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Kings Meadow Island

1887 disestablishments in EnglandFormer islands of EnglandRiver TyneRiver islands of England
Thomas Miles Richardson Richardson K07780 The Tyne at Gateshead
Thomas Miles Richardson Richardson K07780 The Tyne at Gateshead

Kings Meadow Island (alternatively King's Meadow Island, or Kingsmeadow Island) was a flat island in the River Tyne in Northumberland, between Elswick on the north bank and Dunston on the south, near Gateshead, England. A smaller island, Little Annie lay nearby to the southwest whilst the two Clarenee Islands lay to the north of the east end of Kings Meadow. The islands were removed by dredging between 1862 and 1887 by the Tyne Improvement Commission, to make it easier for river traffic to pass.During the siege of Newcastle, in 1644, Scottish sentries were posted on Kings Meadow, shooting dead at least one man who attempted to sail past.In the 18th century, a public house, the 'Countess of Coventry', operated on Kings Meadow.A regatta and horse racing were held on Kings Meadow, annually until 1850. It was also used for greyhound racing.Kingsmeadow Community Comprehensive School, nearby, is named for the island.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Kings Meadow Island (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Kings Meadow Island
Dunston Promenade,

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Wikipedia: Kings Meadow IslandContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 54.9591 ° E -1.6434 °
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Site of Kings Meadow Island

Dunston Promenade
NE11 9FB , Dunston
England, United Kingdom
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Thomas Miles Richardson Richardson K07780 The Tyne at Gateshead
Thomas Miles Richardson Richardson K07780 The Tyne at Gateshead
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Derwent Tower
Derwent Tower

Derwent Tower was a 29-storey residential apartment building in Dunston, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom, opened in 1972. Due to its unusual shape it was nicknamed the "Dunston Rocket" during construction (even before its official Derwent Tower title) and the name remained with locals throughout its life. It was demolished in 2012. The tower was designed by the Owen Luder Partnership on behalf of Whickham Council, which controlled the Dunston area of Gateshead. The original brief was for three high-rise blocks of at least 22 storeys, but due to adverse ground conditions on site the decision was made to build one tower, with the rest being low-rise blocks of two to five storeys. Despite the architect's advice against construction of a high-rise building on the site, the council were strongly in favour. Following many consultations and explanatory models of the foundations with specialists, construction of the foundations began in February 1968, and the tower was completed in March 1971. Construction was complex because of the very poor ground conditions. The foundations were based on a sunken concrete caisson that was built above ground then sunk over a period of time. Caisson foundations are often found in harbour construction; being used in the 1960s for a local authority tower block was a first, and the caisson became an underground garage area for residents.The tower had a very bold and striking appearance, unlike any other tower block or high rise building in the UK. It was of a Brutalist design with many design similarities with Gateshead's "Get Carter car park" also a product of the Owen Luder Partnership. The tower housed two-bedroom flats up to the 10th floor and one-bedroom flats on floors 11 to 29. It featured in a 1970s advert for Tudor Crisps.Unusual features were: Height 85 m (280 ft) Unusual construction methods Plan form change between 10th and 11th floor to accommodate building services including two 10,000-gallon water tanks Flying buttresses from the ground to 5th floor assisting the foundations Unusual foundations including an underground spiral carpark (closed to residents for many years, due to repeated flooding.) Brutalist form Exposed elements of structure and services, i.e. flying buttresses from floor level and exposed water tanks.The tower was in desperate need of refurbishment for many years, making it unpopular with residents and locals. It had been allowed to fall into a run-down state through neglect and lack of maintenance. Services breakdowns, lift failures, water supply faults were all common but were unlikely to be a result of the tower's design or construction methods. In 2007 Gateshead Council decided to relocate residents amid health and safety concerns over the already poor and deteriorating services.On 17 August 2009 the tower failed in gaining listed status on the grounds of it being a non-listable building. In January 2012 demolition began, completed in September 2012.