The Centurion Bar, Newcastle Central Station

Image: © Mike Quinn Taken: 6 Jun 2017

A board in the bar says that it was originally commissioned in 1839 by George Hudson* to be the best First Class lounge of any station in the world. John Dobson, the prominent architect in the North East who built Newcastle Central Station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dobson_(architect) , also designed this interior, which is decorated with Burmantofts tiles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burmantofts_Pottery . The lounge closed in the 1960s and the British Transport Police used it as holding cells. Despite the building being Grade I listed https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1355291 British Rail destroyed part of the structure, and painted over the titles. The building was acquired by a private owner in 2000 and painstakingly restored to its former glory. * George Hudson (1800 – 1871) was a railway financier and politician who, because he controlled a significant part of the railway network in the 1840s, became known as "The Railway King". He played a significant role in linking London to Edinburgh by rail. For further info see the Wiki entry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Hudson .

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