Member Article

Live Theatre?s redevelopment of historic Schoolhouse nears

The conversion of a historic Newcastle Quayside school where Northumbrian naval hero Admiral Lord Collingwood learnt his sailing skills into a prestigious digital and creative business hub is nearing completion.

The 260-year-old grade 2* listed building, known as The Schoolhouse, sits in one of Newcastle’s most historic quarters, next to Live Theatre and the Broad Chare pub. The trio of Quayside buildings are known cumulatively as Trinity House, with some of the building structures dating back over 1,000 years. The Schoolhouse was originally built as free school in 1712 by the Guild of the Blessed Trinity of Newcastle upon Tyne, a seafarer guild which had been based on the site at Broad Chare since 1505 supporting Newcastle’s growing maritime community and their dependents.

Admiral Lord Collingwood was a pupil in The Schoolhouse shortly after it opened. The Schoolhouse was rebuilt and extended in 1753 into the building that stands today and closed in 1870.

The Schoolhouse had recently been used as barristers’ chambers and as storage space by Live Theatre. The redevelopment is led by Live Theatre and supported by funding through European Regional Development Funds 2007-2013 and Arts Council England. As a social enterprise income from renting the property will be channelled back into the mission of Live Theatre, supporting its educational and artistic work.

The building has been sensitively converted by Sunderland-based Brims Construction creating five refurbished office spaces across three floors of the building. Located just behind Live Theatre, in a prime Quayside location in Trinity Court, the offices are available to rent from early 2013 to creative and digital businesses on flexible terms.

Jim Beirne, Chief Executive, Live Theatre, said:

“This is a significant piece of North East history which had been neglected for a number of years. Our intention was to breathe new life into the building and the sensitive restoration work undertaken by Brims Construction has achieved just that. We have created contemporary offices in an historic setting which would are ideal for businesses in the digital and creative sectors. The Schoolhouse creative hub is a further social enterprise for Live Theatre following the launch of www.beaplaywright.com and the opening of The Broad Chare gastro pub with Terry Laybourne in 2011.“

The work carried out by Brims included stripping out the building, strengthening the floor and then embarking on a new fit out, resulting in a sensitive upgrade to the highest conservation standards.

Richard Wood, director of Brims Construction, said:

_“_The Schoolhouse is a relatively unknown building in Newcastle, but has a very rich and important heritage for the North East. We managed to overcome a number of structural issues with the use of the most up to date techniques. In doing so we managed to preserve the important period features and details and maintain the heritage of this unique building.“

For more information on office opportunities in The Schoolhouse please see www.live.org.uk, email clare@live.org.uk on ring 0191 269 3487.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Live Theatre .