New Ouseburn music venue plans unveiled with inspiration from By the River and Boiler Shop

The Grove will open its doors in Ouseburn next month and is the latest addition to one of TimeOut’s coolest neighbourhoods on the globe.
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Ouseburn will continue its dramatic regeneration with an all-new music venue, bar and event space opening its doors next month.

The Newcastle suburb has seen much change over the past decade and recently found itself named one of TimeOut's coolest neighbourhoods on the planet.

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The Grove will open on March 10 and has a capacity of 400 people. The venue will come with a full bar, a terrace with city views, a summer courtyard and a corporate space.

The faces behind the project are Charlie Dancer and Cole Gilroy who have both dreamt of opening their own venue and putting their stamp on the city they call home.

Charlie said: “We’re both incredibly passionate about the city, and saw an opportunity to add something to a growing cultural sector of the city.

“We’ve both been heavily involved in the North-East’s musical fabric for a number of years as musicians, as gig-goers and as professionals, from putting on gigs in tiny rooms to organising festivals. Personally, I started out putting gigs on when I was 18, not knowing what I was doing but ultimately falling in love with events and seeing people having a good time."

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Those behind The Grove have taken inspiration from local hotspots such as By The River and Boiler Shop to create a space with unique architecture.

Charlie added: “When we first walked into the building we could both immediately see its potential to be an amazing music venue, bar and all-round cool spot. The original architecture of the building is rather beautiful with old steel, timber and engraved brick everywhere.

The Grove will open on March 10The Grove will open on March 10
The Grove will open on March 10

“The very nature of the building feels very special - it feels intrinsically northern and screams of old industry and the graft of those before us.

“We dug out drains, fitted new waterways to water mains, put in three new staircases, used around 20,000 metres of timber, 500 sheets of plasterboard and filled around 65 skips.

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“It’s been an absolute graft. We’ve also spent a lot of time at our neighbours The Free Trade after work, so thanks to them keeping us sane over this period!”

Newcastle’s Ouseburn has been heralded on a global stage (Image: Shutterstock)Newcastle’s Ouseburn has been heralded on a global stage (Image: Shutterstock)
Newcastle’s Ouseburn has been heralded on a global stage (Image: Shutterstock)

As well as music, The Grove will welcome a different local food vendor every weekend and have the capacity to host private events such as weddings and conferences.

The Grove is situated within the walls of a historic stable building that housed horses during the 1950s. The exact age of the building remains uncertain but pieces of architectural evidence pointing to the Victorian era suggest the building’s history goes back much further than the 20th Century.

The venue team have since built a roof terrace on the first floor and undertaken major structural work to restore the building to its former glory.

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The Grove is located on the border of the Ouseburn Valley and Byker - 1 St Michael’s Road, just off Albion Row and opposite Two By Two Brewery Tap Room, about 100m up the road from The Free Trade Inn.

The venue has on-site parking and cycling racks and is easily accessible via public transport, with bus stops on Dalton Street and Walker Road within 2 minute's walk away and Byker Metro just 9 minutes away.