New lease of life for Palace of Arts
SINCE it opened in Newcastle’s Exhibition Park in 2016, Wylam Brewery has quickly established itself as one of the city’s main leisure attractions – indeed, according to Tripadvisor, of 299 thing to do in Newcastle, a visit to this place is up there at number 23 on the list.
But before the arrival of the revellers, beer, food, live music and events, the distinctive Grade II-listed building set in a stunning setting next to the boating lake enjoyed an interesting back story.
As the so-called Palace Of Arts, it was the centre point of a huge, sprawling Tyneside event in 1929 which was given plenty of news space in newspapers around Britain.
During the spring and summer of that year, Newcastle’s Town Moor hosted a five-month extravaganza called the North East Coast Exhibition.
As the world plunged headlong into Depression in the wake of the First World War, the exhibition aimed to boost local industry and business at a time of increasing hardship by showcasing what the region had to offer.
Officially opened by the Prince of Wales – later Edward VIII – on May 14, the event, which was fronted by 12 towers, would be a big success.
The first day attracted 75,000 people and, by the time the exhibition had finished, nearly 4.5 million folk had visited.
There was the Palace of Engineering and Industry, which showcased shipbuilding, bridge building, mining and railway engineering, and hosted regional industrial giants such as Swan Hunter, Parsons, Vickers-Armstrong, Clarke Chapman and Reyrolle. Other big names on show included Newcastle Breweries, Windows, Callers, Bainbridge’s, Be-Ro, Carricks, Smiths Crisps, Ringtons, Pumphreys and Evening Chronicle.
And there was the Palace of Arts, the only exhibition building to survive from 93 years ago and today the home of Wylam Brewery. One newspaper at the time noted: “Over a handsome bridge crossing the lake (by the side of which lie a fleet of new pleasure skiffs and a supply of hand-driven boats for children) lies the Palace of Arts, constructed of artificial stone, with an inner lining of concrete blocks. It houses a varied collection of pictures, modern and early.”
As well as the boating lake and its bridge (demolished in 1961), there were Egyptian-style pylons and an amusement park. Visitors enjoyed ten firework displays, 70 concerts at the Festival Hall, and football and athletics at the Exhibition Stadium. There was a women’s pavilion, artisans’ pavilion and exotic animals.
In the decades that followed, the building that had housed the Palace of Arts became home to the Newcastle Museum of Science and Engineering. Many of us will have visited and seen the Turbinia, the first steam turbine-powered steamship, on display there.
In 1983, the building became the Military Vehicle Museum, before closing in 2006 and lying disused for 10 years.
Then on May 26, 2016, ChronicleLive reported: “A former 1920s exhibition centre in Newcastle city centre will get a new lease of life this weekend when it reopens as the new home for Wylam Brewery.
“Following investments of almost £2m and a five-month renovation project, the Palace of Arts in Exhibition Park is poised to open its doors to the public through a series of special opening events.”