Newcastle
John Dobson's House, New Bridge Street
Last Updated:
11 Jun 2025
Newcastle
This is a
Dwelling, Concert Hall, Lodgings
54.974754, -1.608322
Founded in
Current status is
Extant
Designer (if known):
John Dobson
Grade II* listed
Without doubt, I'm sure most know or have experienced this building (very up close and personal for those in their 40s or 50s!). The building we see on the left was formerly the house of famed architect John Dobson, and designed by him too.
John Dobson is certainly Tyneside's most revered architect. His works have influenced the landscape and vernacular of our corner of the country to the present day, and you'll walk past his projects most of those days too. Central Station, much of Grainger Town, the Church of St Thomas the Martyr and Eldon Square are all landmarks in Newcastle, but further afield he also designed Cramlington and Gosforth's St Nicholas' and Hartlepool's Spion Kop cemetery.
It was constructed on the newly paved New Bridge Street as both his residence and offices. It was once enclosed in a garden, with the entrance on the west side of the property and a front garden. To the rear was a fairly extensive and long garden surrounded by a tall wall also. He remained here until his death, with his 5 coach funeral procession actually starting here to Jesmond Old Cemetery, where his stone can still be seen today.
In following years it became a kind of doss house/hostel type building which is why it was ladened with advertisements in the shot below from 1911. Such residences were commonplace before proper council housing existed, and rooms would be rented out to several people a night to squeeze out every pinner the owner Donnelly could get.
A stained glass manufacturer occupied the site, but it later became a dance hall and nightclub. The Oxford Galleries opened in 1923, and utilised a great old hall which stood in the former back garden. Classical, ballroom and carnival dancing all took place in what became a premier venue for townsfolk.
Most however will recognise this under a few guises - Tiffany's, Ikon, Liquid, Envy but this has been pulled down in the last few decades to make way for student accommodation, which can be seen at the rear.
Listing Description (if available)
These Ordnance Surveys depict New Bridge Street and its environs from the early to late 19th century. John Dobson's House sits proudly in the centre, alongside its neat long rear garden which later became the dance hall for the Oxford Galleries. You'll notice there was barely any green space this side of the town making Dobson's garden an exception. It was around this stage too it became a lodgings/doss house.
Now New Bridge Street has changed entirely, especially with the development of John Dobson Street which sliced through the site of the old Free Library. It was once conjoined with the Laing which is why its side elevation is relatively modern.
Some half a century later much of the street remains, though New Bridge Street station has evolved into a goods station with the passenger complex becoming Manors. John Dobson's residence is now part of the front entrance to the Oxford Galleries extending across the whole of the former rear gardens surrounded by warehouses.
The Oxford facade and John Dobson's residence in May 2025.
Advertisements on John Dobson's house in 1911, by this time a lodgings. Source: Newcastle Libraries
The house and venue under its guise as Tiffany's. Source: Newcastle Chronicle