When it opens in Autumn 2020, the Common Room of the Great North will offer something unique that links the region's rich mining past with its future. Here its sales and marketing manager Philippa King-Williams gives the low down.
What is the Common Room of the Great North?
The Common Room is a charity that was established in 2017 to take over the assets of the Mining Institute in Newcastle and revitalise the Grade II* listed building, Neville Hall. The building will not only celebrate the region’s engineering heritage through education and engagement, but will support our future economic growth ambitions by using our unique heritage to inspire the next generation of innovators and engineers. It will also provide a range of public spaces for events, workshops, lectures and training.
The building was previously known as the North East Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers (NEIMME) or the Mining Institute to locals. What link does the Institute have with the Common Room today?
The Common Room is shaped by the incredibly important work and dedication of past generations of mining and mechanical engineers. Our work is enabling the Mining Institute, its collection and the building to be retained – the refurbishment is designed to add value and ensure the incredible archive and collection is easier to access for all audiences. The Institute will continue to deliver a series of thought-provoking lectures for all to enjoy and will always be a key partner organisation for us.
What’s happening during the refurbishment programme and how can people get involved?
We are well underway with the refurbishment and while it’s ongoing we are taking our project On the Road’ and into the community. Our exhibition, Graft and Glory’ explores the North East’s Industrial heritage at various locations across the region. Through a programme of exciting and family friendly engineering events, lectures and STEM activities we aim to inspire the next generation of engineers!
Through the Our Voices’ programme we are capturing stories from our region’s past, present and budding engineers and innovators. These memories will be added to our archive and included in a permanent exhibition which will feature in the Common Room upon re-opening, for visitors to listen to and explore the impact of industry in the North East.
When will the Common Room open and what can people expect from it?
We open our doors in Autumn/Winter 2020, marking our launch with an exciting Opening Festival. You can expect to see some fantastic art work and engineering installations inspired by the building and the project. We will also present an inspirational programme of talks and events, and showcase work produced by the region’s schools & communities.
We intend for the space to enable new collaborations and innovations for business leaders and industrialists. We really want to engage the public with our heritage and provide a building for its users to be proud of and to instil a sense of ownership.
There is a commercial arm to the operation through a new catering, wedding and conference and events offer. Tell us more and when will bookings open?
The heritage of the building makes it a unique and awe-inspiring setting for all weddings and celebrations and our plans include first class facilities for conferences and banqueting events. Our venue hire offer will be launched in Autumn this year and we are ready to discuss bookings for 2020 with you now!
A café bar will also be in place from opening, providing a perfect venue for informal meetings, daytime socialising, after work drinks and everything in-between.
To find out more visit www.thecommonroom.org.uk.
