Grainger Town

Grainger Town is the historic heart of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

Base a builder and developer, between 1824 and 1841, some of Newcastle upon Tyne's finest buildings and streets lie within the Grainger Town area of the City centre including Grainger Market, Theatre Royal, Grey Street, Grainger Street and Clayton Street. These buildings are predominately four storeys, with vertical dormers, domes, turrets and spikes.

Richard Grainger was said to 'have found Newcastle of bricks and timber and left it in stone'. Of Grainger Towns 450 buildings, 244 are listed, of which 29 are grade I and 49 are grade II*.

Grainger Town covers approximately 36 hectares and the architecture is dubbed 'Tyneside Classical' architecture. One of the streets of Grainger town, Grey Street was described by Pevsner as 'one of the finest streets in England'. The area also includes a Mediaeval 13th century Dominican Friary, pieces of the historic Town Walls and many fine Georgian and Victorian buildings.

Almost all of Grainger Town is within Newcastle's Central Conservation Area, one of the first to be designated in England. The majority of the buildings are in private ownership. The area around Grey's Monument and Grey Street is expanding fast with high quality shopping outlets, designer fashions and jewellery. The Central Exchange, with its tiled Edwardian Central Arcade, is located within this area. Inside are shops and the Newcastle Tourist Information Centre for maps and guides to the City.