The Keelmen's Hospital

The Keelmen's Hospital is a group of almshouses, now used as student residences, built in 1701 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The building was funded by the keelmen themselves and originally provided housing for poor keelmen and widows. It is constructed of English garden wall bond brick with a renewed pantile roof and a lead dome on the tower. The building is arranged around a square courtyard and has two storeys and nine irregular bays, with a central tower. The main entrance features a half-glazed door with side and overlights, set within a plain surround and topped by a pediment. Pilasters are present on the two upper stages of the tower, above the entrance, and feature a commemorative panel and a sundial. The rounded top storey of the tower has a single clock face beneath the dome, adorned with a boat wind vane. Casement windows are set within segmental brick arches. A commemorative panel is positioned at the top right of the building. Dormers are centrally located on each side of the roof, featuring shaped gables with header coping that extends in a scrolled pattern, culminating in a central lozenge of headers. A first-floor string runs around the building, and there are four brick chimneys.