John Dobson (architect)
Encyclopedia
John Dobson was a 19th-century English
architect
in the neoclassical
tradition. He became the most noted architect in the North
of England. Churches and houses by him dot the North East
- Nunnykirk Hall
, Meldon Park
, Mitford Hall
, Lilburn Tower
, St John the Baptist Church in Otterburn, Northumberland
, and Beaufront Castle
among them. During his career he designed more than 50 churches and 100 private houses. However, he is best known for designing Newcastle Central Station
and for his work with Richard Grainger
developing the centre of Newcastle
in a neoclassical style.
, in the building that is now The Pineapple Inn. He was the son of an affluent market gardener, [John Dobson, whose wife was Margaret], and young Dobson was educated in Newcastle. As a young child he had an exceptional gift for drawing
. Aged 11, he executed designs for a local damask
weaver. At the age of 15, he was placed as a pupil with David Stephenson, the leading architect-builder in Newcastle, designer of All Saints Church and the Theatre Royal
that stood in Mosley Street. In 1810, aged 23, Dobson completed his studies. He then decided to go to London to study art and became a pupil of John Varley
the watercolourist. He was strongly encouraged by friends to stay and work in London, but by 1811 he was back in Newcastle and assisting Sir Charles Monck
to design Belsay Hall
. Monck was a passionate devotee of Grecian art and architecture, and it is thought that it was he who strongly influenced Dobson to adopt that style of architecture in so many of his future works. At that time, apart from Ignatius Bonomi
in County Durham
, he was the only practising architect between York
and Edinburgh
. It is not known beyond doubt what was Dobson’s first building, but Dobson’s daughter maintained that it was North Seaton Hall, near Ashington
, built in 1813 and demolished in 1960.
Dobson married Isabella, eldest daughter of Alexander Rutherford of Warburton House, Gateshead
, a lady of great artistic talent, being an excellent painter of miniatures
. They had three sons and five daughters. His youngest son, Alexander, inherited his father’s artistic genius, gaining first prize in architecture at University College. He had just returned to his father’s office full of enthusiasm to work when he was killed in the great explosion
on Gateshead quayside on 4 October 1854.
or Tudor
style if his clients so desired, his preferred style was Georgian
. His country houses
are too little known, mainly because they are not so large that they are open to the public, and are often still in private hands hidden away behind parkland and trees. The outstanding characteristics of his houses are his use of beautiful golden sandstone
, Corinthian
or Ionic
pillared entrance portico
s, elegant staircase
s with beautiful ironwork
balustrade
s leading to an upper gallery
with an iron balustrade of the same design, and the hall's having a dome
d ceiling and glass centrepiece. Often, as at Nunnykirk Hall
and Longhirst Hall, the ground-floor design includes a curved or bow end at one side of the house. In all of the houses that Dobson designed, the quality of the stonework is superb, and it is believed that he used the same team of stonemasons again and again. It is also thought that this applied to other craftsmen
whom he employed.
did, Dobson put forward plans to the council
for the purchase and development of Anderson Place in the centre of Newcastle. Dobson proposed a Mansion House as a ‘civic palace’ and grand squares linked by wide tree-lined streets. If Dobson’s scheme had been accepted it would have led to a city centre
even more elegant than Grainger’s. However, Dobson’s plan was hugely expensive and he lacked financial backing. Grainger proved to have more business acumen in putting forward his own plans for Newcastle and getting them accepted.
at Barras Bridge on Magdalene Meadow, which belonged to St Mary Magdalene
Hospital. Dobson designed the new chapel in 1827 in the modified Gothic style. A novel feature is the hollow tower. Incidentally, the demolished chapel was replaced by the Watergate Building, Sandhill, also designed by John Dobson.
was built over the River Tyne
, bringing the railway to Newcastle and north to Scotland. A suitably impressive station
was required for a thriving town such as Newcastle, and Dobson provided it in his plans. His original plan of 1848 showed a magnificent façade
with a huge portico
having double colonnade
s and an Italianate
tower
at the east end. Behind this was an enormous train shed
made up of three arched glass roofs built in a curve on an 800 feet (243.8 m) radius. This design won an award at the Paris Exhibition of 1858. Unfortunately, Dobson was forced to alter his plans to produce a much less substantial portico and remove the Italianate tower. The station was completed in 1850 without the planned portico and this was only added in 1863.
John Dobson argued for the role of the architect in building railway stations, and his Newcastle Central
is regarded by many as the finest in England. According to Gordon Biddle and O. S. Nock in The Railway Heritage of Britain: ‘Undoubtedly it would have been one of the finest 19th century classical buildings in Europe had it been completed... Even so, Newcastle Central today is magnificent inside for its spectacular combination of curves and outside for its sheer size and length.’ The train shed at Newcastle, the authors state, was the first of the great arch
ed roofs and represented a bold step forward which was copied by others.’ It was the first use of malleable rolled
iron ribs
- indeed the first large glass and iron vault
in England.
proposed to the town council the erection of a corn exchange
on a site at the bottom of Pilgrim Street, opposite Mosley Street. This plan was rejected but Grainger decided to go ahead and build a shopping arcade
there instead. John Dobson produced the design based on an elegant London shopping arcade and it was completed by 1832. It was designed as two office blocks
, one facing Pilgrim Street and the other facing Manor Chare. Connecting the two was a narrow block forming the arcade itself. The front façade
had six fluted Corinthian columns. The interior of the arcade was 250 feet (76.2 m) long with an arched ceiling decorated in the Grecian style and with several domed skylights. The whole design was intended as an elegant shopping experience. However, Grainger had sited it in the wrong position away from the developing areas of the town and so it was never a success.
to produce designs for Eldon Square
. The design was for three terraces
facing a central square
, each terrace being of two and a half storey
s. The east and west terraces consisted of 27 bay
s of windows, whilst the north terrace had 39 bays. The first floors
had continuous cast-iron balconies
with Grecian honeysuckle
decoration. Beyond this and the giant Doric
pilaster
s at the end of each terrace there was no other decoration so that the whole effect was very simple and clean. The terraces were faced with finely cut ashlar
, which was a marked improvement on the stucco
used extensively in London architecture of the time. It is a great pity that this magnificent work was destroyed in the 1960s in the name of progress.
involved the demolition of the existing flesh
market
. Grainger therefore offered to build a new meat market and vegetable market. The meat market was placed between two of the new streets, Grainger Street and Clayton Street, and the vegetable market was placed on the west side of Clayton Street. Both were designed by Dobson. The meat market had pilastered arcade
s, 360 windows, fanlight
s and wooden cornice
s, and four avenue
s each 338 feet (103 m) long. It contained 180 butcher
s’ shops when it opened. The vegetable market was given an open-plan
layout, 318 feet (96.9 m) long, 57 feet (17.4 m) wide and 40 feet (12.2 m) high, with a fine timber
roof. In 1835, to celebrate the opening of the markets, a grand dinner
was given in the vegetable market, with 2,000 guests and presided over by the Mayor. Surprisingly, in the after-dinner speeches no mention was made of Dobson.
of Newcastle was to be a new street leading up from Dean Street to intersect with Blackett Street. Originally called Upper Dean Street, it was eventually renamed as Grey Street. Dobson was originally given the credit for the design of the whole street (by Pevsner
for one), possibly due to his daughter’s assertions, but it is now believed that Dobson was responsible only for the east side of the street from Shakespeare Street to Mosley Street, and that architects from Grainger’s office, John Wardle and George Walker, designed the west side.
The overall plan for Grainger Town
was Grainger’s. Grainger also exercised close control over the quality of the work. John Dobson is given much of the credit for the detailed design, but other architects made significant contributions, especially Thomas Oliver
and John and Benjamin Green
. In addition much work was done by two architects in Grainger’s office, John Wardle and George Walker. The latter two designed the west side of Grey Street, as well as Grainger Street, Clayton Street and Market Street. Much confusion was caused by Dobson’s daughter, Jane, who often claimed the credit on his behalf for work done by other architects. For instance, she claimed that Dobson designed Leazes Terrace and Leazes Crescent when in fact they were designed by Thomas Oliver.
, from which he never fully recovered. He went to live for a time in Ryton
. He died on 8 January 1865, aged 77, at his home in 15 New Bridge Street. He left a comfortable fortune of £16,000. The house where Dobson died still stands but subsequently became the Oxford Galleries, a dance hall, and since has been a series of nightclubs.
He is buried in Jesmond Old Cemetery
where there is a memorial erected in circa 1905.
hall) (1811)
Newbrough Hall
(1812)
North Seaton Hall near Ashington (1813)
Prestwick Lodge (later Prestwick Hall), Ponteland
(1815)
Sandyford Park (later Nazareth House), Newcastle (1817)
Doxford Hall near Embleton
(1818)
Morpeth
Gaol (1822)
Newcastle Gaol, Carliol Square (1823)
Angerton Hall, Hartburn
(1823)
Mitford Hall
, Mitford
(1823)
Eldon Square, Newcastle (1824–26)
Nunnykirk Hall
, near Netherwitton
(1825)
Church of St Thomas the Martyr
, Barras Bridge, Newcastle (1825)
Lying-In Hospital, New Bridge Street, Newcastle (1826)
St Mary’s Place, Newcastle (1827)
Longhirst Hall, Morpeth (1828)
Royal Arcade, Newcastle (1831–32)
Meldon Park
, near Morpeth (1832)
Grainger Market and east side of Grey Street, Newcastle (1835)
Beaufront Castle
, Sandhoe parish, near Hexham
(1835–41)
Newcastle General Cemetery (later Jesmond Cemetery) (1839)
Lilburn Tower
, near Wooler
(1842)
Central Railway Station, Newcastle (1849–50)
Clayton Memorial Church (Jesmond Parish Church
), Jesmond
, Newcastle (1858)
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
in the neoclassical
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
tradition. He became the most noted architect in the North
The North
The North may refer to:* a geographical section of the world * the wealthy and technologically advanced nations of the world, as contrasted with the nations comprising the South...
of England. Churches and houses by him dot the North East
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
- Nunnykirk Hall
Nunnykirk Hall
Nunnykirk Hall is a 19th century country house and Grade I listed building at Nunnykirk, near Netherwitton, Northumberland, which is now a school.-History:...
, Meldon Park
Meldon Park
Meldon Park is a privately owned country mansion situated at Meldon, Northumberland.It is a Grade II* listed building.The Manor of Meldon was anciently held by the Fenwick family from whom it passed by marriage to the Radclyffes.. James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater lost the estate to the...
, Mitford Hall
Mitford Hall
Mitford Hall is a Georgian mansion house and Grade II* listed building standing in its own park overlooking the River Wansbeck at Mitford, Northumberland....
, Lilburn Tower
Lilburn Tower
Lilburn Tower is a privately owned 19th century mansion house at Lilburn, near Wooler, Northumberland. The property is a Grade II* listed building and forming part of the Lilburn Estate...
, St John the Baptist Church in Otterburn, Northumberland
Otterburn, Northumberland
Otterburn is a small village in Northumberland, England, northwest of Newcastle Upon Tyne on the banks of the River Rede, near the confluence of the Otter Burn, from which the village derives its name. It lies within the Cheviot Hills about from the Scottish border...
, and Beaufront Castle
Beaufront Castle
Beaufront Castle is a privately owned 19th century country house near Hexham, Northumberland, England. It is a Grade I listed building.A pele tower was recorded at Beaufront in 1415...
among them. During his career he designed more than 50 churches and 100 private houses. However, he is best known for designing Newcastle Central Station
Newcastle Central station
Newcastle railway station , is the mainline station of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England and is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line. It opened in 1850 and is a Grade I listed building...
and for his work with Richard Grainger
Richard Grainger
Richard Grainger was a builder in Newcastle upon Tyne. He worked together with the architects John Dobson and Thomas Oliver, and with the town clerk, John Clayton, to redevelop the centre of Newcastle in the 19th century...
developing the centre of Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
in a neoclassical style.
Early history
Dobson was born on 9 December 1787 in High Chirton, North ShieldsNorth Shields
North Shields is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne, in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in North East England...
, in the building that is now The Pineapple Inn. He was the son of an affluent market gardener, [John Dobson, whose wife was Margaret], and young Dobson was educated in Newcastle. As a young child he had an exceptional gift for drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
. Aged 11, he executed designs for a local damask
Damask
Damask is a reversible figured fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Damasks are woven with one warp yarn and one weft yarn, usually with the pattern in warp-faced satin weave and the ground in weft-faced or sateen weave...
weaver. At the age of 15, he was placed as a pupil with David Stephenson, the leading architect-builder in Newcastle, designer of All Saints Church and the Theatre Royal
Theatre Royal, Newcastle
The Theatre Royal is a Grade I listed building situated on Grey Street in Newcastle upon Tyne. It was designed by local architects John and Benjamin Green as part of Richard Grainger's grand design for the centre of Newcastle, and was opened on 20 February 1837 with a performance of The Merchant...
that stood in Mosley Street. In 1810, aged 23, Dobson completed his studies. He then decided to go to London to study art and became a pupil of John Varley
John Varley (painter)
John Varley was an English watercolour painter and astrologer, and a close friend of William Blake. They collaborated in 1819–1820 on the book Visionary Heads, written by Varley and illustrated by Blake...
the watercolourist. He was strongly encouraged by friends to stay and work in London, but by 1811 he was back in Newcastle and assisting Sir Charles Monck
Sir Charles Monck, 6th Baronet
Sir Charles Miles Lambert Monck, 6th Baronet succeeded to the Baronetcy of Belsay Castle on the death of his father in 1795...
to design Belsay Hall
Belsay Hall
Belsay Hall is a 19th century country mansion located at Belsay, Northumberland. It is a Grade I listed building.-History:The house was built between 1810 and 1817 for Sir Charles Monck to a design by architect John Dobson...
. Monck was a passionate devotee of Grecian art and architecture, and it is thought that it was he who strongly influenced Dobson to adopt that style of architecture in so many of his future works. At that time, apart from Ignatius Bonomi
Ignatius Bonomi
Ignatius Bonomi was an English architect and surveyor, with Italian origins by his father, strongly associated with Durham in north-east England....
in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, he was the only practising architect between York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
and Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. It is not known beyond doubt what was Dobson’s first building, but Dobson’s daughter maintained that it was North Seaton Hall, near Ashington
Ashington
Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England with a population of around 27,000 people; it was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is located some north of Newcastle upon Tyne off the A189. The south of the town is bordered by the River Wansbeck...
, built in 1813 and demolished in 1960.
Dobson married Isabella, eldest daughter of Alexander Rutherford of Warburton House, Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
, a lady of great artistic talent, being an excellent painter of miniatures
Portrait miniature
A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolour, or enamel.Portrait miniatures began to flourish in 16th century Europe and the art was practiced during the 17th century and 18th century...
. They had three sons and five daughters. His youngest son, Alexander, inherited his father’s artistic genius, gaining first prize in architecture at University College. He had just returned to his father’s office full of enthusiasm to work when he was killed in the great explosion
Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead
The Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead was a tragic and spectacular series of events starting on Friday 6 October 1854, in which a substantial amount of property in the two North East of England towns was destroyed in a series of fires and an explosion which killed 53 and injured...
on Gateshead quayside on 4 October 1854.
Country houses
Although Dobson was very versatile, and was able to build houses in GothicGothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
or Tudor
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
style if his clients so desired, his preferred style was Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
. His country houses
English country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
are too little known, mainly because they are not so large that they are open to the public, and are often still in private hands hidden away behind parkland and trees. The outstanding characteristics of his houses are his use of beautiful golden sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
or Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
pillared entrance portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
s, elegant staircase
Stairway
Stairway, staircase, stairwell, flight of stairs, or simply stairs are names for a construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called steps...
s with beautiful ironwork
Ironwork
Ironwork is any weapon, artwork, utensil or architectural feature made of iron especially used for decoration. There are two main types of ironwork wrought iron and cast iron. While the use of iron dates as far back as 4000BC, it was the Hittites who first knew how to extract it and develop weapons...
balustrade
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
s leading to an upper gallery
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
with an iron balustrade of the same design, and the hall's having a dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
d ceiling and glass centrepiece. Often, as at Nunnykirk Hall
Nunnykirk Hall
Nunnykirk Hall is a 19th century country house and Grade I listed building at Nunnykirk, near Netherwitton, Northumberland, which is now a school.-History:...
and Longhirst Hall, the ground-floor design includes a curved or bow end at one side of the house. In all of the houses that Dobson designed, the quality of the stonework is superb, and it is believed that he used the same team of stonemasons again and again. It is also thought that this applied to other craftsmen
Master craftsman
A master craftsman or master tradesman was a member of a guild. In the European guild system, only masters were allowed to be members of the guild....
whom he employed.
Plans for Newcastle
In 1824, several years before GraingerRichard Grainger
Richard Grainger was a builder in Newcastle upon Tyne. He worked together with the architects John Dobson and Thomas Oliver, and with the town clerk, John Clayton, to redevelop the centre of Newcastle in the 19th century...
did, Dobson put forward plans to the council
Newcastle City Council
Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for Newcastle upon Tyne, a city in Tyne and Wear, England. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the city's 26 wards...
for the purchase and development of Anderson Place in the centre of Newcastle. Dobson proposed a Mansion House as a ‘civic palace’ and grand squares linked by wide tree-lined streets. If Dobson’s scheme had been accepted it would have led to a city centre
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
even more elegant than Grainger’s. However, Dobson’s plan was hugely expensive and he lacked financial backing. Grainger proved to have more business acumen in putting forward his own plans for Newcastle and getting them accepted.
Church of St Thomas the Martyr
In 1820 the council decided to demolish the Chapel of St Thomas the Martyr at the north end of the Tyne Bridge. To replace it the council decided to erect a new chapelChurch of St Thomas the Martyr
The Church of St Thomas the Martyr, Newcastle upon Tyne, is one of the most prominent city centre landmarks, located close to both universities, the city hall and main shopping district in the Haymarket...
at Barras Bridge on Magdalene Meadow, which belonged to St Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
Hospital. Dobson designed the new chapel in 1827 in the modified Gothic style. A novel feature is the hollow tower. Incidentally, the demolished chapel was replaced by the Watergate Building, Sandhill, also designed by John Dobson.
Central Station
In 1849 the High Level BridgeHigh Level Bridge
The High Level Bridge is a road and railway bridge spanning the River Tyne between Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead in North East England.-Design:...
was built over the River Tyne
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
, bringing the railway to Newcastle and north to Scotland. A suitably impressive station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
was required for a thriving town such as Newcastle, and Dobson provided it in his plans. His original plan of 1848 showed a magnificent façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
with a huge portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
having double colonnade
Colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....
s and an Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
tower
Tower
A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
at the east end. Behind this was an enormous train shed
Train shed
A train shed is an adjacent building to a railway station where the tracks and platforms are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof...
made up of three arched glass roofs built in a curve on an 800 feet (243.8 m) radius. This design won an award at the Paris Exhibition of 1858. Unfortunately, Dobson was forced to alter his plans to produce a much less substantial portico and remove the Italianate tower. The station was completed in 1850 without the planned portico and this was only added in 1863.
John Dobson argued for the role of the architect in building railway stations, and his Newcastle Central
Newcastle Central station
Newcastle railway station , is the mainline station of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England and is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line. It opened in 1850 and is a Grade I listed building...
is regarded by many as the finest in England. According to Gordon Biddle and O. S. Nock in The Railway Heritage of Britain: ‘Undoubtedly it would have been one of the finest 19th century classical buildings in Europe had it been completed... Even so, Newcastle Central today is magnificent inside for its spectacular combination of curves and outside for its sheer size and length.’ The train shed at Newcastle, the authors state, was the first of the great arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
ed roofs and represented a bold step forward which was copied by others.’ It was the first use of malleable rolled
Rolling (metalworking)
In metalworking, rolling is a metal forming process in which metal stock is passed through a pair of rolls. Rolling is classified according to the temperature of the metal rolled. If the temperature of the metal is above its recrystallization temperature, then the process is termed as hot rolling...
iron ribs
Rib vault
The intersection of two or three barrel vaults produces a rib vault or ribbed vault when they are edged with an armature of piped masonry often carved in decorative patterns; compare groin vault, an older form of vault construction...
- indeed the first large glass and iron vault
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
in England.
The Royal Arcade
In 1830 Richard GraingerRichard Grainger
Richard Grainger was a builder in Newcastle upon Tyne. He worked together with the architects John Dobson and Thomas Oliver, and with the town clerk, John Clayton, to redevelop the centre of Newcastle in the 19th century...
proposed to the town council the erection of a corn exchange
Corn exchange
A corn exchange or grain exchange was a building where farmers and merchants traded cereal grains. Such trade was common in towns and cities across Great Britain and Ireland until the 19th century, but as the trade became centralised in the 20th century many such buildings were used for other...
on a site at the bottom of Pilgrim Street, opposite Mosley Street. This plan was rejected but Grainger decided to go ahead and build a shopping arcade
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
there instead. John Dobson produced the design based on an elegant London shopping arcade and it was completed by 1832. It was designed as two office blocks
Office
An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the...
, one facing Pilgrim Street and the other facing Manor Chare. Connecting the two was a narrow block forming the arcade itself. The front façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
had six fluted Corinthian columns. The interior of the arcade was 250 feet (76.2 m) long with an arched ceiling decorated in the Grecian style and with several domed skylights. The whole design was intended as an elegant shopping experience. However, Grainger had sited it in the wrong position away from the developing areas of the town and so it was never a success.
Eldon Square
In 1824 Dobson was commissioned by Richard GraingerRichard Grainger
Richard Grainger was a builder in Newcastle upon Tyne. He worked together with the architects John Dobson and Thomas Oliver, and with the town clerk, John Clayton, to redevelop the centre of Newcastle in the 19th century...
to produce designs for Eldon Square
Eldon Square
Eldon Square is a shopping centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It was officially opened in 1977. Eldon Square was also the name applied to a terrace development on the same site, designed by John Dobson in about 1824 and demolished in the 1960s....
. The design was for three terraces
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
facing a central square
Town square
A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...
, each terrace being of two and a half storey
Storey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...
s. The east and west terraces consisted of 27 bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
s of windows, whilst the north terrace had 39 bays. The first floors
Storey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...
had continuous cast-iron balconies
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
with Grecian honeysuckle
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 180 species of honeysuckle, 100 of which occur in China; Europe, India and North America have only about 20 native species each...
decoration. Beyond this and the giant Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s at the end of each terrace there was no other decoration so that the whole effect was very simple and clean. The terraces were faced with finely cut ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
, which was a marked improvement on the stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
used extensively in London architecture of the time. It is a great pity that this magnificent work was destroyed in the 1960s in the name of progress.
Grainger Market
Grainger’s plans for the development of Newcastle town centreCentral business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
involved the demolition of the existing flesh
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
market
Marketplace
A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...
. Grainger therefore offered to build a new meat market and vegetable market. The meat market was placed between two of the new streets, Grainger Street and Clayton Street, and the vegetable market was placed on the west side of Clayton Street. Both were designed by Dobson. The meat market had pilastered arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
s, 360 windows, fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...
s and wooden cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
s, and four avenue
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
s each 338 feet (103 m) long. It contained 180 butcher
Butcher
A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat or any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat, poultry, fish and shellfish for sale in retail or wholesale food establishments...
s’ shops when it opened. The vegetable market was given an open-plan
Open plan
Open plan is the generic term used in architectural and interior design for any floor plan which makes use of large, open spaces and minimizes the use of small, enclosed rooms such as private offices...
layout, 318 feet (96.9 m) long, 57 feet (17.4 m) wide and 40 feet (12.2 m) high, with a fine timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
roof. In 1835, to celebrate the opening of the markets, a grand dinner
Banquet
A banquet is a large meal or feast, complete with main courses and desserts. It usually serves a purpose such as a charitable gathering, a ceremony, or a celebration, and is often preceded or followed by speeches in honour of someone....
was given in the vegetable market, with 2,000 guests and presided over by the Mayor. Surprisingly, in the after-dinner speeches no mention was made of Dobson.
Grey Street
The crowning piece of Grainger’s plan for the developmentUrban design
Urban design concerns the arrangement, appearance and functionality of towns and cities, and in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space. It has traditionally been regarded as a disciplinary subset of urban planning, landscape architecture, or architecture and in more recent times has...
of Newcastle was to be a new street leading up from Dean Street to intersect with Blackett Street. Originally called Upper Dean Street, it was eventually renamed as Grey Street. Dobson was originally given the credit for the design of the whole street (by Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
for one), possibly due to his daughter’s assertions, but it is now believed that Dobson was responsible only for the east side of the street from Shakespeare Street to Mosley Street, and that architects from Grainger’s office, John Wardle and George Walker, designed the west side.
Break with Grainger
In 1841 Grainger, unknown to Dobson, was in serious financial difficulties. He owed Dobson a large sum of money for work done and he tried to reduce this amount by charging Dobson £250 for a staircase and painted ceiling removed from Anderson Place. Dobson was furious at what he considered an underhand trick by Grainger and expressed his indignation in various letters that have survived. It is believed that this brought about the final breakdown of their professional relationship.Contribution to Grainger Town
Dobson contributed much to the townscape of Newcastle, but not as much as many think.The overall plan for Grainger Town
Grainger Town
Grainger Town is the historic heart of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.Based around classical streets built by Richard Grainger, a builder and developer, between 1824 and 1841, some of Newcastle upon Tyne's finest buildings and streets lie within the Grainger Town area of the City centre including...
was Grainger’s. Grainger also exercised close control over the quality of the work. John Dobson is given much of the credit for the detailed design, but other architects made significant contributions, especially Thomas Oliver
Thomas Oliver (architect)
Thomas Oliver , was a classical architect active in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.He was one of a number of talented local architects who worked with Richard Grainger on the development of Newcastle, but his work tends to be overshadowed by that of John Dobson who has been given a great deal of the...
and John and Benjamin Green
John and Benjamin Green
John and Benjamin Green were a father and son who worked in partnership as architects in North East England during the early nineteenth century. John, the father was a civil engineer as well as an architect...
. In addition much work was done by two architects in Grainger’s office, John Wardle and George Walker. The latter two designed the west side of Grey Street, as well as Grainger Street, Clayton Street and Market Street. Much confusion was caused by Dobson’s daughter, Jane, who often claimed the credit on his behalf for work done by other architects. For instance, she claimed that Dobson designed Leazes Terrace and Leazes Crescent when in fact they were designed by Thomas Oliver.
Later life
Dobson’s wife, Isabella, died in 1846, aged 51. In 1859, when he was 72, he was elected first President of the newly formed Northern Architectural Association. He retired from active work in 1863 after suffering a strokeStroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
, from which he never fully recovered. He went to live for a time in Ryton
Ryton, Tyne and Wear
Ryton is a semi-rural small town near the western border of Tyne and Wear, England. Once an independent town in County Durham it became incorporated into the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear and the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in 1974. It has a population of 15,742.- Location :Ryton lies...
. He died on 8 January 1865, aged 77, at his home in 15 New Bridge Street. He left a comfortable fortune of £16,000. The house where Dobson died still stands but subsequently became the Oxford Galleries, a dance hall, and since has been a series of nightclubs.
He is buried in Jesmond Old Cemetery
Jesmond Old Cemetery
Jesmond Old Cemetery, is a Victorian cemetery in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom founded in 1834. It contains two Grade II listed buildings and seven Grade II listed monuments as well as the graves of dozens of notable people from the history of Tyneside....
where there is a memorial erected in circa 1905.
List of major works with dates
The Scottish Presbyterian Church, North Shields (later a Salvation ArmyThe Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
hall) (1811)
Newbrough Hall
Newbrough Hall
Newbrough Hall is an early 19th century country house at Newbrough, about west of Hexham, Northumberland, England. It is a Grade II* listed building....
(1812)
North Seaton Hall near Ashington (1813)
Prestwick Lodge (later Prestwick Hall), Ponteland
Ponteland
Ponteland is a village situated in Northumberland near Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The name means island in the Pont , as the area consisted of a small piece of solid ground around St. Mary's church and the old bridge, surrounded by marshland. This marshland is now drained, with housing built on...
(1815)
Sandyford Park (later Nazareth House), Newcastle (1817)
Doxford Hall near Embleton
Embleton, Northumberland
Embleton village in the English county of Northumberland is about half-a-mile from the bay that carries its name. The sandy beach is backed by dunes where a variety of flowers bloom: bluebells, cowslips, burnet roses and, to give it its common name, bloody cranesbill, amongst others. Dunstanburgh...
(1818)
Morpeth
Morpeth, Northumberland
Morpeth is the county town of Northumberland, England. It is situated on the River Wansbeck which flows east through the town. The town is from the A1, which bypasses it. Since 1981, it has been the administrative centre of the County of Northumberland. In the 2001 census the town had a population...
Gaol (1822)
Newcastle Gaol, Carliol Square (1823)
Angerton Hall, Hartburn
Hartburn, Northumberland
Hartburn is a village in Northumberland, in England. It is situated about to the west of Morpeth.-Landmarks:The Devil's Causeway passes the western edge of the village, just before its crosses the River Wansbeck...
(1823)
Mitford Hall
Mitford Hall
Mitford Hall is a Georgian mansion house and Grade II* listed building standing in its own park overlooking the River Wansbeck at Mitford, Northumberland....
, Mitford
Mitford
Mitford is a village in the borough of Castle Morpeth in the Wansbeck parliamentary constituency, in Northumberland, England, about west of Morpeth.- History :...
(1823)
Eldon Square, Newcastle (1824–26)
Nunnykirk Hall
Nunnykirk Hall
Nunnykirk Hall is a 19th century country house and Grade I listed building at Nunnykirk, near Netherwitton, Northumberland, which is now a school.-History:...
, near Netherwitton
Netherwitton
Netherwitton is a village in Northumberland, England about west of Morpeth.A former cotton-mill now converted into residential housing, the old village school also converted into a house, an old bridge whence the pretty little church is visible, and a number of cottages and gardens comprise the...
(1825)
Church of St Thomas the Martyr
Church of St Thomas the Martyr
The Church of St Thomas the Martyr, Newcastle upon Tyne, is one of the most prominent city centre landmarks, located close to both universities, the city hall and main shopping district in the Haymarket...
, Barras Bridge, Newcastle (1825)
Lying-In Hospital, New Bridge Street, Newcastle (1826)
St Mary’s Place, Newcastle (1827)
Longhirst Hall, Morpeth (1828)
Royal Arcade, Newcastle (1831–32)
Meldon Park
Meldon Park
Meldon Park is a privately owned country mansion situated at Meldon, Northumberland.It is a Grade II* listed building.The Manor of Meldon was anciently held by the Fenwick family from whom it passed by marriage to the Radclyffes.. James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater lost the estate to the...
, near Morpeth (1832)
Grainger Market and east side of Grey Street, Newcastle (1835)
Beaufront Castle
Beaufront Castle
Beaufront Castle is a privately owned 19th century country house near Hexham, Northumberland, England. It is a Grade I listed building.A pele tower was recorded at Beaufront in 1415...
, Sandhoe parish, near Hexham
Hexham
Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. The three major towns in Tynedale were Hexham, Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population, Prudhoe was...
(1835–41)
Newcastle General Cemetery (later Jesmond Cemetery) (1839)
Lilburn Tower
Lilburn Tower
Lilburn Tower is a privately owned 19th century mansion house at Lilburn, near Wooler, Northumberland. The property is a Grade II* listed building and forming part of the Lilburn Estate...
, near Wooler
Wooler
Wooler is a small town in Northumberland, England. It lies on the edge of the Northumberland National Park, by the Cheviot Hills and so is a popular base for walkers and is referred to as the "Gateway to the Cheviots"...
(1842)
Central Railway Station, Newcastle (1849–50)
Clayton Memorial Church (Jesmond Parish Church
Jesmond Parish Church
Jesmond Parish Church is a parish church in the Church of England situated in the Jesmond suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.- History :...
), Jesmond
Jesmond
Jesmond is a residential suburb and is split into two electoral wards just north of the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The population is about 12,000. It is adjacent to, and to the east of, the Town Moor, providing pedestrian and cycle paths to Spital Tongues and the city's two Universities...
, Newcastle (1858)