The 1960s and '70s brought wholesale changes to the landscape of Newcastle.
Post-war modernisation took place not just in the city centre, but in the West and East Ends where large areas of the worn-out Victorian housing were demolished and replaced with new properties fit for the late 20th century. Some of the '60s and '70s social housing that sprang up across our region, and the country at large, would not be a success, but the Byker Wall in Newcastle East End's would buck the trend, even being awarded Grade-II listed status by English Heritage on this day 15 years ago.
The striking 1.3 mile-long complex was designed by renowned architect Ralph Erskine who was born in Britain, but lived and worked in Sweden for most of his life. At the time of the Byker Wall's Grade-II listing in 2007, the Architects' Journal noted "the buildings are considered some of the finest examples of Erskine's work anywhere in the world".
