Trinity Square car park

Trinity Square car park, Gateshead – Owen Luder - opened in 1969

Trinity Square carpark
Trinity Square carpark

I know, I know – neither Art Deco or a factory. But this building is such a distinctive landmark that I couldn’t not strike a pose when I was in the area. The building was made famous due to its appearance in the most wonderful film Get Carter (the 1971 version, of course).

Built as the key feature in the Trinity Square shopping complex, the square-windowed viewing room on the top floor was designed as space for a restaurant/bar, but it was never used. I have to say I love this Brutalist building, but I’ve met lots of people who hate it! The site is owned by Tesco, and I understand that planning permission is in place to demolish and replace the whole area. You can read more about the site and its current status on the Risky Buildings and The Twentieth Century Society websites.Trinity Square carpark

Wills cigarette factory, Newcastle upon Tyne

WD & HO Wills factory, Coast Road, Newcastle upon Tyne - Cecil Hockin - 1946

Pickles at the Wills tobacco factory, Newcastle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wills tobacco factory entrance, Newcastle     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wills tobacco factory entrance, Newcastle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry it’s been so long since my last post. These piccies were taken months ago during my Christmas travels around the country – it gets dark very early and rather quickly in December and it was a really cold day, which is why they’re not quite up to scratch (and besides, I had parties to get to), but I hope that they give you a decent enough idea of the building. And we did have fun there!

The factory was designed by Cecil Hockin who was apparently an in-house Imperial Tobacco Company architect. This suggests that he may also have designed the Wills factory in Glasgow, see previous entry (- thanks to Demdoggydog for the pointer).

The factory closed in 1986 and it laid derelict until the 90s when it was converted into apartments by Wimpey. You can see some fabulous photos taken during the last few days the factory operated at Amber Online

You can read more about architecture in the Newcastle and Gateshead region, including the Wills building, in this rather lovely book: Newcastle and Gateshead: Architecture and Heritage