News Archive
We are delighted to announce that Reece Foundation is funding a feasibility study to test ideas for the restoration of Jesmond Dene Banqueting Hall and the long-term sustainability of the building.
This comes on top of generous grants from Barbour Foundation and the Architectural Heritage Fund for important surveys and an architectural assessment.
After 50 years of neglect, this treasured heritage building in Jesmond Dene, a public park in Newcastle upon Tyne, is coming back to life. Talks are also taking place with Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Banqueting Hall was given to the people, along with the Dene itself, in 1883, by Newcastle’s foremost benefactor, Sir William Armstrong. A century later, the roof of the original structure – the Dobson Hall – was removed, but other parts of the building remained intact.
The Banqueting Hall has been facing an increasingly uncertain fate, in spite of valiant efforts to maintain its fabric by a group of artists who have occupied the building for four decades.
Now, the Armstrong Project CIO has been set up to secure an exciting future for the Hall as a place of learning and discovery that will be open to everyone.
The trustees invite you to share practical and visionary ideas as the project evolves.
Reece Foundation backs The Armstrong Project
June 2026
How a love affair with water led to the invention of hydraulics
Starting in early summer, a number of events are planned to mark the first year of The Armstrong Project.
At Jesmond Library on 4 June, biographer Henrietta Heald will describe the fascinating array of characters that made up ‘Lord Armstrong’s Jesmond Circle’ in the 19th century.
On 8 June, the scene shifts to Cragend Farm near Rothbury, formerly part of Cragside estate – one of the places where Armstrong’s fascination with water power led to pioneering advances in the generation of energy. Henrietta’s talk will be followed by a tour of the farm, whose highlights include the Hydraulic Silo, a Grade II* Agricultural Site.
ANNIVERSARY EVENTS
Spring into spring: join a volunteer working party
March 2026
A third working party for volunteers took place on the weekend of 21–22 March 2026. Its purpose was to clear vegetation from the Banqueting Hall site, in preparation for preliminary restoration to begin.
Volunteers at a previous Banqueting Hall working party, in October 2025, take a break.
Cragside featured on Christmas television
December 2025
Cragside has the world’s tallest planted Christmas tree – at 44.7 metres. It is a Giant Redwood festooned with 1,300 lights.
Cragside, William and Margaret Armstrongs’ home in Northumberland, was given pride of place in BBC TV’s Christmas Treasures of the National Trust – along with Cotehele in Cornwall and Coleton Fishacre in Devon. The programme is available on iPlayer.
This is what the BBC has to say: ‘High up on the Northumberland moors is Cragside, a Victorian arts and crafts mansion. Each year, the team takes inspiration from their history to prepare a magical festive experience for visitors, and this time they are getting set to present the Servants’ Ball – traditionally the one night of the year when the servants were allowed the run of the house.’
Cragside also celebrates the return to the house after a long absence of the grand piano bought by the Armstrongs in the 1880s – and the certification by Guinness World Records of the world’s tallest Christmas tree. Not to be missed!
Steam to Green: North East England’s energy revolution
November 2025
The Steam to Green exhibition at Discovery Museum explores the story of energy in the North East by looking back to the industrial revolution – and by looking forward to the developments in green technologies now being pioneered across the North East region.
Discovery is Newcastle’s museum of science and industry, a wonderful repository of Tyneside’s proud history of invention and innovation, especially during the 19th century. The region was the birthplace not only of the railways but also of the steam turbine – developed by Charles Parsons – which revolutionised marine propulsion and made possible the generation of electricity on a vast scale.
The museum includes examples of William Armstrong’s advances in hydraulics and hydroelectricity, as well as an Armstrong Whitworth car dating from 1911.
Steam to Green features exciting hands-on displays of wind and solar power, historical science and engineering objects and even a ‘cutaway’ electric NISSAN Leaf car – all designed to showcase how the North East is leading the way in green technology.
Newcastle University is the exhibition partner, with Vattenfall as headline sponsor, and supporters including Reece Foundation, Headley Trust and The Art Fund.
An Armstrong Whitworth car dating from 1911 is a prize exhibit in the Tyneside Challenge gallery of Discovery Museum. A later model produced by a successor firm was the hugely popular Armstrong Siddeley.
Discovery Nights
Going Underground, an event inspired by the mining heritage of North East England was held at Discovery Museum in October 2025. From poetry readings to ghost stories, the evening’s array of entertainments included a series of ‘electric tales’ told by Henrietta Heald about William Armstrong and Charles Parsons.