The Victoria Tunnel (above) will launch public tours next month (May 2009) as part of Museums at Night
A 170-year-old tunnel running under Newcastle which protected hundreds of citizens as a wartime air raid shelter has re-opened for guided tours today following repairs funded by a grant of more than £200,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The Victoria Tunnel, a former pit opened in 1842 to transport coal between Leazes Main Colliery and the river near Ouseburn, has been refurbished with information boards, the sounds of wagons and sirens and a tactile panel for blind visitors across a 766-yard stretch of the historic underpass.
Bunkbeds in the tunnel in the 1940s
“I’m thrilled that the Victoria Tunnel is now open,” declared Marian Jones of Newcastle City Council’s Byker Ouseburn Regeneration Team, who has led a three-year effort to restore the Grade II-listed site after it began to show “structural strain” in 2006.
The 766-yard tours include a comprehensive education programme
“This is the culmination of years of hard work by so many people. We’re confident that this project will significantly add to the attraction of the Ouseburn as a visitor destination. It offers a unique opportunity to discover more about Newcastle’s hidden heritage.”
Surveyors in the Tunnel in 1939
Apart from a bungled attempt by a Gateshead entrepreneur to farm mushrooms at the river end in 1928, the Tunnel lay forgotten between 1860 and the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, when it was outfitted as a shelter with seven new entrances, bunk beds, benches, lighting and toilets.
Tours of the Tunnel originally began in 1998, but were abandoned when the Tunnel was declared structurally unsound in 2006
The entrances were promptly blocked up following the end of hostilities, and part of the Tunnel was converted into a sewer in 1976, 30 years before the funding boost allowed the City Council to begin building work.
Part of the Tunnel was converted into a sewer in 1976
Rainbow Code, a responsive sound and light installation by local artist Adinda van ‘t Klooster, features in the new Tunnel, and an education programme accompanies the heritage volunteer-run excursions.
Adida van 't Klooster's responsive sound and light installation features along the route. Picture courtesy Rainbow Code - A van 't Klooster
Taster tours will be run as part of Newcastle’s Museums at Night programme on May 16 2009, and themed walks are also planned on May 19 and May 26.
Tours take place every hour between 6pm and 10pm on May 16. Places still available on 10pm tour, all others sold out. Email tunnelenquiries@newcastle.gov.uk to book.
For more information about Newcastle’s Late Shows for Museums at Night visit The Late Shows online
Overground Walk 1 – Carrying Coals takes place on May 19, 7pm.
Overground Walk 2 – Sirens and Shrapnel takes place on May 26, 7pm.
