House & Garden
History
One of Newcastle’s finest residential buildings, Jesmond Dene House is full of architectural bravura, historical detail and an intriguing cast list. The original Georgian house, designed by John Dobson - responsible for many of Newcastle’s handsome streets - was bought in 1871 by Captain Andrew Noble, a partner in Lord Armstrong’s Tyneside-based shipbuilding and armaments business.
As the business grew, and Armstrong took a back seat, Noble needed a grander house for business entertaining. He commissioned leading Arts and Crafts architect Norman Shaw (Cragside, New Scotland Yard), and local architect Frank Rich, to double the size of the house adding a west wing, billiard room, Gothic porch, Great Hall and a fleet of bedrooms - all in typically grand and eclectic Arts and Crafts style. The panelling, plasterwork, stone carvings, exuberant chimneys and stained glass date from this time.
Knighted in 1902, Sir Andrew Noble moved in high society. Rudyard Kipling, Lord Baden-Powell, Admiral Togo, Chinese ministers and Japanese princes have all stayed or dined here. After Sir Andrew’s widow died, in 1929, the house was variously used as a college, Civil Defence establishment (tunnels still exist under the house), seminary and, until recently, as a residential school. It took 18 months to convert the empty building, Grade ll-Listed, to a hotel which opened in 2005.
Garden
A contemporary style garden borders the house. With its wide terrace, exotic plants, charming pergola and informal lawn, it’s big enough to stretch the legs before dinner, small enough to admire, glass in hand, from the bar. Chef may well be seen out here cutting herbs or collecting fruit and vegetables from the small kitchen garden.
But there’s a grander, wilder garden next door. Created by the Victorian industrialist, Lord Armstrong - and donated to the city - Jesmond Dene is a wooded valley of native and exotic trees, criss-crossed with paths and dotted with waterfalls and rustic bridges. It’s a quiet place to unwind with a walk or, for the more energetic, to recharge the batteries with a jog.
Art
Twelve foot tall, lean and elegant, ‘Pillar Man’, is one of the first people to welcome you to Jesmond Dene House. A towering column of bronze, by the Norwegian sculptor Nicolaus Widerberg, it’s one of dozens of pieces of art - sculptures, paintings, drawings, photographs, etchings - scattered throughout the hotel. They are part of the collection of the University Gallery of Northumbria University which specialises in modern, international art with a strong emphasis on Norwegian and north-eastern artists. The gallery is renowned as Britain’s leading expert on Edvard Munch.
Wander through the hotel and you’ll find more of Widerberg’s elegant sculptures, dreamscape watercolours by his father, Frans Widerberg (considered Munch’s successor), atmospheric industrial scenes by Angela Hughes, evocative works by miner-turned-artist Norman Cornish (the north-east’s most significant post-war artist) and breathtakingly beautiful - and intimate - photographs of the legendary Muhammad Ali by acclaimed photojournalist, Bill Peronneau.
Unusually, the University Gallery is a public gallery with a commercial arm; virtually all these pieces of art are for sale.
For further information, plus availability and prices of any artist’s work, please contact Mara-Helen Wood, Director, University Gallery, Northumbria University, 0191 227 4424, mara-helen.wood@northumbria.ac.uk.
Further Information
