A Community Archive for Byker
Many fantastic projects happened in Byker over the years, but sadly the materials they produced found no permanent home on the estate, disappeared in drawers, were given to archives and organisations outside the area, or got lost altogether.
The Byker development has long been recognised as a key part of a significant collaborative movement in international architecture and is one of the most important social developments in British post-war history.
Surely, it deserves to have its own archive. And on an estate famous for its community involvement since the initial planning process, this could only mean a community archive.
After two years of fundraising, we managed to secure £240,186 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and £36,488 in match funding from Karbon Homes for the refurbishment of the hobby room and to develop the archive.
The search for a suitable home led us to one of the estate’s hobby rooms. These spaces played a key role in the design of the Byker redevelopment as sites for civic engagement. The former ‘Byker Photographic Workshop’ was among the buildings proposed to be converted into housing, but fortunately, the new owners, Karbon Homes, agreed that it should remain a community asset.
“Byker is over-researched,” some academics claim, yet there is so much more history to document, community arts for example, or of the campaign against the incinerator. There are still architects and other professionals who have never been interviewed. The views of many residents who have lived on the estate since its earliest days are still missing from the historical record. Often these are "unsanitised” memories, contesting official narratives.
This archive isn’t about romanticising the “old Byker.” It wants to bridge the past and present. It’s about assembling a mosaic of memories, from the Victorian terraced houses to the Grade 2* listed Byker Wall. It wants to showcase the unique architectural and design features of the estate, as well as capture and tell the stories of its communities, contribute new narratives and give people agency over their histories.
We are looking forward to develop this archive with everybody who has a genuine interest in Byker, people who once called Byker their home, those who planned, designed, built and managed the estate, amateur and professional researchers, and most importantly, the people who live here now. We hope that Byker residents from every walk of life will join us on this journey – because this is their archive!
Silvie Fisch
Director, Northern Cultural Projects and Byker resident
