Heron Pit Prison, Drawbridge Pit and Other Under-Buildings in Barbican is a Grade I listed building in the Newcastle upon Tyne local planning authority area, England. First listed on 14 June 1954. A Mid C13 and C17 Prison, barbican.
Heron Pit Prison, Drawbridge Pit and Other Under-Buildings in Barbican
- WRENN ID
- former-fireplace-quill
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Constituency
- Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West MP: Dame Chi Onwurah (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 14 June 1954
- Type
- Prison, barbican
- Address
- Heron Pit Prison, Drawbridge Pit and Other Under-Buildings in Barbican, Castle Garth
- OS grid reference
- NZ 250 639
- Coordinates
- 54.9693, -1.61051
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Heron Pit prison, drawbridge pit, and other under-buildings are located in the barbican of Newcastle upon Tyne. These structures date from the mid-13th century and the 17th century. They are constructed from coursed squared sandstone, with the prison pit featuring ashlar lining. The Heron pit is deep and square with no openings, and there is a shouldered arch in the wall to the north that leads to a ditch. Above the pit, there is a garde-robe with a chamfered round-headed door. The drawbridge pit was remodeled when the Black Gate was built, and the civil war pit dates from the 17th century as a defensive structure. This site is also recognized as a scheduled ancient monument.
Local climate
Heron Pit Prison, Drawbridge Pit and Other Under-Buildings in Barbican 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.
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- 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
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