Walker, Newcastle
Lady Stephenson Library, Walker
Last Updated:
13 Mar 2025
Walker, Newcastle
This is a
Library
54.974782, -1.554448
Founded in
Current status is
Extant
Designer (if known):
John Dyson
Locally listed
This is the Lady Stephenson Library, and is one of many examples around Walker & Byker of industrial philanthropy. It was gifted to the city by William Haswell Stephenson in memory of his wife, hence the name. He was a Throckley man born in a devout Methodist family. In fact, his family were involved in Wesley’s first dealings in this region. He made much of his wealth as a senior stakeholder of the Throckley Coal Co, but was also the chairman of the Tyne Commission and four times Mayor of Newcastle (as well as Lord Mayor). He was, in effect, one of the city’s great statesmen of the Edwardian era like the Armstrong’s, the Swan’s and the Parsons beforehand.
Especially in devout circles, it was very common for the industrial elite to pump money back into the communities which provided them labour & blood. Think the Byker Sun ray clinic and the countless recreation grounds provided by the Swan’s and Readhead’s of this world. In this case, it was a library. Stephenson had already opened libraries in Elswick and Heaton. They were the first two in Europe to adopt the Dewey classification system.
When it opened in 1908, Walker as we know it was very much in its infancy. In fact the library was on the western extremities before the Byker developments connected. The library upon opening featured 5000 volumes and was totally free to the public as they are today. This was a relatively new phenomenon, with the standard experience being subscription only a few decades prior.
It's worth noting it was designed by John Dyson, the man responsible for Burt Hall in town alongside Stephenson’s library next to Heaton Park. I seem to remember extensions to the Newcastle City Asylum were also designed by Dyson.
It remained in operation until 2013 and is now offices for the Cambridge Scholars Press I believe.
Listing Description (if available)
Both these Ordnance Survey maps depict the central Walker area from the early to mid 20th century. You'll notice the sweeping change through the decades, as Walker was still semi-rural in the late 19th century acting as a breaker between Byker and Wallsend. In fact, Scrogg House - an old farm and gingang, was still in situ by this time laying evident the previous rural nature of this area. The population boom, in part thanks to the development of the Walker shipyards, resulted in great need for housing in this area. Housing encroached from the Byker side (technically the St Anthony's ward) and Walker expanded westwards meeting in the middle here.
By the mid 20th century what we know today as Walker was fully developed, solely split by the sliver of allotment land separating "Byker" and true Walker. The library stood alongside the cinema, schools, the Scrogg Inn and the Employment Exchange as a sort of mini town centre.
To accentuate the level of transition this area was going through, this is the site of the library only 2 years before opening. It was on the periphery of "Welbeck Road West", and the two sides were yet to conjoin. Scrogg Road featured only some town villas some still in situ and Walker Park on the south end, though the Scrogg House Farm has long since been cleared.
Lady Stephenson Library in March 2025
The Lady Stephenson Library around the 1910s. Unknown original source.
The "Walker Branch Library" as it was later known on this shot from around the 50s or 60s. Unknown original source.