The White Swan Centre Site
This is a large white building in the town centre.
Originally, a building owned by Merz & McLellan, built in the 1960s, stood here. This office block contained 100,000 square feet (10,000 m2) of office space and employed 600 professional and clerical people. Constructed by Northumberland County Council, the building towered over Killingworth and could be seen for miles around.
Over the years, the office space became vacant and, like the former Woolco site, it was disused through the 1990s. Then the building was reduced in height, remodernised, reopened and renamed the White Swan Centre. The name White Swan was chosen from suggestions provided by local school children and reflects the swans found on the local lake. The White Swan Centre was built to house many of the local services previously provided in the demolished buildings which had been attached to the high-level shopping precinct. For example the doctors' surgery and library, a small gym was also housed in the White Swan centre as the swimming pool and sports centre had also been demolished. The new Lakeside swimming pool and sports centre has since been built alongside the lake (next to the High School).
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