Wallsend Memorial Hall incorporating a First World War memorial with Second World War additions

Wallsend Memorial Hall incorporating a First World War memorial with Second World War additions

This brick building with cast concrete to the main elevation and west gable stands on a corner site with its main south elevation facing Frank Street and its west gable on Atkinson Street. The war memorial features painted ashlar, bronze figures and plaques.

The rectangular plan includes a stair hall projection at the east end. The ground floor originally contained two separate halls accessed by distinct entrances from Frank Street, while a first-floor ballroom is reached via a stair at the east end from the main Frank Street entrance. A west Frank Street entrance provides access to a rear stair serving the ballroom back stage area.

The main south elevation to Frank Street is symmetrical across two storeys and nine bays. A parapet steps slightly over each end bay, with a plain band at first-floor level. Each end bay features a tall keyed arched entrance to the ground floor with carved stone tympanum. The eastern main entrance has a door case of Doric columns supporting an entablature, fitted with heavy panelled double doors flanked by narrow rectangular lights. The first floor displays a large two-part Venetian window incorporating Ionic pilasters with a large open pediment above.

The seven-bay central section has seven tall keyed round-arched openings to the ground floor; these retain original fenestration to their upper parts, with panelled doors at bays two and six. The middle bay contains the First World War memorial: life-sized bronze figures of a soldier and sailor with bowed heads on column pedestals. Above, in the arch head, is a cast-iron relief of a ship in the mouth of the River Tyne, and at the centre a cast-iron relief of a worker operating a plate-punching machine, thought to depict the Swan Hunter factory. Bands of Greek key decoration sit above. A round-arched panel at the centre carries four plaques with the names of the Fallen. Iron gates in geometric pattern and spear-head railings enclose the front area.

The first floor has seven rectangular windows with 9/9 original sliding sash frames alternating with paired fluted Ionic pilasters. The roof rises above the parapet, hipped with a tall central ventilator and domed finial.

The north gable is plain. The south gable has three bays: each end bay features paired square upper windows, the left with an entrance below. First-floor details match the main elevation. Except for the first bay, the nine-bay rear elevation is plain red brick with rectangular windows to the first floor and round-headed window and door openings to the ground floor. The first bay, visible from the street, matches the remainder of the building.

A plain entrance vestibule leads to a large original ground-floor space with painted brick walls, plain pilasters to the north wall and plain pillars at intervals; this has been refurbished with recent fixtures and fittings. To the left is a smaller space now occupied by a cafe. To the right, the second original ground-floor hall has been recently partitioned to provide a corridor with rooms off; one room north of the corridor retains painted brick walls and wainscoting.

A full-height stair hall at the east end has terrazzo flooring with a wide border of mosaic Greek key design and extensive original wainscoting, doors and architraves. The open-well stair has a metal newel post and geometric balustrade with wooden handrail. The plaster ceiling of the upper hall has a Greek key border.

The ballroom is entered at the east end through three double doors with triangular and segmental pedimented door cases alternating with fluted Ionic pilasters. The ballroom is a single large space retaining the original sprung dance floor, wainscoting and a stage at the west end. The stage retains a plain proscenium with sloping ante-proscenium walls adorned with paired fluted Ionic pilasters. Regularly spaced fluted Ionic pilasters alternating with window openings with ornate architraves line each long wall. Opposing Ionic columns set on square column pedestals support a full-length entablature adorned with classical motifs forming lower side aisles. The pitched ceiling has segmental-arched ribs, which formerly alternated with glazed sections now boarded over; a central strobe light and pendant light fittings are thought to date from the early 1940s. Dressing rooms and back stage facilities lie to the rear of the stage, with a back stair of simple metal stick balusters. A cinema projection room is thought to be situated at the east end of the first floor, although how it functioned remains unclear.