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.
2nd June 2025
North East Space Skills and Technology Centre.
Northumbria University recently announced a £50m space skills, research and development centre set to be built on the site of the now demolished Wynne Jones Building.
27th May 2025
North East Space Skills and Technology Centre.
1st May 2025
Claude Gibb Residential Blocks.
A167 Footbridge.
North East Space Skills and Technology Centre.
30th April 2025
North East Space Skills and Technology Centre.
2nd April 2025
North East Space Skills and Technology Centre.
14th January 2025
North East Space Skills and Technology Centre.
22nd October 2024
North East Space Skills and Technology Centre.
12th September 2024
Wynne Jones Building/Nixon Hall.
28th July 2024
Claude Gibb.
A request for a few photos from 2 different ex-residents.
Computer and Information Sciences Building.
Fake grass looks so cheap.
Wynne Jones Building/Nixon Hall.
Radnor Street.
I think this may have been the site of the recently demolished Lovaine Hall and student accommodation.
15th July 2024
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.
28th May 2024
Wynne Jones Building/Nixon Hall.
Camden Court.
Northumbria University Nursery.
A167 Footbridge.
Showing signs of age already.
31st March 2024
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.
20th December 2023
Wynne Jones Building/Nixon Hall.
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
Lipman Building.
15th May 2017
Ellison Place, Construction of Computer Information Sciences building.
7th April 2017
New Bridge Street, City Campus East.
24th July 2011
New Bridge Street, City Campus East.
31st May 2009
Ellison Building.
Sports Central construction.
10th April 2009
Day Street.
8th January 2009
New Bridge Street, City Campus East.
22nd July 2008
Footbridge over the Central Motorway.
Northumberland Road, Sutherland Building.
Northumberland Road, Trinity Building.
Five Figures by Nicolaus Widerberg.
Three Figures by Nicolaus Widerberg.
9th July 2008
Sandyford Road, Squires Building.
Camden Street, Pandon Building.
Camden Street, Byron Central.
Byron Street, Byron Mews.
27th June 2008
New Bridge Street, City Campus East.
Camden Court.
Ellison Building.
10th June 2008
25th May 2007
New Bridge Street, City Campus East.
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:
- Northumbria University
- Sitelines: Northumbria University
- Sitelines: University of Northumbria, Ellison Building
- Sitelines: University of Northumbria, aluminium relief
- Sitelines: Northumbria University, 'Flat Fish'
- Sitelines: University of Northumbria, 'Bookstack'
- Sitelines: Northumbria University, prayer hall
- Wikipedia: Northumbria University
See my other photos around Northumbria University:
14 comments:
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
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.
my boyfriend is currently studying in the uni. :) can' wait to join him next year. Great pics!
Thanks :)
I hope you enjoy your stay in Newcastle.
I studied there until 2002, brings back great memories although things look like they have changed a bit!
The pace of change around the whole city is frighteningly fast at the moment especially the universities.
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.
No problem.
I hope our city left a great impression on you like it does on most students.
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 :)
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.
I was there doing catering on the top floor in 1982, I guess the kitchens must have gone by now?
I was there doing catering in 1982, I guess the kitchens must have gone now?
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
I'm also an alumnus (singular), graduated in 1993 so my year were the first graduates of UNN, as they referred to it then. I can confirm/second the story about the hastily discarded name City University Newcastle upon Tyne. It caused a lot of amusement at the time. I didn't know they'd printed all the stationery, though, before they realised the acronym.
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