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Water leaking through hospital's timber lantern

Google An external view of Peacock Hall. The building is made of red brick and has ivy growing up the walls. Cars are parked outside. Six of the building's chimneys can be seen. In the middle of the roof stands the wooden lantern toped with a copper dome and weather vane.Google
The chimneys and lantern on the roof of Peacock Hall are in need of repair

The roof of a Grade II listed hospital building is in need of repairs after water was found to be leaking through its chimneys and historic lantern.

Damage to Peacock Hall, part of Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), was first discovered in 2022 but a recent survey found "further deterioration" of the building.

Cracks were found on several of the building's chimney stacks, while parts of the wooden lantern in the centre of the roof were found to be rotting.

Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has submitted a planning application to fix the leaks and repair "health and safety concerns".

Peacock Hall was one of the RVI's original buildings and was constructed between 1900 and 1906.

The site pre-dates the National Health Service but its original wards have been knocked down and the building now contains offices, a canteen, a chapel and a library.

The rooftop lantern is made from a wooden frame and is topped with a copper dome and weather vane.

Repairs to cost £263,000

The 2022 survey found the damage to the chimney stacks and timber lantern was "putting the fabric of the building at risk".

The survey found a glass window in the lantern had been smashed and gaps in the timber had led to leaks. As well as repairing the damage, the report recommended installing a lead trough to catch rainwater blown into the structure.

Initially, nine of the chimney stacks were found to be in need of repair. However, the latest report found the condition of the chimneys had worsened and 11 stacks now needed to be fixed.

A total of £263,000 has been budgeted for the repairs, scaffolding, refurbishing the guttering and repainting the windows.

A heritage statement submitted with the planning application said the proposed work would be "largely external" and would cause "minimal interruption to the use of the building".

"The works will conserve the building fabric to ensure that the building continues to serve the hospital and local community into the future," it said.

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