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Old Eldon Square


Old Eldon Square off Blackett Street was built 1825 - 1831 as part of the mid 19th century redevelopment of Newcastle city centre. It was designed by John Dobson and built by Richard Grainger, with terrace buildings around 3 sides of the square. The square has changed significantly since then. A large equestrian bronze war memorial was added in 1923, and the square was opened up with paths laid across it. The biggest changes came in the 1970s when the 19th century terraces around 2 sides of the square were demolished to make way for the Eldon Square Shopping Centre. Old Eldon Square remains an important green space within the city centre. The remaining east terrace of Eldon Square is Grade II* listed on the National Heritage List for England.

Old Eldon Square is a public square on Blackett Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. As well as green space the square is the site of a war memorial and location for the city's Remembrance Day commemoration.

History

Eldon Square was built as part of the 1825–40 reconstruction of Newcastle city centre.

In 1824 John Dobson was commissioned by Richard Grainger to produce designs for Eldon Square. The design was for three terraces facing a central square, each terrace being of two and a half storeys. The east and west terraces consisted of 27 bays of windows, whilst the north terrace had 39 bays. The first floors had continuous cast-iron balconies with Grecian honeysuckle decoration. Beyond this and the giant Doric pilasters at the end of each terrace there was no other decoration. The terraces were faced with finely cut ashlar.

The war memorial

Designed by Charles Leonard Hartwell, and unveiled by Earl Haig in 1923, the war memorial is situated at the centre of the square. It is a large Portland stone pedestal, with a different relief on each of the four sides. They are:

:North: the words "Memory Lingers Here" above a bronze sculptured wreath.

:South: a sculptured picture of a lion below the dates 1914-1918 and 1939-1945.

:East: a bronze relief of Justice, displaying two grieving women and a third (Lady Justice) holding the scales.

:West: a bronze relief of Peace, displaying a woman with a child and the Angel of Peace.

On the top is a large bronze equestrian statue of Saint George, the patron saint of infantrymen and cavalrymen, slaying the dragon.

Eldon Square Shopping Centre

In the 1960s the west and north terraces around the square were demolished to be replaced by part of Eldon Square Shopping Centre which now dominates Old Eldon Square.

Some renovation was completed in 2008 and the square now features new landscaping and ground level access to the shopping centre.

Text from Wikipedia, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (accessed: 28/01/2017).
Visit the page: Eldon Square for references and further details. You can contribute to this article on Wikipedia.
Blackett Street John Dobson (1787 - 1865) Redevelopment of Newcastle 1824 to 1841 1831 Eldon Square Shopping Centre Impact of Eldon Square Historic Buildings and Monuments in Newcastle Local List Terrace, east side of Old Eldon Square War Memorial, Old Eldon Square
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038534:Eldon Square Newcastle upon Tyne Collard c.1840

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Eldon Square c1956

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
014672:Eldon Square Newcastle upon Tyne Signey J. 1965

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037974:Eldon Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, c1960

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Eldon Square, Newcastle

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
Blackett Street - Eldon Square looking east towards Grey's Monument. 1904

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
022291:Eldon Square Central Newcastle Upon Tyne 1972

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
050859:Eldon Square 1914

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
045240:Eldon Square 1965

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
022064:Eldon Square Central Newcastle Upon Tyne 1971

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021964:Christmas tableau, Eldon Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1971

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025608:Eldon Square Newcastle upon Tyne 1928

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Eldon Square, 1963

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Eldon Square War Memorial on St George's Day

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Eldon Square Shopping Centre
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Eldon Square Shopping Centre
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
018496:Eldon Square Central Newcastle Upon Tyne 1969

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
041317:Eldon Square c1960

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from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
015302:Eldon Square Newcastle upon Tyne 1966.

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from http://www.twsitelines.info/S…
Tyne and Wear HER(9929): Newcastle, Old Eldon Square
- "Old Eldon Square was laid out within a three sided development of 1825-31, which John Dobson designed for Richard Grainger. Formerly surrounded by railings, the space was opened out when …

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John Dobson (1787 - 1865)
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John Dobson (1787 - 1865)
- Overview About John Dobson Buildings by John Dobson John Dobson was a 19th centaury architect in the North of England. He had a prolific career, designing over 50 churches and …
Redevelopment of Newcastle 1824 to 1841
  Co-Curate Page
Redevelopment of Newcastle 1824 to 1841
- In the mid 19th century the layout of the centre of Newcastle was redesigned and developed by Richard Grainger with the support of John Clayton (town clerk) and architects, notably …
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Old Eldon Square panorama

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Old Eldon Square from Eldon Square roof car park

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Old Eldon Square

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Eldon Square, Newcastle, April 2009 (2)

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Eldon Square

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2009-08 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 017

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053112:No Title available

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Deckchairs in Old Eldon Square

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Deckchairs in Old Eldon Square

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Temporary giant slide on Blackett Street, Newcastle, Christmas 2019

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Old Eldon Square, Newcastle. Christmas 2019. A giant bobslay slide can be seen in the background on Blackett Street, which has been closed to traffic during the Christmas period.

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Newcastle from Grey’s Monument

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Tyne & Wear HER: 9929
Post code: NE1 7UG
Grid ref: NZ24726449

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