Borough Engineering Services Department (I) is a Grade II listed building in the Gateshead local planning authority area, England. First listed on 13 January 1983. Former library, commercial building.

Borough Engineering Services Department (I)

WRENN ID
far-gravel-stoat
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Gateshead
Constituency
Gateshead Central and Whickham MP: Mark Ferguson (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
13 January 1983
Type
Former library, commercial building
Address
Borough Engineering Services Department (I), Swinburne Street
OS grid reference
NZ 255 634
Coordinates
54.96473, -1.60289
Source
Historic England listing

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

Description

The former Free Library, built around 1880, is designed in a classical style and is located on Swinburne Street. This three-storey building features three bays and is constructed of ashlar stone. It has a plinth and a rusticated ground floor that leads to a band supporting four giant pilasters. These pilasters hold up a plain entablature and a pediment. The ground floor includes a wide central window with an elliptical arch, which may have originally been a doorway, flanked by round arched windows. The plain sash windows on the upper floors are highlighted by architraves, with the wider central bay accentuated by a pediment on the first floor.

Local climate

Borough Engineering Services Department (I) 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. Borough Engineering Services Department (II) Grade II 13 m
  2. Borough Engineering Department (III) Grade II 26 m
  3. Town Hall, Ancillary Buildings and Former Police Station to Rear Grade II 67 m
  4. Clock Tower in Forecourt to West of Town Hall Grade II 108 m
  5. Borough Housing Department Grade II 111 m
  6. Railway Bridge of Former York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway Grade II 122 m
  7. The Central Public House Grade II 134 m
  8. Former Lloyds Bank, Gateshead Grade II 134 m
  9. Post Office Grade II 145 m
  10. Public Convenience at South End of Approach Span to New Tyne Bridge Grade II 152 m