2-703-171 - Historic England Archive/Heritage Images

General Post Office, St Nicholas Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, c1955-c1980. The front elevation of the former General Post Office, a 19th century building which was used in October 1909 to hold meetings by the Liberal Party, and was targeted by the suffragettes. The post office was constructed by James Williams 1871-1874 with sandstone ashlar. It is four storeys and has three bays, with giant fluted Doric columns, spanning the height of two storeys, flanking the entrance, and a giant order of Corinthian pilasters spanning the second and third floors. The second floor windows are topped with pediments, and the central window has a segmental pediment. The Corinthian pilasters support a cornic with a central panel that reads 'Post Office' in relief. In the foreground is St Nicholas' Street, with men walking and cars parked opposite the post office, including a Ford Cortina at the bottom of the image. This post office was a target of the suffragettes, and in October 1909 was used as a meeting place for members of the Liberal Party, including Chancellor David Lloyd George and Education Secretary Walter Runciman. Suffragettes protested here, and were moved into the street to keep them from being inside the halls, and the barrier was caut by a woman with a hatchett. Activists Kitty Marion and Dororthy Pethwick entered the building to check that no-one would be hurt, before returning outside and throwing stones through the windows. The list entry for this building was updated in 2018 to commemorate the centenary of the 1918 Representation fo the People Act.