The 150th anniversary of a building opened as a centre of North East industry is being marked with a festival of events.
The grade II-star listed Neville Hall on Westgate Road in Newcastle was constructed between 1869 and 1872 as the headquarters for The North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, which is celebrating its 170th anniversary this year.
The building is now The Common Room, a charity established in 2017 to manage the redevelopment and refurbishment of the former Mining Institute headquarters following an award from the National Lottery Heritage Fund of £4.1m towards the initial project costs of £7.1m.
Read more : a city centre curiosity
As part of its anniversary celebrations, the free Game Changers festival will celebrate the building, its central role in the region’s industrial heritage, and the pioneering minds which emerged from the North East, including engineers Robert Stephenson, Lord Armstrong and Nicholas Wood.
Liz Mayes, chief executive at The Common Room, said “We’re excited to be hosting these special anniversary celebrations in partnership with the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers. We have a very special relationship with the Mining Institute and care passionately about using our shared heritage to inspire the next generation of innovators and engineers; our future Game Changers.
“Thanks to National Lottery players and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we can celebrate North-Eastern innovation – something which we should all feel immensely proud of.”
The festival begins on Saturday with a free lecture from local historian Bill Lancaster, exploring the first half-century of the Mining Institute through the lens of its two most important founder members: Nicholas Wood, the first president, and Sir George Elliot, the third.
On July 16 the Game Changers: Summer Extravaganza will kick-off with a day of celebrations including performances from Backworth Colliery Band and drop-in kids’ activities. Family Activity Days will run every Tuesday and select Saturdays throughout the school summer holiday and will feature Lego workshops, live science and history shows and interactive print workshops. Families will also be able to take advantage of discounted children’s meals at The Common Room’s café-bar during Family Activity Days.
In July, heritage tours of The Common Room building will be led by past presidents of the Mining Institute and the festival’s namesake exhibition, Game Changers, will open on July 16 covering the individuals, inventions and innovations tied to the Institute throughout its 170-year lifespan, and the future of innovation in the North East.
The festival closes on September 10, with a performance of Howay the Lasses, a musical tribute to the scientists, inventors, engineers and creatives who helped shape the region and the country, with musicians Annie Ball, Katie Tertell and Gareth Davies-Jones. Many of the songs have been inspired by The Common Room’s archive and collections, which are one of the world’s most significant collections on the birth of the Industrial Revolution.
Steve Martin, president of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, said: “The Game Changers anniversary festival promotes the important role that the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers has played, since 1852, in improving safety and the technical advancement in not only the Great Northern Coalfield, but the global mining industry. The Institute has many prominent innovators of the day as members: Robert Stephenson, of railway fame was apprenticed to Nicholas Wood, our first President; and Charles Parsons the inventor of the steam turbine – all world-changers of which the North of England are justly proud.”
The festival has been made possible by funding awarded through The National Lottery Heritage Fund. avid Renwick, director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting the Game Changers festival in order to celebrate this very special birthday for The Common Room. The Common Room is home to many significant stories of industrial heritage and innovation in the North East, and this fantastic festival will share that important history through some truly inspiring activities for all ages.”
Tickets for all Game Changers events can be booked online at thecommonroom.org.uk/gamechangers. All tickets are free, but donations to The Common Room are welcome. Further funding to reflect the project costs due to the pandemic have seen a grant increase of £950,000 to The Common Room from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and £440,000 from other sources.
The revised project costs due to Covid-19 now stand at £8.9m of which £1.2m is left to raise. The Common Room’s mission as a charity is to use heritage to inspire the next generation of innovators and engineers, and to involve the public with the history through schools workshops, public events and exhibitions.
The Common Room is also available for corporate and private room hire for conferences, weddings, parties, gigs and more. More details are available at www.thecommonroom.org.uk.
READ NEXT:
* Allotments inspire art exhibition
