Newcastle's Hidden Heritage

The Victoria Tunnel celebrates 175 years.

Newcastle's award winning Victoria Tunnel is set to celebrate its 175th grand opening anniversary at an extravagant event organised by its tour guide volunteers.

Lynn Taylor and Amanda Hepburn, who have both volunteered at the site for over 5 years have arranged the event to celebrate the incredible history of the hidden heritage spot built 85ft under the streets of Newcastle.

The Lord Mayor, Sheriff of Newcastle and Freemen of Newcastle will all be in attendance to the event which is set to be held in the Assembly Rooms, Fenkle Street on 7 April 2017.

The evening will consist of a four-course dinner followed by a night of Victoria Hall Music. Over 2,000 tickets have already been sold for the event which is currently selling tickets at £30 per person.

Tour Guide, Amanda Hepburn of South Shields said "This year on the 8th of January, Lynn and I went to the Unicorn Inn where the original opening party for the workers was held. We recreated the event and wore Victorian costumes to do a little bit of publicity for the locals because a lot of local people don't know about the Victoria Tunnel.

We got 2,000 bookings from that publicity stunt - it was worth freezing to death in the big market.

The original grand opening party lasted three days - so we think the teenagers that go to the big market nowadays are still celebrating the opening of Victoria Tunnel they've just got no idea about it".

The Victoria Tunnel is a nineteenth century wagon way which runs underneath the city of Newcastle. It was originally built between 1839-1842 to transport coal from Spital Tongues Colliery to the River Tyne.

The tunnel used to have over 16 entrances but now there is just one remaining entrance accessible to the public. 

In 2009 the Victoria Tunnel was repaired and opened for guided tours by Newcastle City Council with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and TyneWear Partnership.

It is now managed by the Ouseburn Trust and their award winning volunteer guides who most recently scooped the 2015 Best Volunteer Team award.

Tour Guide, Amanda Hepburn talks about the structure and layout of the tunnel and it's current state.

The map below highlights the key location points of the Victoria Tunnel as it stands today:


In its 175 years the Victoria Tunnel has had various uses and the tour guides know just how to paint the incredible picture of what once went on inside this iconic structure. 

Tour guide, Lynn Taylor of Newcastle said: "The Victoria Tunnel reflects the hard-working northern people who lived, worked and found rescue here and that is pretty amazing". 

"Our local history is so important".

The history of the Victoria Tunnel begins in 1838, to find out about its journey click on the timeline below:

The Victoria Tunnel has also recently been used to host art exhibits. Below are photos shot by Tour Guide Claire Harpz, at the long exposure photography show.

Amanda Hepburn said: "Your money helps us keep this open. We are volunteer tour guides - that's how mad we are - we work all week and then come in here on a Saturday morning but its because we love it so much."

For more information on the latest programme of tours, contact the Ouseburn Trust on 0191 230 4210 or via www.ouseburntrust.org.uk

Alternatively if you are interested in purchasing a ticket for the Grand Opening Anniversary Celebration event contact Lynne via Lynie_ncle@yahoo.co.uk or Amanda via hepburn986@btinternet.com