Racquets Court, Newcastle

The renovation of one of Newcastle’s last 2 surviving Racquets Courts

Humphrey M&E Consultants have been involved with many Historical Renovations and Refurbishments and it’s always a pleasure to see the end results.

We were given the opportunity by Malone Mechanical Engineers in Gosforth to work alongside Tolent on the Racquets Court project in Newcastle and the results I think you’ll agree are stunning.

The redevelopment has kept many of the original features of the premises including a Victorian staircase and a glass feature ceiling.  The new office spans 5,000sq ft of space across two floors.

The new Heating and Hot Water plant is located in a modern extension, which also houses toilets and offices.  The Heating comprises of a condensing Boiler and decorative radiators.  Heated fresh air and extract air is supplied using a Heat Recovery Air Handling Unit.

Overall the Mechanical services are simple, useable and very efficient.

This is a building in which people once played one of the oldest sports in the country, faded into the shadows of Newcastle upon Tyne. This old building wasn’t going to be forgotten any longer.

Racquets was historically played, in the open, on the yard walls of the two main London debtors’ prisons.

There are only two surviving Racquets Courts left in the North of England.  Newcastle’s Racquets Court was designed by Hubert Laws and built in 1888. The other Racquets Court is on Jesmond Dene Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne and was designed by F W Rich in 1885, which is now Jesmond Dene Real Tennis Club.