Bewick Court, Princess Square, NE1

Image: © Mike Quinn Taken: 2 May 2013

This 77 m (253 ft) high 1960s faux-Bauhaus monstrosity dominates the central city skyline - see Image (photographed by Andrew Curtis). It has recently undergone a £4 million refurbishment and now contains around 130 flats. Unfortunately, it’s only the second (equal) tallest building in Newcastle* - and there is another of similar height quite nearby: Image (photographed by MSX). Named Bewick Court, and built on a platform over John Dobson Street, the building simultaneously besmirches the lives and work of both the local naturalist and engraver Thomas Bewick http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Bewick http://www.bewicksociety.org/ and the noted northeast architect John Dobson, best known for designing Newcastle Central Station and for his work with Richard Grainger developing the centre of Newcastle in a neoclassical style http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dobson_(architect) . Definitely one of Newcastle's Masterpieces of Modern Architecture https://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=109769006 . T Dan Smith, the leader of Newcastle City Council in the early 1960s, and the architect John Poulson, ended up in prison after a sensational trial in the early 1970s where it was revealed that corruption on a massive scale had taken place in awarding contracts and "easing" the passage of planning decisions. For further info and photos, see http://www.timmonet.co.uk/html/bewick_court.htm , and Image and Image (photographed by Andrew Curtis). * The tallest building, Image (photographed by Peter McDermott), seen also in Image, is 80 m (262 ft) high http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_and_structures_in_Newcastle_upon_Tyne .

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