Council Offices (Department of Architectural Services) is a Grade II listed building in the Gateshead local planning authority area, England. First listed on 13 January 1983. Council office, former school.

Council Offices (Department of Architectural Services)

WRENN ID
sombre-terrace-laurel
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Gateshead
Constituency
Gateshead Central and Whickham MP: Mark Ferguson (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
13 January 1983
Type
Council office, former school
Address
Council Offices (Department of Architectural Services), Bensham Road
OS grid reference
NZ 252 629
Coordinates
54.96089, -1.60712
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Council Offices, formerly known as Windmill Hills Schools, were built in 1879, as indicated by a plaque on the playground front. This building features red brick construction and a high-pitched Welsh slate roof, rising to two tall storeys. The front has a slightly irregular design with five gables and string courses. It includes tall windows with gauged brick arches and fluted keystones. There are two entrances, each featuring twin round arches made of shaped bricks supported by squat columns. The building is topped with two cupolas, one of which crowns a square tower. The outer wings are two storeys high, and the outer gables on the road front are shaped in the Flemish style.

Local climate

Council Offices (Department of Architectural Services) receives an average of 790 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 57% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 94% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 27 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 70% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

Sign in or create a free account to unlock:

  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • No related consent applications matched
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Create free account

Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.

Similar buildings

The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.

See all similar buildings →

this building   1 similar   nearby listed buildings

Nearby listed buildings

  1. Monument to George Hawks Grade II 43 m
  2. Church of St Joseph and Presbytery Grade II 243 m
  3. Lambton Lodge Grade II 257 m
  4. The Crown Public House Grade II 318 m
  5. Post Office Grade II 361 m
  6. Former Lloyds Bank, Gateshead Grade II 371 m
  7. Borough Housing Department Grade II 394 m
  8. Clock Tower in Forecourt to West of Town Hall Grade II 411 m
  9. The Former Boiler Shop of Greensfield Railway Works Grade II 425 m
  10. Town Hall, Ancillary Buildings and Former Police Station to Rear Grade II 444 m