Keelmen’s Hospital set for new era after multi-million-pound heritage grant
Rescue is on hand for one of Tyneside’s great historic buildings. Tony Henderson reports
A prominent heritage building which is pivotal to Tyneside’s industrial and social history is to be saved and restored by a £4.6m award.
The Grade II* listed Keelmen’s Hospital, which overlooks the Tyne in Newcastle, is one of the city’s most at-risk historic buildings and has lain empty for the last 16 years.
Dating from 1701, it was built as an almshouse to provide food, shelter and medical care for the poor, the sick and aged keelmen and their families.
Now it will be returned to its original role as homes to the design of Newcastle-based JDDK Architects. The conversion will result in 20 affordable units.
The £4.6m has been awarded to Tyne & Wear Building Preservation Trust (T&WBPT) by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Newcastle Conservation Area Panel (NCAP) describes the building as an “outstanding and unique heritage asset” and praises the objective to provide “social housing which reflects the origins of the building and gives future residents the opportunity to experience its real sense of historic place.”
“NCAP believes this scheme has great potential as a catalyst to demonstrate the potential of bringing heritage buildings into use as residential space in the city. The Keelmen’s Hospital is among the most historically significant buildings in Newcastle and it is intrinsically linked to the evolution of this great city.”
The 1,600 keelmen of Newcastle were an essential part of the coal exporting boom which underpinned the economy of the region.
They worked their flat-bottomed boats, or keels, to carry coal from the banks of the shallow Tyne out to collier ships.
They were celebrated in the song O Weel May the Keel Row with a first verse of:
As I came thro’ Sandgate,
Thro’ Sandgate, thro’ Sandgate,
As I came thro’ Sandgate,
I heard a lassie sing:
O, weel may the keel row,
The keel row, the keel row,
O weel may the keel row
That my laddie’s in.
“The Keel Row” is used as the trot march of the Life Guards of the Household Cavalry as well as of the Royal Horse Artillery.
The construction of the building was paid for by the keelmen’s own donations.
In the late 19th century, the Keelmen’s Hospital acted as tenement housing for the poor. This continued into the 20th century when the building became student accommodation for the former Newcastle Polytechnic.
T&WBPT, alongside Newcastle City Council, which owns the building, will convert the building into affordable housing while retaining important heritage features, including its distinctive clock and turret, added in 1772.
The past will also meet the future with measures delivering an energy-efficient building harnessing renewable energy technology, while retaining the location’s fabric and character.
During the works, the Keelmen’s Hospital will act as a ‘living classroom’, with specialist talks, scaffold tours, demonstrations, and training designed for people to develop skills, knowledge and understanding around the repair, retrofit and reuse of historic buildings.
An oral history project will take place alongside the restoration work, capturing the more recent post-war history of the building from the memories of former residents, and working in partnership with The Glasshouse – home to the Northern Sinfonia – young people will explore the songs about the keelmen to celebrate and record the restoration of the hospital through music.
Helen Featherstone, director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “The project to save and restore the Keelmen’s Hospital is a wonderful example of how derelict heritage buildings can be reinvigorated and given a new purpose answering some of the needs of society today.
“With thanks to National Lottery players, this beautiful building will be transformed into affordable housing for Newcastle and will remain an historic bastion of the city’s riverscape.”
Shona Alexander, chair of T&WBPT, said: “This wonderful old building will now be fully restored thanks to our strong partnership with Newcastle City Council and great support from both The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England.”
Leader of Newcastle City Council, Coun Karen Kilgour, said: “This is fantastic news.
“The Keelmen’s Hospital has stood for hundreds of years overlooking the River Tyne and is one of Newcastle’s most historically important buildings.
“It was empty for far too long and faced an uncertain future when no one came forward to buy it. This generous grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund will restore it and provide beautiful homes of distinction.”
Financial and technical support for the project has been provided by Newcastle City Council, Historic England and the Architectural Heritage Fund.
T&WBPT is a charity set up in 1979 to restore heritage at risk. The Trust has worked in partnership with Newcastle City Council to restore Alderman Fenwick’s House on Pilgrim Street, All Saints Church, also on Pilgrim Street, and 28/30 The Close, now known as House of Tides on the Quayside.