Tyneside flat

[1] They are pairs of single-storey flats within a two-storey terrace, a common type of Victorian housing in urban England.

[2] Originally the kitchen was the largest central room, containing a cast iron coal range for cooking, and a smaller scullery was provided in the rear outshot.

The type is well-regarded today and is often rented or a first purchase by young professionals and childless couples, seeking an affordable home near a city centre.

Tyneside flats resembled other local houses: in the first examples their front doors opened directly onto the street, particularly those in Gateshead.

Later Edwardian examples, particularly around Jesmond and Gosforth, developed first small front gardens and then bay windows with stone details.

[11] After the First World War mass council housing began to be provided in the form of detached or terraced properties and Tyneside flats fell out of favour.

[12] After World War II, the maisonette developed as a similar form of housing, as flats above each other but with no shared entrance.

Other flats had their rear bedroom divided to create a small, windowless bathroom within the main part of the building.

During the 1980s and 1990s, a shortage of larger properties in popular areas and the availability of affordable mortgages led to some Tyneside flats being converted into two-storey houses.

In the South Tyneside area, leases of this type are less common due to the history of the flats, which were often owned by large employers or by the same family, who lived in one and rented out the other.