent

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Byker Newcastle: Raby Gate

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Ballast Hills Graveyard
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Ballast Hills Graveyard
- Overview Map Street View Ballast Hills, Ouseburn / Byker. This was a non-conformist burial ground associated with the influx of foreign (some adopting Quakerism) and Scottish families (many Presbyterians) into …
All Saints' Parish, 1855
  Co-Curate Page
All Saints' Parish, 1855
- Extract from: History, Topography, and Directory of Northumberland...Whellan, William, & Co, 1855. This parish comprises the townships of All Saints', Byker, and Heaton, the former of which constitutes the eastern …
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054822:Albion Buildings Byker City Engineers 1979

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038338:Byker Reservoir Byker Unknown 1902

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A Winter's afternoon at the Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne

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William Parker (1790 - 1858)

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