Built / Designed For: William Wailes

House & Family History: Saltwell Towers was designed and built between 1859 and 1871 by William Wailes, one of the 19th century's leading stained glass manufacturers. The house is a mix of Elizabethan, Gothic, and French styles and is built of dark brick with yellow brick dressings and yellow brick decorative patterns. Wailes sold the estate to Gateshead Council in 1876, but continued to live in the house until his death in 1881. J.A.D. Shipley leased Saltwell Towers from the council for 23 years, until his death in 1909 (his picture collection became the basis of the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead). During World War I Saltwell was used as a hospital (between 1914 and 1918), after which it was abandoned. The house was saved in the 1930s and adapted for use as the Local and Industrial Museum, a purpose it served between 1933 and 1968, when the museum was forced to close due to dry rot, which riddled Saltwell. Post 1968 the house was allowed to become derelict; by the end of the 20th century the roofless house was on the verge of complete demolition. Saltwell Towers was reopened to the public as the Saltwell Park Visitor Centre and Cafe in 2004 (the park attached to the house had been opened to the public since 1876), after undergoing a five-year £3 million restoration program. The towers in the restored house feature a permanent exhibition on the history of glass art.

Collections: In 1909 Joseph Ainsley Davidson Shipley's picture collection became the foundation of the Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead. Shipley's bequest included 504 pictures that represented all the main European schools from the 16th to the 19th centuries, together with £30,000 (approximately £10 million in 2016 inflation-adjusted values using the labour value commodity index) to build a gallery to house the collection.

Garden & Outbuildings: The Grade II-listed Saltwell Park, also known as the People's Park, was designed by Edward Kemp for William Wailes in the 1850s. When Wailes sold the estate to Gateshead Council in 1876, the park was opened to the public. In the early 21st century Saltwell Park was restored to its Victorian zenith with a £10 million restoration project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Gateshead Council.

House Listed: Grade II

Park Listed: Grade II

Past Seat / Home of: William Wailes, 19th century. Joseph Ainsley Davidson Shipley, late 19th-early 20th centuries.

Current Ownership Type: Government

Primary Current Ownership Use: Visitor Attraction

Ownership Details: Owned by Gateshead Council.

House Open to Public: Yes

Phone: 01914-335-900

Fax: 01914-335-917

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.gateshead.gov.uk/

Awards: "Britain's Best Park" 2005. "Green Flag Award" 2006.

Historic Houses Member: No