JESMOND DENE CONSERVATION A CHARACTER STATEMENT · 2019. 1. 24. · 2 Jesmond Dene Consevation Area Character Statement 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Terms of Reference Conservation Areas Conservation

JESMOND DENECONSERVATION AREA

CHARACTER STATEMENT

Jesmond Dene Consevation Area Character Statement

1Jesmond Dene Consevation Area Character Statement

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 2

1.1 Terms of reference: conservation areas evaluation 2

1.2 Jesmond Dene – purpose of designation, principles of character and

boundaries 4

2. DEVELOPMENT OF JESMOND DENE CONSERVATION AREA 8

2.1 Archaeological assessment 8

2.2 Historical development 8

2.3 Recent changes within the Conservation Area 11

2.4 Planning policy and decision making 11

3. SETTLEMENT ASSESSMENT

– BUILT CHARACTER AND LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT 12

3.1 Sub-area 1; 12

The Dene, Paddy Freeman’s Fields, Castle Farm Road, Haddricks Mill Road,Matthew Bank, Jesmond Dene Road

3.2 Sub-area 2; 27

Jesmond Park East, Melbury Road, Jesmond Park West

3.3 Sub-area 3; 31

Fenwick Terrace

3.4 Sub-area 4: 34

Lindisfarne Road, Lindisfarne Close, Adderstone Crescent, Glastonbury Grove,Castleton Grove

3.5 Sub-area 5; 39

Osborne Road, North Jesmond Avenue, Mitchell Avenue, Towers Avenue,Crossway, Bemersyde Drive, Newbrough Crescent, St George’s Close

Acknowledgements 44

2 Jesmond Dene Consevation Area Character Statement

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Terms of Reference

Conservation Areas

Conservation areas were first introducedby the Civic Amenities Act 1967, and aredefined as being “areas of specialarchitectural or historical interest thecharacter or appearance of which it isdesirable to preserve or enhance”. Theydepend on much more than the quality ofindividual buildings, and take intoaccount features such as building layout,open spaces, trees, boundaries,thoroughfares, the mix of uses, buildingmaterials and street furniture. It iscommon for a conservation area toinclude a number of buildings which aredesignated as Listed Buildings becauseof their individual architectural or historicvalue.

Conservation Area Appraisals

The approach to conservation areadesignation has altered dramatically inrecent years. It is now recognised thatdevelopment plan policy, developmentcontrol decisions, proposals forpreservation or enhancement, and themanagement of conservation areas canbe best achieved when there is a clearand sound understanding of the specialinterest of the conservation area.PPG15 urges Local Authorities toprepare detailed assessments of theirconservation areas and states that “themore clearly the special architectural orhistoric interest that justifies designationis defined and recorded, the sounder thebasis for local plan policies anddevelopment control decisions, as wellas for the preservation and enhancementof the character and appearance of theconservation area”.

Value of the Appraisal

The value of the appraisal is two-fold.First, its publication will improve theunderstanding of the value of the built

heritage. It will provide property ownerswithin the conservation area, andpotential developers with clearerguidance on planning matters and thetypes of development, which are likely tobe encouraged. Secondly, it will enableNewcastle City Council to improve itsstrategies, policies and attitude towardsthe development opportunities, prioritiesand protection of the conservation area.The appraisal will form a sound basis forestablishing effective conservationpolicies; support the effectivedetermination of planning and listedbuilding applications; and form relevantevidence in planning appeals withspecific emphasis on those relating tothe demolition of unlisted buildings.

Evaluation Criteria Buildingsand Development Sites

• Existence/proximity to listedbuildings, scheduled ancientmonuments, protected trees andfeatures of interest

• Grouping cohesiveness, linkage/relationships to other buildings

• Period, style, materials, colour,detail, proportions, status

• Uniqueness, distinctiveness,consistency, inventiveness

• Local, regional or nationalimportance

• Completeness, condition,construction

• Cultural, historical or “folklore/popular” associations

• Archaeological and industrialarchaeological importance

• Orientation, access, form, height,plot shape

• Relationship to topography andurban grain

• Density/proximity to other buildings

• Historical or planning precedents

• Opportunity for creative


• Jesmond Dene Conservation Area Boundary


contemporary solutions

• Threat from unsympatheticdevelopment

Streetscape

• Historical street pattern

• Effect of proportion, alignment andtopography on enclosure

• Street furniture, signs and features

• Landscaping and surfacing

• Shopfronts and commercialtreatment

• Period, style, materials, colour,detail, proportion, status

• Relationship to urban grain

• Relationship and hierarchy withconnecting spaces

• Cohesiveness and relationship toadjacent buildings

• Local, regional or nationalsignificance

• Completeness, condition,construction

• Cultural, historical or “folklore/popular” associations

• Archaeological and industrialarchaeological importance

• Uniqueness, distinctiveness,consistency, inventiveness

• Visual and physical activity

• Traffic and access

• Effects of differing lightingconditions

1.2 Jesmond DeneThe conservation area liesapproximately 1.5 miles to the east ofthe City Centre. The area consists oflow density late Victorian and Edwardianhousing, with a small number of earlierhousing developments, set in the maturelandscape of the Dene. The Dene’s

landscape is a juxtaposition of a numberof different influences, which reflect itshistory, past land-use and differinglandscape designs.

Purpose of Designation

The conservation area was designatedin 1991 and extended in 2001. Theoriginal purpose of designation was toprotect the Dene and its setting.

The area is of high environmental andhistoric character and is subject to acontinued pressure for developmentwhich, if not sympathetically controlledand directed would detract from thesequalities.

Boundary of Conservation Area

The conservation area follows the line ofArmstrong Bridge at the south end, tothe east it follows Jesmond Park West asfar as Castles Farm Road. The easternboundary follows Jesmond Park Westand Freeman Road as far as CastlesFarm Road. It continues north fromCastles Farm Road along the edge ofthe Dene to its most northern point inSouth Gosforth. The west boundaryreturns along Haddricks Mill Road,Matthew Bank, Jesmond Dene Road asfar as Osborne Road. It then follows thebacks of gardens to Castleton Grove.The boundary then takes in The Groveand Fenwick Terrace/CollingwoodTerrace.

For the purposes of this study theconservation area has been divided into5 sub-areas:

1. The Dene

2. Land to the east of the Dene

3. Fenwick Terrace and Collingwood Terrace

4. Adderstone Crescent/Lindisfarne Road area to west of the Dene

5. Towers and Mitchell Avenue.

These are dealt with on a street-by-street basis.


• Jesmond Dene Conservation Area boundary with sub areas


• Jesmond Dene Conservation Area boundary with listed buildings


Statutory DesignationsThere are a number of scheduledancient monuments and listed buildingsin the conservation area. These are:

• St Mary’s Chapel – scheduledancient monument

• St Mary’s Well – scheduled ancientmonument

• St George’s Church – grade I

• Jesmond Towers – grade II*

• The Lodge – grade II

• Jesmond Dene House – grade II

• Lodge at entrance to JesmondDene House – grade II

• Banqueting Hall – grade II

• Gatehouse to Banqueting Hall –grade II

• Jesmond Real Tennis Court –grade II

• Akhurst School – grade II

• Jesmond Dene Mill – grade II

• Armstrong Bridge – grade II

• Castles Farm Bridge – grade II

• Bridge to west of Jesmond DeneMill – grade II

• Footbridge north of Banqueting Hall– grade II

• Footbridge south of Red Walk –grade II

In addition, the Dene is included on theRegister of Historic Parks and Gardensof Special Historic Interest and is

grade II.

The Unitary Development Plan (UDP)makes the following, additional,designations:

• Area of exceptional landscapevalue

• Area of countryside character

• Site of Nature ConservationImportance (SNCI)

• Neighbourhood park

• Area of archaeological interest.

• Footbridge across River Ouseburn • St. Mary’s Chapel


2. DEVELOPMENT OFTHE CONSERVATIONAREA

2.1 ArchaeologicalAssessment

Jesmond was, until the 19th century,almost entirely agricultural. In contrast,the Dene was used for industrialpurposes during the eighteenth century.The area north of Armstrong Bridge wasmined in the eighteenth century and thesites Eng Pit, Corn Pit, Meadow Pit andWheat Pit are within the conservationarea. In addition, Busy Cottage Mill andIronworks (now Millfield House),converted in 1855 to a corn mill and twoworkers cottages were built. The millceased operation when Lord Armstrongmade the Dene into a park. JesmondDene Mill was previously known asHeaton Corn Mill and Mable’s Mill.There has been a mill on this site since

the C13, however, the present ruins datefrom C19. Uses have included flour, pigmeal and flint for the Ouseburn Potteryindustry.

Jesmond medieval village falls partiallywithin the boundary of the conservationarea, around the site of St Mary’sChapel.

• 1st Edition O.S. map c1858

• Jesmond Dene Mill-maintained ruin

2.2 Historical Development


• 3rd Edition O.S. map c1918

• 2nd Edition O.S. map c1898


• 4th Edition O.S. map c1940

The township of Jesmond wasincorporated within the City of Newcastlefollowing the 1832 Reform Act and the1835 Municipal Corporations Reform Actwhich brought municipal boundaries inline with parliamentary boundaries. Thefirst roads, established in the C19 wereJesmond Dene Road, planned by JohnDobson in 1840, and Sandyford Road.The Newcastle Improvement Acts of1865 and 1871 extended and improvedthese roads. In 1880 Osborne Road wasdeveloped to link Jesmond Dene Roadand Jesmond Road.

The land to either side of the Dene wasagricultural until the mid C19. In the lastquarter of the C19 a number of larger

villa-type houses were built on bothsides of the Dene. These were thenreplaced in the early C20 when most ofthe present day housing was built.

Lord Armstrong and his wife developedJesmond Dene as pleasure groundsduring the mid C19 in the “woodlandgarden” style. Woodland type gardensat this time were often complemented bybuildings in the gothic style. It was alsoa garden type which worked well with thenatural topography and landscape of theDene. Jesmond Dene is nowconsidered to be of national significanceas a woodland garden. Lord Armstronggave the park and most buildings withinit to the City of Newcastle in 1883.


• Jesmond Mill circa 18602.3 Recent Changes within

the Conservation AreaThe conservation area is dominated bythe Dene. The areas directly to the eastand west of the Dene are predominantlyresidential in character, with qualityhousing. The area benefits from its closeproximity to and easy access to the citycentre.

Modern development has largely takenthe form of infill housing developmentswith very few development opportunitiesleft without considering the demolition ofexisting buildings.

2.4 Planning Policy andDecision Making

The principle benefits of ConservationArea designation to the planning processare:

• control over demolition with astrong presumption in favour ofretaining and re-using buildings andre-using buildings and structureswhich significantly contribute to thecharacter and appearance of theconservation area

• enhanced power to secure highstandards of design and materials,and to secure proposals whichpreserve or enhance the characteror appearance. The characterstatement will be a materialconsideration in assisting decisionmaking.

The mature, woodland tree cover is animportant element of the character andappearance of the conservation area.Many of these trees are in privateownership and are protected by TreePreservation Orders. In addition,conservation area status requires that sixweeks notice of works to a tree are giventhus allowing the opportunity to create aTree Preservation Order when a tree isthreatened. It is essential that pressuresfor development do not lead to theunnecessary damage or loss of thesetrees. In addition, verge and gardenboundary trees are at risk from workscarried out by utility companies as wellas accidental damage and rootcompaction caused by car parking.Where trees are removed theirreplacement is essential to ensure treesfor the future.


Conservation area designation is notdesigned to prevent change but insteadto ensure that change contributes to,rather than detracts from, the characterand appearance of the conservationarea. The character assessment aims toidentify the “special architectural orhistorical interest” of the conservationarea and aims to establish the characterand appearance, which should bepreserved and enhanced. As part of thisprocess, the assessment also sets out

those elements which detract from thecharacter and appearance of theconservation and which would benefitfrom redevelopment or enhancementproposals.

The establishment of the character andappearance of the conservation area willprovide a benchmark for managingchange and ensuring that that which is ofinterest is preserved and that thoseelements, which are of little or nointerest, are enhanced/improved.

3. CHARACTERASSESSMENT

3.1 Sub-Area 1

The Dene itself

Jesmond Dene follows the line of theRiver Ouseburn for almost 1.5 miles.The steep banks of the Dene aredensely wooded with a profusion ofdeciduous and evergreen trees andshrubs. There are native species andmany exotic unusual trees includingcedars, junipers, Californian Redwoods,varieties of yew and holly and theubiquitous rhododendron beloved byVictorians. A great variety of deciduoustrees were also planted including beech,oak, cherry, elm and poplars. In addition,there are a number of veteran trees.

Whilst there are unlimited views of theDene from the east and west banks,these are largely of trees and not of thelower sections of the Dene and itslandscape. Views into the Dene arelimited to the bridges which cross theDene such as the Armstrong Bridge tothe south and Castle Farm Bridge to thenorth. Some views into the Dene arealso possible at the southern end ofJesmond Dene Road.

The area south of Millfield House,towards Armstrong Bridge, is occupiedpartly by the 1970s Pets Corner

development on the site of Heaton DeneHouse and is of a different character andappearance to the rest of the park. Thisis a popular use of the area andcontributes to the overall character of theDene as a public park. The structuresassociated with this use are temporary innature. The area around Pets Corner isopen lawn with beds and specimentrees.

The principal entrance to the Dene is atthe east end of the Armstrong Bridge.This is a relatively formal entrance withsandstone gate piers. There aresecondary entrances into the Dene fromJesmond Dene Road and Castles FarmRoad in the north, and Jesmond ParkWest on the east side. These are small,informal entrances such as a break inthe boundary treatment and are oftenunmarked.

• View of Jesmond Dene fromArmstrong Bridge


• Jesmond Dene Conservation Area sub area 1

• Entrance to the Dene • Millfield House - now convertedto Business Centre


Paths run up and down both banks of theDene and follow the river along the lengthof the Dene. The paths have largelybeen resurfaced in tarmac although thereare sections where earlier treatments arevisible, some are simple trails through theDene with a soil surface. Boundarytreatments are consistent throughout theDene, consisting of a short timber postwith single horizontal beam laid across ata 45 degree angle. This type of fencehas no real impact on the character orappearance of the Dene. However, itdoes little to enhance the appearance orcharacter. Street furniture – seats, binsetc. are typical of those found across theCity as a whole and bear no relation tothe character of appearance of the Dene.Street lighting throughout the Dene isconcentrated in those areas whereactivity is greatest such as Pets Corner,Millfield House and Fisherman’s Lodge.This means that the Dene becomeslargely inaccessible at night from apersonal security aspect. The existingand future streetlights would benefit fromimproved design in keeping with thecontext of the Dene.

immediately to the west of the mill, built1862, is a stone, ornamental footbridge(listed grade II) with a high arch ofrusticated wedge-shaped segments.Likewise the stone bridge north east ofthe Banqueting House, built 1870 andlisted grade II, has a rusticated wedge-shaped arch. This bridge linksFisherman’s Lodge to the BanquetingHall. In addition, to bridges there arealso stepping stones across the river.

Armstrong Bridge (grade II listed) is theonly high level bridge in the Dene andviews up and down the Dene can beobtained from this point. The bridgeforms the southern boundary of theconservation area and separatesJesmond Dene from Armstrong Park tothe south. The bridge was built in 1876-8 by W G Armstrong and is a masonrystructure with iron lattice girders.Originally a road bridge, it was restoredin the 1980’s, and following thedevelopment of the Cradlewell Bypass inthe early 1990’s it is now only used as acycle and footbridge.

The river is narrow throughout the Deneand runs through a series of cascadesand waterfall created by Lord Armstrong.The cascades are generally located nearbridges to focus views. The waterfall,adjacent to the Mill, was purpose-built byArmstrong. The quality of the river wateris poor for a number of reasons andoften has a detrimental impact on theenjoyment of the Dene and the wildlife.

• Millfield House - now convertedto Business Centre

There are several bridges throughout theDene, most of which are either stone-built or timber. Castle Farm Bridge(grade II listed) towards the north end ofthe Dene was built in 1850 to provideaccess to Castle Farm. The bridge

• Typical view of the walks throughthe Dene


There are a number of buildings withinthe Dene – a lodge by Norman Shaw(1870), Jesmond Dene Mill, MillfieldHouse and cottages, Deep Dene House(now Fisherman’s Lodge). MillfieldHouse and the two C19 cottages closeby are now used as offices, conferencecentre, café and residential dwellings.Deep Dene House is now Fisherman’sLodge which operates as a restaurantand Jesmond Dene Mill is a ruin. Thebuildings contribute to the character andappearance of the Dene through theirsimple architectural style and positionwithin the landscape, and through theirdirect contribution to the use of the Deneby the general public.

A recreation ground/picnic area standsto the west of the river towards the

central/northern end of the Dene andcan be viewed from Jesmond DeneRoad. The area is an open grassedarea with typical timber bench-typepicnic tables. At the northern end of thearea is a large pavilion-style building.This was recently refurbished andrepainted. New roller shutters wereintroduced to minimise mis-use andvandalism.

Paddy Freeman’s Fields

Paddy Freeman’s fields are situated tothe north of the Dene on the East bank.The fields are now laid out as a plannedpark area with boating lake (extendedfrom existing pond), children’s play areaand facilities for bowls and tennis. Incomparison to the woodland nature of

• Recreation ground and Pavillion

• Typical Lodge

• Deep Dene House (Fishermans Lodge)


the Dene this area is more formally setout. The position of the fields enablesviews across the Dene towards themodern flats on the west side(Lindisfarne Close).

The park is well maintained anduncluttered. Two single storey buildingsstand next to the model boating lake arefunctional rather than of visual interest.However, by way of their simplicity andscale they do not detract from thecharacter or appearance of these fields.The children’s play area is bounded by aclose board timber fence. To the northof the lake and play area is a grassedarea planted with island beds of maturetrees and shrubs. Beyond this land isset out for bowls and tennis.

North of Paddy Freeman’s fields is opengrassland, laid out for football and othersports. The area is bounded by a row ofmature trees. The fields contributepositively to the character andappearance of the conservation area asrecreational open space which contrastswith that of the Dene.

Castle Farm Road

The David Lloyd Fitness Centre islocated to the south of Castle FarmRoad. This is a modern purpose builtfacility, and, whilst it lacks architecturalinterest does relate well to thesurrounding landscape. As a result itneither dominates the streetscene nordetracts from the open nature of this partof the conservation area.

Castle Farm residential home is a single-

storey development in buff brickworkwith blue brick detailing and a plain tilehipped roof. The development is cross-shaped on plan form. Much of thesurrounding grounds are brick paved.The development is essentially functionaland sits well in the landscape but lacksindividual merit. Like the David Lloydcentre it does not detract from the overallcharacter. The boundary treatment tothe residential home would benefit fromsubstantial enhancement. The formal,brick splayed entrance is flanked bytypical municipal metal railings. Theremoval of these railings and a schemein keeping with design of the care homeand entrance would improve theappearance and enhance thestreetscene.

• David Lloyd Leisure Centre

• Castle Farm Road

• Paddy Freeman’s Field

West from Castle Farm ResidentialHome is a complex of buildings aroundthe original Castles Farm, dating fromthe late C18. The farm is no longer


operational and the remaining buildingshave been converted to create dwellinghouses. The former farmhouse, farmbuildings and cottages are listed gradeII. The fifth cottage and attached farmbuilding (known as Dairy Cottage) wereoriginally constructed as a folly and laterconverted to cottage and farm buildings(also grade II listed). The whole complexof buildings is stone built with traditionaldetailing and is of a domestic scale.

In addition to the conversion works therehas been some new build dwellingsdesigned by Jane Derbyshire Architects.The farmhouse, Dairy Cottage and nos1-4 cottages (all listed) have beenreasonably altered through extensionsand the erection of conservatories. Thenew build is reasonably sympathetic inscale and detailing although elevationsare cream rendered rather than stonefaced. The housing complex is relativelyinward looking towards the original farmbuildings and the north end of the Dene.

The character and appearance of thefarm buildings has been sanitised by theconversion works which, whilst retainingthe fabric of the buildings, has lost thecharacter generated from earlier uses.However, the complex does contribute tothe appearance of the conservation areaand provides a link with the historicaldevelopment of the northern part of theDene.

The bridge across the Dene to MatthewBank is constructed from stone andprovides a single lane road link betweenthe east and west sides of the Dene. Toeither side of the bridge are gatewaysinto the Dene which tie in with the seriesof planned walkways along the length ofthe Dene. However, although access tothe south is still possible, access to thenorth of the bridge has now beenrestricted for health and safety reasonsand is limited to the east side.

Haddricks Mill Road

Most of the eastern side of HaddricksMill Road is included in the conservationarea. This comprises some open spaceand some housing along the ridge of theDene. The western side has a differentcharacter and comprises denseresidential development with few gapsites. Haddricks Mill Road is a busytraffic route linking Jesmond to the north/north-east of the city. As a result traffic isfast moving and the road is considerablywider than most found in thisconservation area.

• Castle Farm - residential conversion • Dairy Cottage - grade II

• View into Castles Farm


The first three buildings at the north ofthe road have been excluded from theconservation area as they are modern,portal frame style industrial/officebuildings and a builder’s merchant yard.The boundary treatment to thisdevelopment detracts from the setting ofthe Dene and consists of tall metalfencing based on security rather thandesign considerations.

The Millstone public house, andeverything south of it, is included in theconservation area with the boundary linerunning down the centre of the road.The public house appears to be anextension of an earlier building. Thesouthern part of the existing building isstone built whilst the northern section isbrick built, all with a slate roof. There aresmaller, single storey stone outbuildingsto the rear of the pub. The car park tothe south of the pub is functional andwould benefit from an improvedboundary treatment scheme. At presentthe boundary consists of galvanisedmesh fixed between upright concreteposts.

The land to the south of the pub is opengrassland separated from the pavementby a timber knee rail, the same as thatfound in the Dene. The land appears tobe well maintained and permits viewsinto the Dene from the road and housingopposite.

Dene Terrace is unusual. When viewedfrom the road this a single storey, brickbuilt terrace not dissimilar to SunderlandCottages (as found through Wearsideand on Oakfield Terrace in Gosforth).The terrace has been alteredconsiderably through the addition ofrooflights, alteration of window patternsand materials, the alteration of roof fromslate to tiled and use of render. Whenviewed from the rear, this is a threestorey terrace with a variety of balcony/terrace details at first floor. Again, therehave been considerable alterations.Long gardens slope away from beneaththe first floor balconies to garages on theriver terrace.

Whilst this terrace has little architecturalmerit, and has been considerablyaltered, it is of interest given itsdeceptive appearance when viewed fromthe front and the rear. The designmakes maximum use of the slope of theland towards the Dene and providesresidents with views into and across theDene. Any further structural alterations

• Haddricks Mill Road

• Dene Terrace - front

• Dene Terrace - rear


such as extensions out or up would be tothe detriment of the simplicity of thebasic design and spoil the cohesion ofthe terrace’s form.

There are four large semi-detachedhouses built in the late 1930s betweenDene Terrace and Crag Hall DeneTerrace, which runs east from the mainroad towards the Dene. Whilst these areset back into the slope of the land theydo not reflect the steepness of the bankin the way that Dene Terrace does. Thehouses are large, double fronted semi-detached houses with 1930’s stylecurved bay windows. At the rear thehouses have been considerably alteredand extended to maximise their positionoverlooking the Dene.

Crag Hall Dene Terrace is a series ofTyneside-style flats (ground floor and firstfloor) which read as houses from thestreet. The terrace steps down the bank,from Matthew Bank, towards the Deneand is characterised by two storey,curved bay windows, some with stainedglass typical of the 1930s. The rear ofthe terrace is remarkably unaltered witha series of two storey off-shots.

Crag Hall Dene is the location of LittleDene, a tributary to the river Ouseburnwhich is set within a deep channel.

Matthew Bank

Matthew Bank is the southern extensionof Haddricks Mill Road and is very similarin character. The east side of the streetis dominated by strong boundarytreatments. A tall sandstone rubble wallruns south from Castle Farm Road andis replaced by tall metal railings set in asandstone coping at pavement levelbetween the Real Jesmond Tennis Cluband Jesmond Dene Road. The railingsare then replaced with stone walling onthe return to Jesmond Dene Road.Views through the railings over the Deneare permitted as a result of the drop inground levels inside the railings and lowlevel development. There are twobuildings of note on this side of the road

– Crag Hall and Jesmond Real TennisClub. The remainder of the land isoccupied by a large Council nursery anddepot (Jesmond Dene Nursery andArbour Centre).

Crag Hall was built c. 1788 and hasbeen considerably altered since. It wasbuilt as a short row of cottages on thebank of Crag Hall Burn for local miners.It was converted to a single dwelling in1814 and remained as such until 1970when, following the threat of demolition itbecame offices, later as LocalGovernment offices. In 1981 it wasconverted to an old peoples residentialcare home. Since then, a number ofextensions have been added to the rearand east end of the existing building.

Crag Hall is stone built with a slate roof.The later extension to the east end hasbeen carried out sympathetically and isstepped back so as not to detract fromthe form of the original building. The

• View of Nursery and Dene fromMatthew Bank

• Crag Hall


original window pattern has beenretained to a large extent with 1/1sashes at first floor and multi-paned,heavier sashes at ground floor. A glazedporch type extension has been added tothe front of the building, which doesdetract from the simplicity of the overalldesign. The setting of the hall has beensanitised with the creation of a large,soft-scaped car park and a grassedgarden towards the Dene. This hasbeen handled relatively sensitivelyalthough is somewhat featureless anddoes not detract from the character ofthe building or Dene. The building andits setting is well screened from the mainroad by a tall sandstone wall interruptedby very simple gate piers at the mainentrance.

Jesmond Real Tennis Club (grade IIlisted) is now accessed from the top ofCastles Farm Road, historically accesswas from Jesmond Dene Road. Thebuilding was designed by F W Rich (alsobuilt Ouseburn School) for Sir AndrewNoble as a real tennis court and housec.1900, as part of the Jesmond DeneHouse estate. It is now a real tennisclub, one of only a few in the country.Real tennis, also known as Royal Tennisis the predecessor of modern racquetgames such as lawn tennis, badmintonand squash. The game was revived inthe late C19th.

The building is red brick with ashlar andterracotta dressings and a plain tile roof.It is single storey but is of a similar heightto that of a two/three storey building.The building is decorated with talloctagonal corner turrets and brickbuttresses along the principle elevations.Windows are located in the upper part ofthe building, immediately below theeaves, on the north elevation these arearched multi-pane windows and on thesouth elevation, large round multi-panewindows with pivoted central section andmetal, not timber, glazing bars. Theentrance lodge at the west end of thebuilding is shorter than the height of themain hall, and, in contrast to the rest of

• Jesmond Real Tennis Club

• Landscaped setting of Crag Hall


the building has a domestic character,decorated with arts and crafts Gothicstyle ornament.

The tennis club is surrounded by part ofthe Cityworks depot. North of the tennisclub, fronting onto Castles Farm Roadare a number of industrial type unitsscreened from public view by boundarytreatments to the tennis club and CastlesFarm Road but visible from MatthewBank due to the changes in land levels.To the south of the tennis club the depotis more in keeping with the overallcharacter and appearance of theconservation area. Development istypically low rise greenhouses,resembling a nursery/market gardenestablishment. The topography andexisting land uses of this area create andprotect spectacular views from MatthewBank across the low-lying depot towardsthe Jesmond Valley and JesmondTowers.

The site of the nursery/depot is apotential development site and it isimportant that the following is consideredin order to prevent development having adetrimental impact on the character andappearance of the conservation area.

• Intensification of the use of this siteand increased/more substantialdevelopment would not necessarilyaffect these views provided thatheight, scale and mass are relatedto the topography of the site andthe adjacent buildings. Theseviews are an important part of thecharacter of the Dene and its linkswith the surrounding residentialdevelopments.

• This particular area, ischaracterised by a number of largebuildings set in open plots, notclose knit residential/businessdevelopments. Developmentshould reflect this “openness” andthe value of the setting both interms of existing buildings, newbuildings and the Dene.

Jesmond Dene Road

Jesmond Dene Road is one of the oldestroads in this conservation area, createdin 1840 and realigned in the 1870’s. Thesection of the road within theconservation area is narrow and almostsingle lane from Matthew Bank to thebottom of The Grove. The west side ofthe road is bounded by a tall, sandstoneretaining wall for much of its length whilstthe east side consists of a tall sandstonewall as far as Jesmond Dene Housethen the low timber knee rail, typicalused throughout the Dene. As a resultof the topography and nature of thedevelopment on either side of the road itis unlikely that road widening could beundertaken to relieve access to JesmondDene House in the event of itsredevelopment, or any other trafficmanagement issues. The character ofthe road at present contributes positivelyto the character of the conservation areaand widening would have a seriousimpact on this.

• Jesmond Towers ( La Sagesse)

• Jesmond Dene Road - general view


There are few developments along thenorthern section of Jesmond Dene Roadand largely these pre-date thedevelopment of the Dene as a park, orwere designed as part of the park andare located on the south side of theroad. The south side of the road isdominated by Jesmond Towers and thetall stone boundary walls. JesmondTowers forms part of La SagesseSchool. The school occupies a large sitebetween Bemersyde Drive and JesmondDene Road and comprises twosubstantial stone buildings and smaller,modern outbuildings. Jesmond Towersis grade II* listed and occupies theeastern part of the site, looking directlyover Jesmond Dene House and theDene itself. This was built in the earlyC19 as West Jesmond House. Itremained a house until 1920 when it wasconverted to a school. The house wasconsiderably altered during the C19 byJohn Dobson, Thomas Oliver Junior, T RSpence, and Walter Scott and isgenerally of a Gothic style. The settingof the house has largely been retaineddespite its use as a school, comprisingas open gardens with planned treeplanting and shrubbery. Views of thebuilding from the Dene have beenrestricted following the construction of asports hall in 1977 which occupies thesite between the house and JesmondDene Road. This building is brick builtwith a mansard roof and few openingsand stands on stilts to accommodate thechanges in ground level. It is generallyscreened by the woodland tree growthalong Jesmond Dene Road. The secondpart of the school is also of interest andcomplements Jesmond Towers by way ofits scale and mass, and position withinthe landscape. This is a large stone-faced property with traditional detailing.The surrounding low-rise structures donot affect the setting of these buildings.This blends well with the overall settingof overlooking the Dene. Developmentproposals within this site should respectthis setting and the dominance of the

two principle buildings.

Immediately below Jesmond Towers, tothe north west, is the North Lodge, builtas part of the Towers as a secondaryaccess. The Lodge fronts directly ontoJesmond Dene Road, though theentrance is now blocked, and is a goodbuilding in terms of design and detailing,similar to other Lodge type structures inthe conservation area and possiblyworthy of consideration for listing.

Jesmond Dene House is adjacent tothe Cityworks depot and overlooks theDene. The house was built in 1822 byJohn Dobson for TE Headlam. Thehouse was later altered and extended byRichard Norman Shaw for Sir AndrewNoble, who acquired the house in 1871.Further alterations and extensions werecarried out in 1897 by R W Rich. Thehouse passed into the ownership of theCity Council in 1933. The house hassince been used for a variety ofpurposes included a civil defenceestablishment during the second WorldWar and later, a care home for children.The building is now empty and thesubject of a marketing exercise toachieve its re-use.

The house is listed grade II. Much of theDobson building has been obscured bythe later additions. The building issandstone with a plain tiled roof and ofan irregular shape. As a result of Shaw’sextensions the building has a Tudorstyle, in keeping with Shaw’s earlierwork. The setting of the house has also

• Jesmond Dene House


been altered to accommodate thevarious uses. The front of the house hasbeen adapted to provide parking and is acombination of grass and gravel. Theland to the south of the house has beenretained as a garden area, preservingthe views from the principle rooms of thehouse over the Dene. In addition thehouse has an important interior, with anumber of details of considerableinterest. Plans for the re-use of thisbuilding must be sensitive to the externaland internal fabric to ensure that thebuilding’s significance is retained.

A small house has been builtimmediately north of the house,separated by a hedge. The house is oflittle interest visually but, as a result of itsscale and mass, and screening, does notdetract from the overall setting of the

house or the appearance of theconservation area.

The former Lodge and stables standwest of the entrance to Jesmond DeneHouse, with the Lodge fronting directlyonto Jesmond Dene Road. These areplainer in design but not without interestas small-scale stone buildings with slateroofs. The buildings are relativelyunaltered although they were used as

Police Stables for some time. A numberof the units now house small businesses.The changes in use have resulted in aslight loss of character but had no realimpact on their overall appearance.

A complex of tunnels survives beneathJesmond Dene House, leading from the

• Lodge at entrance to Jesmond Dene House

• Former stables, Jesmond Dene House

• Former stables, Jesmond Dene House


house out into the Dene. The threetunnel entrances in the Dene are markedby attractive stone posts with crossdecoration. These structures seem tosuggest that the tunnels might becontemporary with the house and datefrom around the 19th century. Internalinspection of the tunnels demonstratesthat they have been reinforced withconcrete and have the appearance of airraid shelters. A brick built pillboximmediately outside the entrance to thetunnels in the Dene reinforces the beliefthat the tunnels were adapted fordefence purposes.

Overall, this particular complex ofbuildings and their associated settingcontribute positively to the character andappearance of the conservation area formany reasons. Development of thesebuildings should be particularlysympathetic to their significance.

There is little development on the eastside of the road between Jesmond DeneHouse and the Armstrong Bridge.Towards the southern end of the Dene isthe Banqueting House and JesmondDene Terrace. A small house standsbetween Jesmond Dene House and theBanqueting House which is of littleinterest. The Banqueting Hall (grade IIlisted) was purpose built in 1860-62 byJohn Dobson, for Lord Armstrong, toentertain guests. The gatehouse (gradeII listed) was built by Norman Shaw in1869-70. The Hall occupies a prominentposition on the west bank of the Dene

and is of significant interest as part of theplanned Dene by Armstrong. TheBanqueting Hall is stone built and had,originally, a slate roof. The roof is nowmissing and the remainder of thestructure is maintained as a controlledruin. The gatehouse is reasonablycomplete, also stone built with a slateroof. The complex of buildings are nowin the ownership of the City Council andare leased to an arts organisation for useas artists workshops. The buildings arein a poor condition and in need of acomprehensive repair/refurbishmentscheme to ensure they do notdeteriorate further.

South of the Banqueting Hall is JesmondDene Terrace. The terrace of fourhouses is built down the slope of thewest bank of the Dene and was builtover a period of time. The middle twocottages were built first and adaptedfrom earlier structures and the end

• Pillbox - gafitti is a commonproblem in the Dene

• Gatehouse

• View of Banqueting Hall, now acontrolled ruin


cottages were built c.1850. The terracebacks onto Moor Crook Letch, a tributaryof the Ouseburn. The terrace is stonebuilt with slate roof and bay windows atground floor. The window detailing hasbeen considerably altered which, alongwith the numerous rooflights, is to thedetriment of the overall appearance ofthe terrace. Likewise, there have beennumerous alterations at the rear toenlarge the houses. One cottagereceived a North East Civic Trust“House, Cottage and Garden” Award in1991 for well designed and sympatheticimprovements and restoration works.This terrace is significant because of itsrelationship with the Dene rather thanthe surrounding housing developments.

rubble walls at the entrance. Theentrance itself is marked by two stoutstone piers. The C13 St Mary’s Chapelstands to the north of the entrance, amedieval place of pilgrimage. Thechapel is a scheduled ancient monumentand is now ruinous, standing in anenclosed open space. Much of theremains are screened from view by thesurrounding planting. Some 90m to thewest of the chapel is St Mary’s Well,also a scheduled ancient monument.This was an eighteenth century wellrebuilt in the nineteenth century withretaining walls on either side of stepsdown to the covered well. The site wasarchaeologically investigated in 1982then restored. The boundary on thenorth side of the path changes west ofthe well to a timber fence.

Akhurst School (formerly JesmondCottage) is towards the west end of TheGrove. Its principle entrance is fromGrosvenor Avenue. The school was builtin 1831 as a private residence and islisted grade II. It is reminiscent of

• Jesmond Dene Terrace• View of St. Mary’s Chapel

• Akhurst School• Remnants of St. Mary’s Chapel

West of Jesmond Dene Terrace is TheGrove, a narrow path running fromJesmond Dene Road to Osborne Roadwhich widens considerably towards theeast end. The path is narrow andbounded on both sides by tall sandstone


Dobson’s work at that time and is of theTudor style favoured by many of thebuildings of this period in theconservation area. The building hasbeen altered as a result of its change ofuse to a school.

Sub-area 1: Summary

Special Characteristics

• The Dene landscape and woodland

• Wildlife corridor

• Buildings pre – 1900 such asJesmond Dene House and itssetting, Jesmond Towers and itssetting, Banqueting House, TennisClub,

• Jesmond Mill and waterfall andcascades

• Millfield House, associated cottagesand Fisherman’s Lodge

• Planned layout of the Dene

• Archaeological features – variety of

• Use of the Dene and its variousparts

• Views into and across the Dene

• Bridges over the River Ouseburn

• Pets Corner

• Paddy Freeman’s Field and boatinglake

• Retention of Castle farm

Against the Grain

• Poor quality of river as part ofwildlife corridor

• Surface treatments within the Dene

• Street furniture and street lighting

• Access issues

• Parking

• Drainage problems within the Dene

Key Issues

• Improving links between the Deneand its setting, and Armstrong Parkand the Lower Ouseburn Valley

• Retention of existing, quality openspaces on either side of the banksof the Dene

• Appropriate management of theDene

• Quality of new development withinthe sub-area and its context inrelation to the conservation area asa whole, particularly with regard toidentified developmentopportunities

• Retention and maintenance ofthose buildings pre-1900 or directlyconnected to the planning of theDene to prevent further erosion ofcharacter and special interest

• Security within the Dene –vandalism of buildings, streetlighting

Enhancement Opportunities

• Boundary and floor treatmentsthroughout the Dene

• Enhancement of boundarytreatments throughout the Dene

• Improvement of street furniture andlighting

• Rescue/repair and re-use of historicbuildings

• Promotion of Dene and improvedaccessibility and use


3.2 Sub Area 2

Jesmond Park East

The street is characterised by largehouses set back from the pavement.Generally, these are a mix ofarchitectural styles from the 1930’sonwards but with some good examplesof earlier Edwardian housing. Thevariety of styles adds to the interest.Views of the houses are limited by avariety of boundary treatments and frontgardens. Front boundary treatments areeither brick walls or timber close boardedfences and vary in height. Gardens areheavily planted with trees, all contributingto the leafy character.

• Jesmond Dene Conservation Area sub division 2

• Jesmond Park East


Street trees are planted at irregularintervals in a grass verge between thepavement and road. Both the pavementand road are laid in modern materials –tarmac and concrete paving.

Melbury Road

The north side of the street is dominatedby a tall brick wall, which runs almost theentire length of the street and preventsviews north towards Heaton ManorSchool. The end sections of the wallmatch with brick panelling to the frontface whilst middle sections are plain. Avariety of coping details and materialsare present. The central section of thewall is has been replaced by closeboarded timber fencing and fronts a gapsite.

This is the only vacant site in this sub-area and therefore presents adevelopment opportunity. Housingdevelopment on this site would beunlikely to affect the character orappearance of the site given the varietyof housing styles in this sub-area. Theprincipal concerns would be the scaleand mass of the development, and thematerials. With the exception ofwindows, materials are generallytraditional, brick in either red or red/brown is common with slate or tiledroofs.

The south side of the street consists of avariety of large detached houses. Whilstthe houses are of the same scale andmass, design wise there is little unity.

Front boundary treatments consistlargely of brick walls with brickdecoration.

Jesmond Park West

Like Jesmond Park East the street istree lined, although these are planted inthe pavement not a grass verge, andoccur at regular intervals. Thesecombine with the heavily plantedgardens to create a considerableimpression of leafiness. Front boundarytreatments to the pavement consist of avariety of brick walls and overhanginggardens. Railings have been re-introduced although these are of atypical “heritage” design with golddetailing and do not contribute positivelyto the character or appearance of theconservation area. Views of the housingare generally restricted to openingswithin boundary treatments.

Views across the Dene are limited due tothe scale of housing and the maturity ofthe gardens. These are generallyrestricted to glimpses of the west bank of

• Boundary treatment, JesmondRoad West

• Melbury Road

• Vacant site - developmentopportunity on Melbury Road


the Dene between houses. A naturalview point has been created at the endof Loweswood Close where views intothe Dene as well as across the Dene areavailable. During the summer, theseviews will be limited due to the densewoodland tree cover along the east bankof the Dene.

The housing on Jesmond Park West ismixed with common themes being scaleand mass, detached rather than semi-detached, mature gardens and traditionalbuilding materials.

The west side of the street varies fromthe overall character of the area withthree plots developed as short streets orcul-de-sacs leading towards the Dene,rather than as single dwellings with astreet frontage. Jesmond Park Mews,Glendyn Close and Loweswood Closeare very different in design from the restof this sub-area. Jesmond Park Mews isa courtyard style development. Thethree buildings are brick-built with slatepitch roofs. The front two buildings havea slight mansard detail. The courtyardlayout of grassed areas and paving lacksvisual interest and is detrimental to theoverall appearance of this development.Glendyn Close is a series of housesstaggered one behind each other towardthe Dene. These are constructed frombrown brick with a brown tiled roof and

stained brown windows. The overallresult is dark and the scale of theindividual houses is smaller than thatgenerally found in this sub-area. WhilstJesmond Park Mews and Glendyn Closeare unique to the conservation area as awhole they do not contribute positively tothe overall character and appearance butrather stand out by way of their design.Loweswood Close is a cul-de-sac of sixdetached houses of very littlearchitectural or visual interest. Thelayout, scale, mass and general lack ofdesign has ensured that they are analien feature within the wholeconservation area. Their merit is inproviding views over and into the Dene.

Set between Jesmond Park Mews andGlendyn Close is Falling Water, amodern infill development. This is builton part of the former site of Glendyn

• Loweswood Close

• Glendyn Close


House, demolished in the 1930’s. Thehouse is the most modern infilldevelopment in this sub-area and isobscured from views by a tall boundarywall and dense trees/shrubbery to thefront of the property. The design of thehouse bears no relation to thesurrounding environment in terms ofdetail and materials although is of anappropriate scale and mass.

The east side of the street has a greaterdegree of unity in terms of scale, massand design. Sandycroft, a largedetached house stands out from theremainder of street by way of itssubstantial scale and architectural detailincluding stone mullioned windows. Theoverall appearance of the east side ofthe street is characterised by theboundary treatments, mainly consistingof a dwarf brick wall and short timberplank fence.

Sub-area 2: Summary


• Mature residential suburb

• Mature gardens fronting streets

• Traditional detailing and use ofmaterials

• Tree lined streets

• Views over the Dene

• Low density housing with spacioussetting

Against the Grain

• Lack of cohesion within street – mixmatch of design, scale and mass

• Modern boundary treatments orfaux traditional treatments

• Floorscape – quality of paving anddetailing around street trees

Key Issues

• Development opportunity onMelbury Road – quality of newdevelopment within the overallcontext of the conservation area

• Preservation of leafiness resultingfrom tree planting in gardens andstreets


• Improvement of floorscape andstreet lighting• Falling Waters

• Typical scale of houses onJesmond Road West


3.3 Sub-Area 3


• Fenwick Terrace rear

• Fenwick Terrace front

Fenwick Terrace was formerly JesmondPlace, a short terrace with large, publicgarden set out to the west. The gardenhas now been partially subsumed byindividual, private gardens attached toFenwick Terrace, and by later infilldevelopment on Orchard Place, offBuston Terrace

The terraces have a very differentcharacter and appearance to the rest ofthe conservation area. They are notintegrated with the surroundingresidential developments and have aninward looking nature. The entrance tothe three terraces is from Jesmond DeneRoad and comprises a tall sandstonewall to the east side and two tall,rusticated sandstone piers. Thesandstone wall runs the length ofFenwick Terrace creating a barrierbetween the Terrace and Buston Terraceto the south. The wall is punctured by


solid timber doors set in the sandstone.

The floorscape through this areacomprises of traditional granite setts,rough laid gravel and unkempt tarmacareas.

Boundary treatments vary alongCollingwood Terrace and JesmondGardens from timber close boardedfences to dwarf brick and stone walls(remnant of the original boundarytreatments) and hedges. The terracesare partially obscured from views fromthe road by short front gardens withshrub and tree planting. FenwickTerrace differs, as it fronts onto long,private gardens with tall timber closeboarded style fencing preventing views inand out.

Collingwood Terrace is a two storeyterrace with dormers, constructed fromred brick with slate roof and ashlardressings to the windows and doors andstring course at first floor. The frontelevation is broken up by stonepolygonal bay windows at ground floor.Typical window details consist of 1/1timber sashes whilst doors are solid 4panelled with a fanlight above. Thereare a number of different dormer typesfrom the original to modernreplacements. Rooflights have alsobeen introduced on both pitches. Theend terrace house differs from the basicunity of the terrace with a hipped roofand two storey bay window.

Fenwick Terrace is two storey withdormers and constructed from red brickwith a slate, hipped roof. Stonedressings to windows and the doorshave been painted. Like CollingwoodTerrace windows are typically 1/1 timbersashes. The dormers are mixed fromtraditional to modern box dormers whichhave a negative impact on the characterof the terrace.

Generally, Collingwood Terrace andFenwick Terrace have retained theirappearance and character. However,piecemeal modern alterations to dormers

and windows, and the introduction ofrooflights will gradually diminish theirintrinsic qualities, design andappearance. Particularly, thisincremental erosion will affect the unityand cohesion of the terraces. The rearof both terraces is a mix of laterextensions and lean-tos. Some are inkeeping whilst the majority are modernand constructed from a variety ofmodern building materials.

Jesmond Gardens differs fromCollingwood Terrace and FenwickTerrace. It comprises two detachedhouses and a short terrace of pairs ofhouses. One of the detached houses isconverted garage and bears little relationto its surrounding environment in termsof design or scale and mass. Thesecond detached house has clearly beendeveloped in two phases and from twodifferent types of brick. It has a slateroof and Queen Anne style sashwindows, which are uncommon in thisconservation area.

• Collingwood Terrace

• Jesmond Gardens


There are six houses at the western endwhich were built in the 1930’s are pairedhouses. The housing to the eastern endof the terrace is older and are individualhouses. Various bricks are used in theconstruction, suggesting that the terracegrew organically over time. The roof is amix of slate and clay tiles with somedormer developments. Also, unlike theother terraces in this sub-area there isno unity in the details and variousfenestration patterns are found. Due tothe lack of uniformity in the terrace’sappearance it can withstand a greaterdegree of incremental change comparedto the other two terraces in this sub-area.

Sub-area 3: Summary


• Terraced houses

• Some of the earliest plannedhousing – pre-dates sub-areas 2, 4and 5

• Design unity

• Original detailing and boundarytreatments

Entrance detail – stone piers andboundary wall to rear of FenwickTerrace

• Setting

Against The Grain

• Modern alterations and extensions

• Poor quality modern boundarytreatments

• floorscape

Key Issues

• Maintenance of floorscape

• Retention of open space to front ofterraces – setting

• Sympathetic house improvements


• Improvement of floorscape

• Reinstatement of original boundarytreatments

• Guidance/education regardingappropriate alterations to preventcontinued piecemeal erosion ofcharacter

• 1930’s addition to Jesmond Gardens

• Detached house at start ofJesmond Gardens.

• Early boundary treatment


3.4 Sub-Area 4

• Jesmond Dene Conservation Area sub area 4Lindisfarne Road

Lindisfarne Road was laid out as a streeton previously undeveloped land between1858 and 1898, and was namedCadogan Road. The name had beenchanged by 1907 and larger villa typehouses had been built. The street haschanged considerably and was largely

developed from the 1930’s onwards.

This is through route for traffic and assuch is a wider road with little street treeplanting. The lower part of the streetprovides views over the Dene whilst theupper part provides views of St George’s


Church on Osborne Road. The housingto either side of the street is mixed withnew development predominantly at bothends - towards Osborne Road andLindisfarne Close.

Lindisfarne Close

Lindisfarne Close is built into the slope ofthe land overlooking the Dene and sitswell in the topography. In comparison tothe other streets in this sub-area it ischaracterised by the planneddevelopment of 3 and 4 storey flats anda series of detached houses. As eachdevelopment was planned andconstructed as a single scheme there iscohesion in the design, scale and massof the buildings and in their wider setting.The character and appearance of thisstreet and its contribution to the overallcharacter and appearance of theconservation area could be easilyharmed by incremental developmentbetween the flats and/or the alteration ofthe existing buildings.

The flats are constructed in brown/buffbrick with flat roofs, an unusual featurein this conservation area. The elevationsare characterised by large openings andsimple casement style windows, and fullheight bays add depth to the otherwiseflat frontages. Garages are incorporated

into the design of the flats at ground floorlevel and as such are seen as an integralpart of the overall design. The flats areof interest for a number of reasons; inparticular the use of the topography ofthe land with planned space betweeneach block, designed to permit viewsthrough and across the Dene, and a

• Housing development at north end of Lindisfarne Close

• Flat development on Lindisfarne Close

• View from Adderstone Crescent1930’s addition to Jesmond Gdns


setting that complements the design ofthe blocks.

The housing scheme was built some 30years after the flats and comprisesdetached, two-storey houses at the northend of the street in a red-brown brickwith hipped, double roman tiled roofs.The single storey garages are built to thesame design and are attached to thehouses. The houses are of a reasonablescale and mass but are set in small,cramped plots to maximise numbers ofdwellings rather than the quality of theirsetting. Due to their position within thelandscape views in and out of thishousing development are limited.However, good landscape details andplanting has created a different characterto that of the openness of the flats.

Adderstone Crescent

Adderstone Crescent was laid out as astreet between 1858 and 1898, and wasnamed Burlington Crescent. The namewas changed by 1907 and large villa-type houses were built. The street haschanged considerably and was largelydeveloped from the 1930’s onwards.

Generally, the street has developed in apiecemeal fashion and as a result thereis a mix of housing styles, scale andmass. However, the upper side ofAdderstone Crescent is more uniform incharacter and appearance than the lowersection. Houses are typically detachedor large scale semi-detached, and two orthree storeys high with mature front

gardens. There are common themesfound in the materials used – brick withstone dressings and detailing, plain tilesor slate roof, brick boundary treatmentswith hedge or railings added. The are anumber of examples of “heritage” railingswith gold painted detail which have nohistorical or architectural precedenceand go against the grain of theconservation area.

The lower section of AdderstoneCrescent is characterised on the lowerside by the flats development onLindisfarne Close. The west side of thestreet is a mixture of residentialdevelopments, dominated by AdderstoneHouse, which is one of the oldest houseswithin this sub-area and of aconsiderable scale and mass, set in amature plot. The house is constructedfrom red brick with a slate roof. Theelevations are characterised by stonedressings and decoration. The house isbounded by a formally designed brickwall and hedge.

There are a number of new flatdevelopments at odds with the overallcharacter of the street which is largescale detached housing. However, theflat development by Miller Homes on thebend of the street has been welldesigned to sit within the landscape as itsteeply slopes towards the Dene. Thered brick building stands no higher thanany surrounding development and has acurved frontage overlooking the Dene.

It is well screened by mature trees. Incontrast, the 1980s flat development on

• Adderstone Crescent

• Relationship between flats & houses


the western part of the street does not sitwell within the surrounding developmentand detracts from the streetscene. Thebuilding is constructed from a red/brownbrick with red and black cladding, neitherof these details are common to the thissub-area.

Opposite this flat development is a gapsite. At present this does not detractfrom the character or appearance of thearea and instead contributes as an openspace. Over-development on this sitemay adversely affect the character andappearance of the conservation area.Development should reflect thesurrounding street in terms of scale,mass and materials.

Glastonbury Grove

The southern corner of GlastonburyGrove and Jesmond Dene Road isdominated by Ashbourne, a detachedhouse built in 1934 by local architect, JPascal-Steinlet. The building is uniqueto the conservation area and toNewcastle as a whole. It is ofconsiderable interest due to its

architectural design and 1930’sinfluences. It has recently beenrefurbished and extended in a mannerwhich does not entirely complement theoriginal design.

The remainder of Glastonbury Grove isrelatively plain and bland in comparisonto Ashbourne. The streetscene lackscohesion and consists of a mix ofhousing types, all post 1930’s onwardsand all of which have been considerablyaltered through later extensions. Theseextensions have detracted from theoverall setting of the street by reducingor removing the spaces between thehouses, in front of the houses or evenbehind.

The layout of the street, mass, scale andspaces between houses lacks design orplanning. Overall, the generalcharacteristics of the street relate toscale and mass rather than design andspace.

The houses on the east side of the streethave long gardens stretching down hill toJesmond Dene Road and a tallsandstone boundary wall. Thesegardens are of interest due to the viewsthey provide over the Dene and their useof the topography of the land. Inaddition, the use has helped to preservethe setting of the Dene and hasprevented development encroaching onthe upper banks of the Dene whereArmstrong or his predecessorspreviously did not plan development.The landscape is dominated by trees to

• Modern infill flat development,Adderstone Crescent

• Ashbourne

• Typical view of Glastonbury Grove


the east (part of the Dene) and maturegarden planting. The large oak at no. 24was planted by the Armstrongs on theirwedding day.

Castleton Grove is on a par withGlastonbury Grove. The housing islargely built from red-brown brick withplain tiled roofs and multi-panedwindows. There is a greater degree ofunity compared to Glastonbury Grovedue to the similar design themes usedthroughout.

Sub-area 4: Summary


• Mature residential suburb

• Modern flat development onLindisfarne Close

• Views over the Dene

• Scale and mass, plot size andmature gardens

• Spaces between properties

• Extensive mature planting creatingleafy suburb

Against the Grain

• Incremental development such asextensions resulting in the loss ofsetting and spaces between eachproperty

• Lack of design quality

Key Issues

• Retention of long gardens to southof Glastonbury Grove to preservesetting of Dene and views.

• Development opportunity onAdderstone Crescent – quality ofnew development within the overallcontext of the conservation area



• Castleton Grove - typical scale • 1930’s addition to Jesmond Gdns


3.5 Sub-Area 5

Much of this sub-area was built onpreviously undeveloped fields. Thebuildings are largely Edwardian, post-Edwardian or 1930’s and favours thevernacular revival period of architecture.The layout of the streets and houses isgenerally spacious with much treeplanting.

The houses are detached or semi-detached, but most in the compact formwhich had become known as villas.Some have dormers added to makethree storeys. In the last phase ofdevelopment are some bungalows – thespreading single-storey house typewhich became very popular in the thirtiesand remained so after WWII. Mosthouses have canted bay or squareprojecting bay windows. In BemersydeDrive there are several houses which are

in a version of the ‘moderne’ style andhave Crittall metal windows in the‘sunshine’ shape, with curved ends tothe projecting bays. Some of these havelost their original frames and glazing butsome survive and enhance the characterof the street. Many original garageshave battlemented parapets, a populartreatment in the 1930s.

The materials were mostly smooth brickof a rich red colour, with some render,some pebble-dash, and some use oftimber-framing but generally only inupper floors or gables. Some of thebrick is a very bright red. Roofs arecovered in traditional tiles or slate. Someroofs are covered in the style of tilesknown as French tiles, which aremoulded in a ridged pattern, and are thesame bright red as plain roof tiles.



Decoration is seldom applied but moreoften is part of the structure, as instained glass (especially of the very highquality stair windows in Mitchell Avenueand Towers Avenue) and in decorativeuse of brick. There is some use of terracotta with moulded patterns. Structuraldressings such as lintels, door jambs,window surrounds, and quoins are oftenof good ashlar using apparently localsandstone.

Ancillary structures include garages andgarden and boundary walls. Of thegarages, many retain their original widedouble timber doors with glazed upperpanels. Some garages have had theirdoors replaced with pivoting single-leafmetal doors, some have been entirelyreplaced with new structures.

In the east-west streets, gardenboundary walls and the gate piers set inthem, especially on Mitchell and TowersAvenues, are a very important part of thestreetscape. They are generally well-built, and high enough to enclose thesmall front gardens but not so high as toobscure the houses from the view ofpassers by, nor the view of passers byfrom the houses. On North JesmondAvenue the walls on the east side areolder in character, part beside theCounty Tennis Club being of rubble,resembling field wall construction, whilethe walls in front of The Lodge are ofhigh-quality snecked masonry, typical ofthe later nineteenth century, with ashlarpiers which have carved decoration andemphasise the importance of the formerentrance to the Towers.

North Jesmond Avenue

This is an important approach toJesmond Towers (sub-area 1) andcontinues the link between that houseand St George’s Church. The fewhouses that it has on the west side are ofhigh quality.

The oldest building on this avenue is theLodge, formerly the South Lodge toJesmond Towers and listed grade II.The building occupies the corner sitewith views towards Jesmond Towers andalong Osborne Road. It was built in1883 in the then fashionable vernacularrevival style in red brick with terracottadressings and a plain tiled roof withdecorative bargeboard detailing. The

The rear boundaries of the plots seem tobe wooden fences, in keeping with thenature of the suburb.

Osborne Road

Only a small part of Osborne Road isincluded in the conservation area.Osborne Road is the principal approachto St George’s Church, one of the mostdominant buildings in the conservationarea and surrounding area by way of itsheight.

St George’s Church is grade I listed andwas built in 1888 by T R Spence and isconsiderably well preserved. Theoriginal setting of the church is unalteredto the south of the church but the LawnTennis courts have been developed tothe rear. The church is the ParishChurch for this area.

• St. Georges Church & setting

• Bemerside Drive


setting of the Lodge complements thebuilding and reflects the historicconnections to Jesmond Towers.However, planning permission for adetached house within the grounds ofthe Lodge has been granted in 2002.

On the east side is the County TennisClub, which has an interesting high stonewall as its boundary with the road. It hasone highly-praised modern building andtwo good minor buildings of the earlydecades of the 20th century. Thebuildings of the club are of several dates,the earliest being two pavilions, one justinside the entrance and one further intothe site, which seem to date from the1930s. The second one is in full use andforms an attractive counterbalance to itslarger neighbour, the very interestingindoor court which was built in the 1990s.These pavilions could be a considerableasset to the atmosphere of the ground ifthey were both restored and functioning.An interesting land form is the formationof a mound behind the indoor court,between it and the houses on the southside of Bemersyde Drive.

The concrete car park and single, shedlike structure are of little merit and do notenhance views into the Tennis Club.The poor entrance spoils North JesmondAvenue and could be improved – its mildsteel railings do not sit comfortably withthe high standard of the surroundingstreetscape.

Of especial note is Holy Name RCChurch. Its foundation stone is dated1928. It was designed by the well-known

practice of Dunn, Hansom and Fenwicke(information from Mr Robin Gard,archivist to the Roman Catholic Dioceseof Hexham and Newcastle). It is a goodbuilding in the basilican style executedwith delicacy and in good materials,using a warm brick. With its presbytery,it forms an important group as part of adignified approach to Jesmond Towers.

The eastern side is bounded by a widebelt of mature trees which were plantedas avenues alongside the original driveto the Towers.

Mitchell Avenue

Mitchell Avenue has some well designedand planned houses, with a veryinteresting group at the east end whichhave clearly been part of a singlescheme (either by the same builder orwith the benefit of an architect) and datefrom the early C20. The rainwater headsare dated 1908 to 1912. The street waslargely completed by the time the 1913OS map was produced. This isconsidered to be the best example of

• North Lodge, North Jesmond Ave • County Tennis Club

• Holy Name RC Church


Edwardian housing in the conservationarea.

Towers Avenue

Towers Avenue is very similar to MitchellAvenue. The street has historicalsignificance as the former drive toJesmond Towers. The street is linedwith limes set at regular intervals. Thelayout of the trees in this plannedmanner is uncommon and this isperhaps one of the finer examples in thecity, if not the only tree-lined drive tohave become a street of houses and tohave retained its trees.

The housing on this street dates from the1930s and its development progressedbeyond the Avenue to Bemersyde Drive.The housing is of high quality and of areasonable scale and mass, set inmature plots. On the south side of thestreet are a number of later infilldevelopments.

At the junction of Jesmond Dene Roadand the south side of Towers Avenue is aformer Christian Scientist Church. It is

now a medical centre. It has hadmodern extensions which do not sit wellin their context, and it has lost the lowboundary wall it once had, to be replacedwith a taller plain brick wall.

Crossway

Crossway is less significant than Mitchelland Towers Avenue and was built in the1930s. The houses include some whichare identical to others in the area, but thestreet is less impressive being morenarrow and without generous verges.The plot sizes and the scale of houseshave resulted in minimal open spacesand gardens to the front of the houses.

Bemersyde Drive

This occupies part of the grounds ofJesmond Towers and was built as acontinuation of Towers Avenue. Thereare glimpses of the Towers betweenhouses. The pattern of development onthis street is varied, particularly towardsthe lower end of the street. Thecharacteristics are similar to those foundthroughout the conservation area – largeplots, reasonable scale and mass ofdevelopment, front gardens, brick builtetc. The street stands out as a result ofthe finer detailing with many of the1930’s houses having Critall ‘sunshine’windows; a very valuable period detail.Some have been insensitively replaced.In addition, the street includes the onlyexample of a green-pantile roof in thearea, a quirky detail typical of the period.

Newbrough Crescent

This is very similar to Crossway. Thestreet enhances the approach to StGeorge’s Church but is on littlesignificance in terms of the housing. Aninteresting point to note is that only oneside of this street is developed forhouses. The opposite side forms therear of Osborne Road.

St George’s Close

This group of modern houses is a veryskilful insertion into the older streets.

• Mitchell Avenue

• Good example of tree lined street


The boundary wall to Osborne Road isvery attractive, resembling an old stonefield wall and with staggered entrancesto the houses so that all doors set in thewall are at right angles to the obliquely-set wall, and from in front all that is seenis the stone. From the north the timbergates can be seen and blend well withthe surroundings. The scale of thehouses is different to the rest of this sub-area, as well as the layout.

The front of the building facing OsborneRoad has respected the traditionalcharacter of the area, with a hipped roofand conventional symmetry. The innerface towards the Close has subtleasymmetries both to plan and tobuildings.

Sub-area 5: Summary


• St George’s Church and setting

• Towers Avenue and historical streetpattern leading to Jesmond Towers

• Lawn Tennis Club

• St George’s Close – modern infilldevelopment of quality

• Towers Avenue – tree lined avenue

• General view of Newbrough Crescent• Critall windows on Bemersyde

Drive

Against The Grain

• Loss of setting to the Lodge, NorthJesmond Avenue

• Boundaries and entrance toJesmond Tennis Club

• Incremental alterations toproperties

Key Issues


• Importance of the setting toJesmond Towers – views betweenhouses.

• Development threat to part of theTennis Club due to land being inprivate ownership, separate to therest of the Tennis Club


• Improvement of boundaries andentrance to tennis club

• Re-use of pavilions at Tennis club


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Ordnance Survey map data used inthis publication is provided by NewcastleCity Council under licence from theOrdnance Survey in order to fulfil itspublic function as a planning authority.

Persons viewing this mapping wishing touse Ordnance Survey data shouldcontact Ordnance Survey Copyright.

Photographs used in this document arecopyright of Newcastle City Councilunless stated otherwise.

Aerial photographs are copyright of:

i) © Geonex 1991

ii) © Getmapping/BlueskyInternational 2003

Jesmond Dene Consevation Area Character Statement

For further information contact:Historic Environment SectionUrban Design & Conservation GroupPlanning & Transportation DivisionRegeneration DirectorateTel. No. 0191 2115625Fax. No. 0191 2114998

This document was approved asSupplementary Planning Guidanceon 30/5/2003.Printed April 2005

www.newcastle.gov.uk

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1. INTRODUCTION1.1 Terms of reference: conservation areas evaluation1.2 Jesmond Dene – purpose of designation, principles of character andboundaries

2. DEVELOPMENT OF JESMOND DENE CONSERVATION AREA2.1 Archaeological assessment2.2 Historical development2.3 Recent changes within the Conservation Area2.4 Planning policy and decision making

3. SETTLEMENT ASSESSMENT– BUILT CHARACTER AND LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT3.1 Sub-area 1;3.2 Sub-area 2;3.3 Sub-area 3;3.4 Sub-area 4:3.5 Sub-area 5;

Acknowledgements

Documents

JESMOND DENE CONSERVATION A CHARACTER STATEMENT · 2019. 1. 24. · 2 Jesmond Dene Consevation Area Character Statement 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Terms of Reference Conservation Areas Conservation