Northumbria University

Northumbria University has its origins in three regional colleges: Rutherford College of Technology, the College of Art & Industrial Design and the Municipal College of Commerce. An amalgamation of these three institutions formed the Newcastle Polytechnic in 1969, which became the major regional centre for the training of teachers with the incorporation of the City College of Education in 1974, and the Northern Counties College of Education in 1976.

Northumbria was inaugurated as a university in 1992. There was much discussion over the potential name of the new University and one potential name was the City University of Newcastle upon Tyne. However, concerns over confusion with the nearby University of Newcastle upon Tyne and also over the new name's initials saw it dropped before it was used. Newcastle Polytechnic was thus upgraded under the name University of Northumbria at Newcastle.

The trading name was simplified to Northumbria University in 2002.

A considerable amount of the University's properties lie on Northumberland Road which has it's own page on this site here Northumberland Road.






20th December 2023



Wynne Jones Building/Nixon Hall.

Northumbria University recently announced a £50m space skills, research and development centre set to be built on the site of the Wynne Jones Building.






24th November 2023



Wynne Jones Building/Nixon Hall.




Computer and Information Sciences Building.






8th March 2023



Camden Court.









23rd February 2023








12th February 2023



Camden Court.






26th January 2023



Northumbria University Library.




Northumberland Building.




Northumbria University Remembrance Garden.




Sports Central.






17th August 2022



Northumberland Road.






19th June 2022








10th November 2021



Northumberland Road - Sports Central.




Northumberland Road.






13th October 2021








9th June 2019



Day Street.



Lipman Building.






15th May 2017



Construction of Computer Information Sciences building on Ellison Place.






7th April 2017



City Campus East, New Bridge Street.






24th July 2011



City Campus East, New Bridge Street.






31st May 2009



Ellison Building.




Sports Central construction.






10th April 2009



Day Street.






8th January 2009



City Campus East, New Bridge Street.






22nd July 2008




Footbridge over the Central Motorway.




Sutherland Building, Northumberland Road.




Trinity Building, Northumberland Road.




Five Figures by Nicolaus Widerberg.




Three Figures by Nicolaus Widerberg.






9th July 2008





Squires Building, Sandyford Road.




Pandon Building, Camden Street.




Byron Central, Camden Street.




Byron Mews, Byron Street.










27th June 2008




City Campus East, New Bridge Street.




Camden Court.




Ellison Building.






10th June 2008









25th May 2007



City Campus East, New Bridge Street.






14th May 2007



Ellison Place, Nos. 1 to 5.

Terrace of houses, now Polytechnic buildings, offices and surgery. Circa 1810. English bond brick with painted ashlar plinth and dressings; Welsh slate roofs.

5 houses of 3 storeys and attics, from 5 to 3 bays.

Numbers 1 and 2 have central ashlar porches an classical style, that to No. 1 having arch, pilasters and cornice and blocking course; No.2 has pilasters and open segmental pediment with cornice and blocking course 6-panelled doors, double in porches, under fanlights; doorcases to Nos. 3 and 4 have fluted necking and dentilled pediments; doorcase removed from No. 5. Renewed sashes with wedge stone lintels; projecting stone sills to second floor, sill bands to ground and first floors.

Porch of No.1 has plaque inscribed 'Matthew White Esq., Mayor/Joseph Atkinson Esq., Sheriffe/1692.

Interior of No.1 has Venetian stair landing window in Ionic case with arms of Newcastle in glass.

Historical note: Number one was the Mansion House of Newcastle in the C19. No. 5 was the home of William Boutland Wilkinson, an early patentee of reinforced concrete in the modern sense.

Grade 2 Listed. Source: Sitelines.






Footbridge Installation Video.

Over the weekend of 5-7 May 2007, Northumbria University erected their landmark footbridge across the central motorway in Newcastle Upon Tyne. This is part of the £100m+ City Campus development. This is timelapse footage from one of the universities webcams of the installation.






More Information:

13 comments:

Rinette said...

Oh my God ! I left Northumbria in June 06 and I'm pretty that If I came back now !! I wouldn't recognise a thing !! But I still miss it very much !! Thank you very for the pictures as they just beginning the works when I left !! I always wondered what it looked like now !! thanks

Newcastle Photos said...

Aye it's seen some big changes but there are more on the way. When I was walking through there the other day there is another huge building site which I believe will be an access road from Sandyford Road right into the heart of the university. I'll grab some pics next I pass as it was pouring down with rain the other day.

Dee said...

my boyfriend is currently studying in the uni. :) can' wait to join him next year. Great pics!

Newcastle Photos said...

Thanks :)
I hope you enjoy your stay in Newcastle.

Anonymous said...

I studied there until 2002, brings back great memories although things look like they have changed a bit!

Newcastle Photos said...

The pace of change around the whole city is frighteningly fast at the moment especially the universities.

Anonymous said...

thank you very much for those pics. I left last year.. been missing Lovaine/northumbria/newcastle so much. regretted for not taking more pics before i left UK.

Newcastle Photos said...

No problem.
I hope our city left a great impression on you like it does on most students.

Anonymous said...

I left Northumbria in 1993 and can't believe how different it looks. Loved my time in Newcastle, lived at The Larches in Elswick (rough would be an understatement - my now wife used to work at The Rock, scarey people!) I worked at Bargain Books which used to be next door to Fenwicks on Northumberland Street... good times, must visit soon :)

Newcastle Photos said...

The university has just undergone another big change recently with some new buildings and the stretch of Northumberland road that runs through through the university has been pedestrianised.
I think I'm due another visit with my camera some time soon.

Unknown said...

I was there doing catering on the top floor in 1982, I guess the kitchens must have gone by now?

Unknown said...

I was there doing catering in 1982, I guess the kitchens must have gone now?

Unknown said...

As regards the old story about Northumbria University nearly calling itself City University of Newcastle upon Tyne before the initials were spotted, I can actually confirm the story, being an alumni. I was not there at the time, however, I lived in the area. I was explicitly told when I started there in 1999 that upon conversion from Newcastle Polytechnic, the new university got as far as printing all the stationary and signs to go up around campus before they were contacted by UCAS as regards their new initials. Northumbria University was a hurried name they came up with, with student applications about to start, adding "at Newcastle" when they realised no-one would know where Northumbria University was.

The story was a University of Newcastle student had slipped the name into a suggestion box and not one person spotted the initials problem until UCAS contacted them.

While the university did a great job of disposing of all the signs and stationary that they were on the brink of deploying, it didn’t stop lecturing staff at the time relaying the "anecdote" to rooms full of students and hence the story got out. The story even made Tyne Tees television at the time as an "and finally" story – I wish I could find the clip.

You might want to look at the below, which I’ve posted up to Twitter.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EdsAIPgWoAYDAMy?format=jpg&name=900x900