Old Eldon Square is a

public square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

on Blackett Street,

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. As well as green space the square is the site of a war memorial and location for the city's

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

commemoration.

History

Eldon Square was built as part of the 1825–40 reconstruction of Newcastle city centre. In 1824 John Dobson was commissioned by

Richard Grainger Richard Grainger (9 October 17974 July 1861) was a builder in Newcastle upon Tyne. He worked 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. The design was for three terraces facing a central

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

, each terrace being of two and a half storeys. The east and west terraces consisted of 27 bays of windows, whilst the north terrace had 39 bays. The first floors had continuous cast-iron

balconies A balcony (from it, balcone, "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. Types The traditional Maltese balcony is ...

with

Grecian The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

honeysuckle decoration. Beyond this and the giant Doric

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s at the end of each terrace there was no other decoration. The terraces were faced with finely cut ashlar. The author

Harriet Martineau Harriet Martineau (; 12 June 1802 – 27 June 1876) was an English social theorist often seen as the first female sociologist, focusing on race relations within much of her published material.Michael R. Hill (2002''Harriet Martineau: Theoretic ...

lived at number 28.

The war memorial

Earl Haig Earl Haig is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1919 for Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. During the First World War, he served as commander of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in France and Bel ...

in 1923, the war memorial is situated at the centre of the square. It is a large Portland stone pedestal, with a different relief on each of the four sides. They are: :North: the words "Memory Lingers Here" above a bronze sculptured wreath. :South: a sculptured picture of a lion below the dates 1914–1918 and 1939–1945. :East: a bronze relief of Justice, displaying two grieving women and a third (

Lady Justice Lady Justice ( la, Iustitia) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems. Her attributes are scales, a sword and sometimes a blindfold. She often appears as a pair with Prudentia. Lady Justice originates from the ...

) holding the scales. :West: a bronze relief of Peace, displaying a woman with a child and the Angel of Peace. On the top is a large bronze equestrian statue of

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

, the patron saint of infantrymen and cavalrymen, slaying the dragon. The pedestal was designed by Cackett and Burns. The memorial was restored in 1991 and 2007.

Eldon Square Shopping Centre

In the 1970s the west and north terraces around the square were demolished to be replaced by part of

Eldon Square Shopping Centre Eldon Square (stylised as EldonSq.) is a shopping centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It opened in 1976 and was built on the site of Old Eldon Square, a famous part of Georgian Newcastle designed by John Dobson in about 1824. This redevelo ...

which now dominates Old Eldon Square. At the time a councillor had stated that the square would be maintained as "it is only the buildings surrounding the square that will be removed." Some renovation was completed in 2008 and the square now features new landscaping and ground level access to the shopping centre.Eldon Square Shopping Centre Development Proposals
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References

External links

Eldon Square History
Squares in England Buildings and structures in Newcastle upon Tyne Parks and open spaces in Newcastle upon Tyne 1840 establishments in England Monuments and memorials in Tyne and Wear Saint George and the Dragon World War I memorials in England World War II memorials in England {{TyneandWear-geo-stub