17 retro photos of Grey Street in Newcastle through the decades

Grey Street is perhaps Newcastle's most famous street and it's easy to see why.

Built by Richard Grainger in 1937 as part of a redevelopment of the city centre, the street was considered to be the centrepiece of the project. The grand Georgian architecture saw William E. Gladstone, the Prime Minister at the time, call it the country's "best modern street." And in 2004 its favour still stood as it was named the best street in Britain by Radio 4 listeners.

The famous street is now home to the likes of the Theatre Royal and the Everyman Cinema. But this wasn't always the case.

Did you know a river flows underneath Grey Street? Lort Burn used to run through Newcastle's city centre into the Tyne and in Medieval times was essentially used as an open sewer. Flowing from Leazes Park, the burn was routed underground by 1784. Dene Street and Grey Street were built following its course.