Eskdale Terrace - Royal Grammar School Newcastle

Our Eskdale Terrace home is the place our whole RGS community knows well. Some of it has stayed remarkably true to its first days as a brand-new building in 1906; other parts are unrecognisable to Old Novocastrians returning for a visit to their old school.

Opening Eskdale Terrace

Jesmond was the site of our Branch School from the late 19th century, so it made perfect sense to move the school here for good. A site called Brandling Fields was chosen for our new home, ten acres of land next to Eskdale Terrace. The site was formerly the city’s Manure Depot!

*Ordnance Survey Map 1861, 10 foot series, 1st edition. Co. Northumberland Sheet XCVII.3.15 [showing Jesmond]. Courtesy of Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums.*

The Architects and Builders

The architects chosen to design the school were Russell & Cooper, commencing work in 1904. These were Samuel Bridgman Russell (1864-1955) and Sir Thomas Edwin Cooper (1874-1942), a distinguished pair who thought-up our classical design. Messrs. Arnold & Son of Doncaster were chosen as our builders.

*Photograph of the front view of Eskdale Terrace, c.1910s. Unknown photographer. RGS Archives [ref: 344] ©RGS Newcastle*

*Photograph of the back view of Eskdale Terrace, c.1910s. Unknown photographer. RGS Archives [ref: 344] ©RGS Newcastle*

*Original published design for the Eskdale Terrace building, in The Builder, 1904. RGS Archives [ref: 767].*

*Luncheon Menu for the ceremony of laying the foundation stone at Eskdale Terrace, 1905. RGS Archives [ref: 428] ©RGS Newcastle*

*Aerial view of the school site, c.1920s. RGS Archives [Ref No: 168]. ©RGS Newcastle*

Foundation Stone Ceremony

On 28th September 1905, the foundation stone was laid by Chair of Governors Alderman Thomas Richardson. Also in attendance at the ceremony was Sir Michael Sadler (1861-1943), who had researched his Report on Secondary and Higher Education in Newcastle upon Tyne that same year. [Mains & Tuck, pp.144-146]

*Luncheon Menu for the opening ceremony of Eskdale Terrace, 1907. RGS Archives [ref: 428] ©RGS Newcastle*

Town Plan of Newcastle and Gosforth, 1904. Lithographer and publisher: Andrew Reid and Co. Scale 6 inches to 1 mile [1 : 10560] 41 X 24 inches. Coloured. Courtesy of Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums [Ref: D.NCP/2/22]

Building with Quality

The original contracts for the work detail only the best quality materials were to be used: Windy Nook stone, red Leicestershire brick, Duresco paint. The wood varieties were specified: the best Austrian wainscot oak; mahogany from Tabasco; American walnut from Key West; teak from Mawlamyine [formerly Moulmein]; pitch pine from Pensacola.

In a North Mail article covering the progress of the building, they reported that the carved stone cherub heads in the Main Hall were made from a lead cast believed to have been made by Grinling Gibbons, the famous sculptor and carver.

*Postcard showing the Main Hall at RGS c.1910, with no Memorial Organ [RGS Archives, ref: 415] ©RGS Newcastle*

*Photograph of the Main Hall corridor, c.1910s. RGS Archives [Ref No: 149]. ©RGS Newcastle*

A New Era for RGS

In 1906, the school building opened, however the formal opening ceremony was held a year later on 17th January 1907, and it was performed by the Duke of Northumberland. Alderman Richardson said it was,

"...a new school in the right place, and one which was probably unequalled in its arrangements and equipment..."

Novo, Feb 1907, p.52

*Photograph of the school field, c.1950s. RGS Archives [Ref No: 168]. ©RGS Newcastle*

*Photograph of RGS pillar walkways, 1960s. RGS Archives [ref: 411] ©RGS Newcastle*

*Foundation stone, location on the wall by the original main entrance at Eskdale Terrace. ©RGS Newcastle*

It must have been a wonderful change to Rye Hill – boys could now step outside and be straight on the playing field, with space for everyone. The beautiful pillars of the Main Hall, the light and airy classrooms, and, a few years later, the iconic clock tower all became defining features of the school’s new home. The clock was generously donated by Old Novocastrians in 1909.

The Editor of Novo had this to say:

“It is a noble stretch of lawn; and of those buildings we can be justly proud...”

Novo, Jul 1906, p.1

*Map of the Eskdale Terrace school site, 1920s. RGS Archives [ref: 182] ©RGS Newcastle*

Building Developments

There have been lots of changes to the buildings over the years. One of the first new additions was the cricket pavilion, gifted by Chair of Governor’s Sir Alfred Palmer in 1913.

*RGS Visitors Book, page on the Opening of New Gymnasium & Junior School, 23 April 1937. Illustrated by Cecil Marfitt-Smith, RGS Head of Art. RGS Archives, ©RGS Newcastle*

*Photograph of the Sutherland Baths, c.1980s. RGS Archives, ©RGS Newcastle*

Pre and Post-WWII Expansion

Other significant early changes to the buildings were the installation of the Plender Library in 1931 (funded by RGS Governor Sir William Plender), the new Junior School buildings and the Dining Hall, which were opened in 1933. These were located in the part of the building which now houses our Sixth Form Common Room. The later addition of a new entrance for the Junior School in 1937 meant it could now function as separate to the Senior School.

In the post-WWII period, we welcomed new science buildings and a lecture theatre in 1956. The latter had the honour of housing the old stained-glass windows which had been saved from the Rye Hill building. A new CCF Headquarters was opened in 1962.

*Photograph of the woodwork block and rifle range, c.1960s. RGS Archives [ref: SUR/122] ©RGS Newcastle*

*Photograph of the RGS cricket pavilion, c.1950s. [RGS Archives, ref: 411] ©RGS Newcastle*

A Foundation of Philanthropy

RGS benefitted greatly from Sir Arthur Munro Sutherland’s generosity in the early 20th century. He funded the rifle range (1915), the swimming pool named the ‘Sutherland Baths’ (1930) and a gymnasium (1937). Our Main Hall was forever changed by Sutherland’s philanthropy in 1923 with the purchase of the Memorial Organ, a monument to those Old Novocastrians who gave their lives in the First World War.

*Photograph of the school field, c.1960s. RGS Archives [ref: 149] ©RGS Newcastle*

*RGS Visitor's Book, page on Opening of the new Headquarters of the CCF, 24 May 1962. Illustrated by Cecil Marfitt-Smith, RGS Head of Art. RGS Archives, ©RGS Newcastle*

Central Motorway Development

The building of the new Central Motorway in the late 1960’s meant big changes for our site. The Motorway cut-off a section of our school grounds (where the Pinfold once stood), which included a building housing the woodwork department. A 1966 Governors’ Appeal raised funds for the new development work needed to improve the school site.

*Photograph showing the Pinfold, c.1950s. RGS Archives [ref: 149] ©RGS Newcastle*

*Brochure for the RGS Appeal, 1966. RGS Archives [ref: Acc 0091] ©RGS Newcastle*

*Photograph of the new music building, c.1970s. RGS Archives [ref: SUR/122] ©RGS Newcastle*

Our Dining Hall, still in use today, was opened in 1968. The area housing the old dining hall was redeveloped into a library and Sixth Form Common Room. Then came a new ‘reinstatement’ building, which compensated for the building being demolished – housing biology, geography, and technical studies, with a rifle range for CCF in the basement. This building was later extended to include space for Music, Maths, more Biology and Technical Studies space. Our Junior School building at Lambton House was opened in 1972.

Millennium Modernisation

Around the Millennium, the development of our site, as we know it today, really got underway. In 1996, the first phase of the Sports Centre was opened, with new gymnasium and fitness rooms. In 1997, the Science and Technology Building was opened by Richard Dawkins. It was renamed the Neil Goldie Building in 2003 after the head of Science and Technology who sadly passed away that year.

*Photograph of the Sports Centre, from the 1996 RGS Yearbook. RGS Archives*

*Photograph of the new RGS reception, c.2013. © RGS Newcastle*

*Photograph of the Science & Technology block, c.2008. ©Nicholas Posner.*

Project 100

‘Project 100’ was launched, coinciding with 100 years at our Eskdale Terrace site. This included refurbishing the Dining Hall and Lambton House; constructing a Junior School extension over and next to the Dining Hall; installing an all-weather sports field; demolishing the South Block and building new modern languages buildings and the Performing Arts Centre (PAC). The PAC, with its 300-seater Miller Theatre, opened in 2006.

2015 Renovations and beyond

In 2015, the Sports Centre opened, with a brand-new swimming pool. The old Sutherland Baths were demolished, and a new building installed on that site. This houses our new Library, Art Department, Archive, Agora, Pastoral facilities and Maths classrooms, which opened in 2019. The Sixth Form Centre was redeveloped the following year in 2020.