Hancock Museum of Natural History is a Grade II* listed building in the Newcastle upon Tyne local planning authority area, England. First listed on 17 December 1971. Museum. 7 related planning applications.

Hancock Museum of Natural History

WRENN ID
young-window-hawk
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Newcastle upon Tyne
Constituency
Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West MP: Dame Chi Onwurah (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
17 December 1971
Type
Museum
Address
Hancock Museum of Natural History, Barras Bridge, NE2 4PT
OS grid reference
NZ 248 651
Coordinates
54.98052, -1.61316
Source
Historic England listing

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

Description

The Hancock Museum of Natural History is a museum built in 1878 by John Wardle for the Newcastle Natural History Society. It is constructed from sandstone ashlar and features a plinth, with the roof not visible. Designed in the Greek Revival style, the building has two storeys and is arranged in a pattern of four, one, five, one, and four bays.

On the front, one-bay projections flank wide stone steps leading up to a terrace that has five double doors with overlights. The doors have plain stone reveals, and the wood mullioned-and-transomed windows are located in the end bays and on the first floor, while the ground floor of the projections features blind panels. Square Doric attached columns define the sections of the building. An entablature and parapet with raised panels sit above the projecting wings and the central fascia, which displays the low relief inscription "THE HANCOCK MUSEUM." Square piers flank the lowest steps and support cast iron urn-shaped fixtures for square gas lamps, which are now disused.

Local climate

Hancock Museum of Natural History 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

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  • Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 7 applications
  • 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
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