Ellison Place was named after Cuthbert Ellison, Sheriff of Newcastle in 1544 and Mayor in 1549 and 1554.
The Ellison family (later the Carr-Ellisons) have a long and influential association with the North East. Originating in Northumberland they came to be prominent on Tyneside from the 1500s and were later owners of Hebburn Hall. Ellisons and Carr-Ellisons have included Newcastle mayors, High Sheriffs, MPs and Merchant Adventurers and a one-time Director of both Tyne Tees Television and Northumbrian Water.
The street is situated in the heartland of buildings occupied by the University of Northumbria which was formerly Newcastle Polytechnic (established in 1969) it became the University of Northumbria in 1992. The western end of Ellison Place is Ellison Terrace and dates from 1810. It was built two years before Cuthbert Ellison became Newcastle’s MP.
Ellison Place is crossed overhead by the offices of MEA House of 1974.
The eastern end of the street, beyond MEA house, has several buildings of Northumbria University, incluing the Ellison Building (1960s), and also the Church of the Divine Unity (1940).
At this end of the street is a footbridge over the motorway to the University's City Campus East.
Notable past residents of Ellison Place were Dr Ethel Williams (1863-1948), who was a Suffragist and Newcastle's first female doctor, and Cardinal Basil Hume (1923-1999), who was born at No. 4, Ellison Place.
Description courtesy of Englands North East and Co-Curate..
22nd October 2024
1 to 5 Ellison Place.
Terrace of houses, now Northumbria University 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.
No's. 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.
No. 1 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
Saville Place, No 5.
House, now offices. Circa 1810. English bond brick with painted ashlar plinth and dressings; Welsh slate roof. 3 storeys and attics; 5 bays. 3 steps to central 6-panelled door and overlight in architrave surround with pilasters and plain entablature under prominent cornice. Wedge stone lintels to all windows, those on ground floor lengthened; plain sashes to upper floors, and projecting stone sills to second floor. Bands at former ground-floor sill and first-floor sill level. Eaves band and gutter cornice. One original, flanked by 2 later pedimented dormers. End chimneys. Spear-headed railings and one urn-finialled principal flank steps to door.
Grade 2 Listed. Source: Sitelines
Saville Place, No 6.
Saville Place, No 7.
House, now offices. Circa 1810. English bond brick with painted ashlar plinth and dressings; Welsh slate roof. 3 storeys and attics; 3 windows and 3 in canted bay at right. 2 steps to 6-panelled door under overlight with glazing bars in third bay. Wedge stole lintels to all windows, with renewed glazing including some sashes; projecting stone sills on second floor, sill bands to ground and first floors. Eaves band and gutter cornice. Roof has long hip over canted bay; end brick chimney.
Grade 2 Listed. Source: Sitelines
Church of the Divine Unity/Durant Hall.
Baptist church and attached meeting room. 1938-40. Designed by Cackett, Burns Dick and Mackellar. Concrete and steel with brown brick cladding and reconstituted ashlar stone dressings and flat concrete roofs. Vertical brick plinth.
Square east tower, nave with aisles, west gallery and north porch. Main north front has large recessed entrance with reconstituted stone triple archway with 4 rectangular panelled columns supporting a cornice, with simple iron railings and gates. Inner doorway has moulded surround and double panelled doors, flanked by windows with plain ashlar surrounds. To left 5 tall rectangular windows in plain ashlar surrounds and to right a single smaller 3-light casement window in similar surround. Single doorway at base of tower. Tower has very tall single window to north, west and south fronts with set back vertical brick parapet with ashlar coping.
East end has entrance to Durant Hall with plain brick surround and recessed double panelled doors. East front has 3 windows with plain ashalr surrounds and flanking drainpipes. Projecting staircase towe to right 4 storey with 2 square windows to each floor. South front originally obscured by earlier buildings which have been demolished.
Interior has nave with aisles without arcades, raised raked gallery at west end, slightly raised chancel with organ chamber to north and vestry to south. Fittings include original wooden pews with decorated bench ends, and similar choir stalls. Large square wooden pulpit with inlaid wave bands and moulded top, similar altar and reading desk. Original globe light fittings. Abstract patterned reredos. Wooden organ case. Glazed panel doors and boxed heaters throughout. Fine square coffered ceilings to nave and aisles. Durant Hall and other rooms have similar high quality interior fittings.
Grade 2 Listed. Source: Sitelines
12th September 2024
Demolition of Wynne Jones Building/Nixon Hall.
Please see my Northumbria University page for more regular updates on the demolition and planned construction of a £50m space skills, research and development centre.
28th July 2024
Mea House.
By Ryder and Yates for MEA Trust (Mungo Campbell, Esther McCracken and Alastair Fife). Community Services Building. Completed in 1974, the first purpose-built British building to house a range of charitable services. Height was restricted to that of the adjacent early C19 terraces. The main floors hang from four main girders set at roof level, with nine steel yokes acting as roof trusses.
The main block is mirror glass-clad with three service towers. A long east ramp leads to a pedestrian deck system. A wide west curve of brick envelops an auditorium. The building's juxtaposition with the C19 houses of Ellison Place is 'less happy' but on a good day one can see the sharp reflections of the brick houses in the glass wall.
Rutter Carroll - on the ground floor there was a curved auditorium, a kitchen, waiting room, office, pram store, workshops and library. There was a penthouse with a curved roof. The structural system of the building, with its virendeel trusses, suspended floors etc was unique. The interior had movable partitions to create a flexible space. The main elevations were clad in Corning mirror glass, imported from Pittsburgh, in aluminium frames. The concrete gable end walls were faced in a glass aggregate resin finish. Brown brindle brick was used on the ground floor, inside and out. The roofing felt was aluminium faced.
Internal finishes were simple - PVC tiled floors, painted plaster walls and acoustic tiled suspended ceilings. The building was awarded a RIBA Commendation in 1976 and a Civic Trust Award in 1979.
Rutter Carroll describes MEA House as 'one of Newcastle's finest modern buildings' and 'one of the centre's best pieces of townscape'. Stephen Gardiner wrote in 1976: 'MEA House is so sharp and shiny, so powerful and bright, that it assumes complete command of the square, and becomes the focus of it. The other buildings withdraw like embarrassed shadows. A real competition winner'.
The building was refurbished by Ryders in 2000 and listed in 2015.
Grade 2 Listed. Source: Sitelines
No 21 and 22 (Picton Manor).
Church of the Divine Unity/Durant Hall.
15th July 2024
No 21 and 22 (Picton Manor).
28th May 2024
No 21 and 22 (Picton Manor).
31st March 2024
Mea House.
No 21 and 22 (Picton Manor).
20th December 2023
Mea House.
Church of the Divine Unity/Durant Hall.
24th November 2023
Church of the Divine Unity/Durant Hall.
Ellison Building, Northumbria University.
Mea House.
Wynne Jones Building/Nixon Hall.
7th December 2022
1 to 5 Ellison Place.
Saville Place, No 6.
Saville Place, No 7.
Saville Place.
5th September 2022
1 to 5 Ellison Place.
Saville Place.
1st November 2021
Saville Place.
14th May 2007
Ellison Place, Nos. 1 to 5.
1970
Ellison Place.
An aerial view of Ellison Place taken from the roof of the City Library in 1970. To the right, at the end of Oxford Street, is the premises of Hoults furniture removers which was demolished not long after this photo was taken for the construction of Durant Road, the link road to from John Dobson Street to the new Central Motorway East. In the centre to the left is Ellison Place with former Newcastle Polytechnic, now Northumbria University, in the background.
Photo courtesy of Newcastle Libraries.
1970
Ellison Place, College of Art.
Photo courtesy of Newcastle Libraries.
1970
Ellison Place.
This view shows a row of three adjoining houses two of which are the offices of the Cornhill Insurance Co Ltd and the National Provident Institution. A fourth building, a shop called Cooks, adjoins the houses to the right.
Photo courtesy of Newcastle Libraries.
1969
Saville Place.
A view of Saville Place, on Ellison Place, taken from Saville Row in 1969. The white building was demolished and replaced by the Y.W.C.A. which, I think, is now student accomodation.
Photo courtesy of Newcastle Libraries.
1966
Ellison Place.
Looking east towards Shieldfield, the white building in the centre was known as Skerry's College.
Photo courtesy of Newcastle Libraries.
1965
Ellison Place, Nos. 1-5.
The house on the corner was The Mansion House which was the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Newcastle. Later, it was for time, the Youth Employment Bureaux
Photo courtesy of Newcastle Libraries.
Undated
St. Peters Church.
I'm not sure where this was, maybe on the site of the modern day Church of the Divine Unity.
Photo courtesy of Newcastle Libraries.
More Information:
- Co-Curate - Ellison Place
- Co-Curate - Nos. 1-5, Ellison Place
- Co-Curate - MEA House
- Co-Curate - Church of the Divine Unity
- Wikipedia - Ethel Williams
- Wikipedia - Basil Hume
Historic Interest:
- Sitelines - Ellison Place, Church of St George
- Sitelines - Ellison Place, house of David Cram
- Sitelines - Ellison Place, Gresham Place
- Sitelines - 14 Ellison Place
- Sitelines - 5 Ellison Place, reinforced concrete cottage
- Sitelines - Saville Place, Clapham Institute
See my other photos around Ellison Place:
