Byker Wall Hobby Rooms Brought Back to Life

Some of the small "hobby rooms" built into the Byker Wall estate are back in use after years standing empty. As reported by the BBC and summarised in The Newcastle Drop, four of the rooms have been renovated to help bring the community together. They are now being used as a community kitchen, an artist's studio, a group space and a Byker archive.

What Are the Hobby Rooms?

The rooms were part of Ralph Erskine's original design for the Grade II* listed estate, which began construction in the late 1960s. The estate had around 80 of these small shared rooms, and some have stood empty for decades.

An Artist in Residence

According to the Byker Community Trust, Karbon Homes secured more than £98,000 from Historic England's Heritage at Risk Capital Fund to restore two of the rooms. The St Michael's Mount room, empty since the late 1980s, is now a studio for the estate's first Artist in Residence, set and costume designer Lucy Minta Reeves. She was chosen with help from Foundation Futures and its Youth Panel, and from a panel of residents.

The second room, at Spires Lane, includes a community kitchen for food activities and training. Victoria Keen of Karbon Homes described the St Michael's Mount restoration as "a really impactful moment for the community".

A Community Archive

A separate project is turning the former Byker Photographic Studio hobby room on Raby Way into the Byker Community Archive. As reported by Cultured North East, the three-year project is run by Northern Cultural Projects CIC. It is backed by £240,186 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and £36,488 in match funding from Karbon Homes, with residents' voices helping to shape the archive.

Why It Matters

The Byker Wall is one of the most recognisable pieces of post-war housing in the country. Its listed status means changes have to respect the original design, and reusing the hobby rooms for shared activities is closer to what Erskine intended than leaving them locked up.

To learn more about the area's past, read our guide to Ouseburn history, the Victoria Tunnel and the Byker Wall, or browse community groups in the Heaton directory.