Gosforth Park is a park north of

Gosforth Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of New ...

in the city of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, England. It houses

Newcastle Racecourse Newcastle Racecourse is a horse racing course located at Gosforth Park in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, owned by Arena Racing Company. It stages both flat and National Hunt racing, with its biggest meeting being the Northumberland Plate held annu ...

, Virgin Money Unity Arena, a

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

hotel, two golf courses, a garden centre and a football centre. It is also home to Gosforth Nature Reserve, a private

SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

managed by the

Natural History Society of Northumbria The Natural History Society of Northumbria (NHSN) is a voluntary organization to promote the study of natural history and protect the wildlife of North East England. Its offices and library are in the Great North Museum: Hancock, whose buildin ...

, consisting of a lake and woodland. The park was laid out by Charles Brandling (1733–1802), a wealthy coal-mine owner and local politician, to adorn his new mansion, Gosforth House (now Brandling House, the racecourse hospitality and conference centre), built 1755–64. Up to the 1950s tramcars came into the park on race days through a special gate from what was then the A1 Great North Road. Between 2016 and 2019 the two walled gardens and

icehouse Icehouse or ice house may refer to: * Ice house (building), a building where ice is stored * Ice shanty, a shelter for ice fishing also known as an ''Icehouse'' * Ice skating rink, a facility for ice skating. * Ice hockey arena, an area where ice ...

at Gosforth Park were the subject of archaeological investigations by AAG Archaeology, prior to the gardens having houses built within them.

Hotel

The Gosforth Park Hotel, now in the

Britannia Hotels Britannia Hotels is a British hotel group with 63 hotels in Great Britain. Britannia operates at the budget end of the market, and includes the Pontins Holiday Park portfolio. In recent years, Britannia Hotels has been a subject of #Controversie ...

chain, was originally built in 1965 and opened by the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke ...

, and by 1986 was owned by

Scottish & Newcastle Scottish & Newcastle plc was a brewing company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, which expanded from its home base to become an international business with beer volumes growing almost tenfold. The company was listed on the London Stock Exc ...

and run by

Thistle Hotels Thistle Hotels, run by glh., is a UK-based hotel company with a portfolio of 7 Central London hotels, one at London Heathrow and one in Dorset, operating in the three and four star sector. History It was set up by Scottish & Newcastle in 1965 ...

. Between being in the Thistle and Britannia portfolios it had been operated as a

Marriott Marriott may refer to: People *Marriott (surname) Corporations * Marriott Corporation, founded as Hot Shoppes, Inc. in 1927; split into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation in 1993 * Marriott International, international hotel ...

Virgin Money Unity Arena

Virgin Money Unity Arena is the UK's first purpose built

socially distanced In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious disea ...

outdoor entertainment venue constructed in the grounds of Gosforth Park. During 2020 the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

caused all concert and stand-up comedy events in the country to be cancelled. As the country came out of lockdown a number of efforts were made to re-start entertainment events including some drive-in venues. The temporary outdoor venue site is and consists of 500 viewing spaces. Each socially distanced viewing space can occupy up to 5 people bringing the maximum capacity of the venue to 2500. The first two concerts on 11 and 13 August by

North Tyneside North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend. North Tyneside is bordered b ...

singer

Sam Fender Samuel Thomas Fender (born 25 April 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is known for his high tenor voice and thick Geordie accent, layered over music characterised by a roots-orientated rock approach. Fender's sound relies ...

sold out in minutes. The venue is operated by SSD Concerts and Engine No.4. The event's title sponsor is the

Virgin Money Virgin Money is a financial services brand used by two independent brand-licensees worldwide from the Virgin Group. Virgin Money branded services are currently available in Australia and the United Kingdom. The brand formerly operated in South Af ...

bank who have their headquarters in the nearby

Regent Centre Regent Centre is a large business park in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The business park is home to a variety of companies, including banking group Virgin Money whose Head Office is located on the site. The centre has its own transport ...

business park.

References

External links

Virgin Money Unity Arena
Parks and open spaces in Newcastle upon Tyne {{TyneandWear-geo-stub