Planning to link two outstanding

Aug 5 2008 by David Whetstone, The Journal

The North East has seen a rash of new cultural buildings. Now two old ones are getting in on the act, as David Whetstone explains.

ARCHITECTS have come up with a subtle scheme to strengthen the physical link between two 19th Century buildings which lie at the heart of North East culture.

Planning permission is being sought for a new entrance to the Lit & Phil and the Mining Institute, utilising an alley between the two listed buildings at the bottom of Westgate Road, Newcastle.

You might not even notice the passage dividing Neville Hall, home of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, and the Literary & Philosophical Society (to give them their full names).

A heavy metal gate currently bars entrance to it from the pavement, weeds have grown up around it and pigeons have done in it what pigeons do.

Yet this largely forgotten alley is destined to provide ground floor access to two of the region’s most interesting and appealing buildings, enabling each to be accessed in the evening without the need to open the doors which face on to the street.

Director of development Richard Gray, who was appointed in September 2005 to ensure a sustainable future for the Lit & Phil and the Mining Institute, says improvements to the buildings are “desperately needed” to comply with access requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act.

“But from every point of view, the buildings are crying out for improvement,” he adds.

Newcastle architects Hopper Howe Sadler have devised a scheme which involves a red roof which “floats” between the buildings, creating a covered walkway towards a new entrance allowing access into the Mining Institute on the right and the Lit & Phil on the left.

“On the ground floor of the Lit & Phil is a Georgian public space which we are planning to restore,” says Richard.

“That will give us an area of a 300 to 400 square metres. That’s a great addition to the public spaces of Newcastle for putting on events right beside the railway station.”

Richard says the improvements will cost about £500,000 but are part of a planned £1m investment in the buildings and the programme of events which will take place there.

“We have got about a third of the money from the Heritage Lottery Fund, a third from private individuals, trusts and foundations, and about a third is yet to be raised.

“But we are optimistic. The programme is due to start this autumn and the building work, if we get approval, will take place next year.”

The Lit & Phil was opened in 1825, providing a home for the Society which had been founded in 1793.

It has a venerable air and a real place in North East history.

Sir Joseph Swan demonstrated electric light here in 1880 and a long and distinguished list of lecturers includes Oscar Wilde, Edith Sitwell and Dorothy Sayers.

Grade II** listed, it is the largest independent library outside London, housing more than 150,000 books and thousands more CDs and LPs.

Neville Hall, housing the Mining Institute, was completed in 1872 under the auspices of the Lit & Phil. The pair are linked by an upper storey bridge which, having been used for years as an office, was recently restored as a thoroughfare.

Now Grade II listed, Neville Hall is a cathedral to an industry which has all but vanished from the North East landscape. With its stained glass windows, oil paintings and rare tomes chronicling developments in mining technology, it strikes awe.

But Richard Gray, who has also appointed heads of education and fund raising, tempers talk of history and heritage by stressing that the buildings were established by people who were innovative and radical. These are the qualities he hopes will carry the joint institutions into the future, enabling them to play an important role alongside new ones such as The Sage Gateshead and Baltic which are products of culture-led regeneration.

Richard says the Lit & Phil and the Mining Institute have just over 2,000 paying members between them but says visitors are key to the future.

“The number of people coming in is absolutely crucial because they buy tickets for events or have a coffee. They are fundamental to the future sustainability of these two buildings.

“Footfall in 2005 was something like 40,000 people in a year, which is going some. But I’m delighted to say that it is now up to about 90,000. The number of events put on here has gone up from less than 100 in 2002 to more than 300 in 2007. We’ll be looking at a 40% increase on that in 2008.

“I think we have already achieved a certain level of public awareness of this project but we are keen to continue working with partners such as Amber/Side (the film and photography collective), Tyne & Wear Museums and Culture¹°”

Among events planned for the autumn is a play in the Lit & Phil, We Got Mittens Too!, commemorating the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War and following the success of last year’s The Novocastrian Philosophers’ Club.

Exhibitions inspired by Dr Katterfelto, a wandering experimental philosopher who lectured in Newcastle in the 1790s, and by T Dan Smith’s “Brasilia of the North” plans for the city in the 1960s are also taking shape.

For details of all Lit & Phil activities, visit www.litandphil.org.uk which also includes a link to the Mining Institute’s website.