Benton Park View - History

History

The site was created with the founding of the UK welfare system in the late 1940s and constisted of a series of 'H Blocks, So named due to their similarity to the letter 'H' when viewed from above. The old site consisted of a number of brick-built, single-storey H-shaped buildings that dated from the 1940s and a number of other buildings that dated from the 1960s, several of which were multi-storey blocks built in the minimalist concrete-and-glass style of the period. The older single-storey blocks were numbered (1-16) and the newer blocks designated by letter (A-D). The ‘H’ blocks are believed to have been built as a hospital accommodation for wounded servicemen from World War II, although the buildings were never used for this purpose. It is also widely believed that they were built by German prisoners of war and were never intended for long-term use. These buildings were considered suitable as office space and were to remain in service for fifty years. Over the next few decades, the site grew as a major source of employment in the north-east of England, particularly on Tyneside. During the 1970s, the site employed approximately 10,000 staff, and contained banks, a post office, a gentlemen’s hairdresser manned by John Compton, a garden shop, and a staff canteen with licensed bar. Special bus transport was provided for staff that travelled to and from many locations in the area.

The number of staff employed on the site steadily declined over the 1980s and 1990s, and most of the amenities listed above closed as clerical functions came to be performed by computers and personnel were decanted to other sites, notably the Tyneview Park site, which is located a kilometre or so east of Benton Park View, and to sites at the Cobalt Business Park, situated between North Shields and Shiremoor. The physical deterioration of the buildings had become increasingly evident, and so it was decided to construct the new buildings while demolishing the old, moving staff appropriately.

The only remaining remnant of the old site is the George VI plinth, a small stone plinth named after the monarch who opened the site, that once formed the base of the flagpole at the entrance to the old site. The plinth now stands at the centre of a small outside seating area at the rear (or western) end of the site.