An Easter adventure awaits at The Common Room 🐰 Search the building, uncover hidden letters, and solve the puzzle for a choccie reward 🔎 🍫 🕙 16th April | Drop in any time from 10am–3pm ☕ 10% off café treats 🎨 Crafts for little ones FREE to attend, just come along! 🐣 [No booking required]

Tomorrow afternoon, Johnny Handle will be joined by Benny Graham, Jim Mageean, Ingrid and Barrie Temple who will perform a selection of songs and poems from the book Coalfields of Song and Verse, a collection of coal mining songs and poems. Doors 1pm. Read more thecommonroom.org.uk/event/coalfi...

☀️ What’s on your summer wishlist for The Common Room? 🏛️ We’re planning our programme and want your ideas! Tell us what you’d enjoy via our survey to help shape a brilliant, family-friendly summer: forms.gle/Wt4KxPo642Gj... Comment & reshare to help us get the word out!

💠 Meet our #RLUK26 Keynote 🎙️ Dr Carla Hayden was 14th Librarian of Congress, 1st woman & African American to lead LoC. Dr Hayden is currently Senior Fellow @mellon.org advising on opportunities to support + advance libraries & archives #RLUK26 is a virtual event on 25-26 March ℹ️ 🎟 bit.ly/RLUKconf

🥞 Free Food (pancakes) Tuesday! Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday and we’re flipping the script on your evening meal. 🌀 Ham and cheese crispy pancakes with salad - or - 🌿 Ratatouille crepes with salad 🍋 Classic lemon and sugar crepes FREE with a £7 bar spend, 7pm-9pm

​📅 18 Feb: The Scarecrow’s Wedding & Tiddler screenings, crafts + ducks! 🦆 ​🎟️ Films & Crafts: Only £4 a child - adults go free with children (under 1s free). ​It’s also our FREE General Admission Day to explore the historic building with our friendly room guides. #halfterm #FamilyFun #ncl

So many great submissions! But it's TWO days this year so still space for more papers or workshops at: "People Powered: human centred innovation" NAG's 16th Collection Development Seminar in Nottingham, 20-21 May. Deadline: 1st Feb More info: nag.org.uk/cfp-2026/ #NAGcd16 #NAGplf26

Wandering Oak presents TVAM + Marina Zispin @thecommonroomgn.bsky.social on Sat 28 Feb. Hypnotic tracks which straddle a spectrum of influence; with Boards of Canada's irresistible nostalgia, Suicide's deconstructed rock'n'roll & MBV's infinite noise. thecommonroom.org.uk/event/tvam-p...

From all of us at The Common Room, we'd like to wish you a very happy 2026. With the new year stretching out before us, we're looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones when our doors reopen on January 5th.

This coming Saturday, we have a cosy family day at The Common Room. Join Mog for Christmas chaos in a screening of the much loved film. We have bauble decorating & other crafty things for the little ones to enjoy. Plus, a tasty treat for each child...yum! Our café bar also some festive specials!

It's the final General Admission day of 2025. Pop in, have a chat and learn about the history and future of our building. Or, pop into our café bar for a festive hot drink and sweet treat. Thank you to all who have visited us on General Admission days this year.

Still to come in Dec at The Common Room🎄 10th: General Admission 🏛️ 12th: Whisky Tasting 🥃 15th: IDER 🎤 19th: Gloria Love: Xmas Extravaganza 💃 20th: Mog’s Christmas 🐱 & Candlelight Christmas Concert 🕯️ Plus our Festive Menu at 5|Quarter café bar ☕ Tickets & info: 🎟️ thecommonroom.org.uk/whats-on

🎄✨ Feeling festive? There are just a few tickets left for our cosy evening Christmas Bottle Painting event at The Common Room. Bring your creativity & get into the holiday spirit - paint your own festive bottles, turn them into personalised decor or gifts, & enjoy a warm, fun-filled evening 🎁🖌️

📣 General Admission Day is tomorrow! Come along and have a guided tour around The Common Room - explore the building, soak up the history, & learn what makes this place so special. 🕰️ 10am–4pm. 5|Quarter café will be serving hot drinks & light snacks. 👉 Bring a friend & enjoy a relaxed look around

Sunday 16th November Cole Stacey, live at The Common Room. Event info and tickets 👇🏻

Dec 20th - Our festive family film back! Enjoy a Christmas adventure starring our favourite, forgetful cat. Come early for some crafting time in our Wood Hall beforehand. Includes a delicious treat for every child. Festive drinks & snacks available at 5|Quarter Café Bar. Doors: 11:00 Film: 11:30

🧑‍🎨🖍️ Craft a unique Christmas decoration or gift that's beautifully illuminated with fairly lights, perfect for adding a touch of sparkle to this festive season. Also, enjoy festive drinks and snacks available at 5|Quarter Café Bar. See more information: thecommonroom.org.uk/event/christ...

Looking to host a music or comedy event? We are offering FREE ROOM* HIRE at the Common Room throughout January & February 2026. Email us at [email protected] to see availability. *Wood Hall and Lecture Theatre (music and comedy shows).

Save the Date! NAG Seminar and Forum is coming to Nottingham for 2026 and we're making it a two day event 🎉 - 20th and 21st May 2026 - Albert Hall, Nottingham More info: nag.org.uk/2026-seminar/ 📚 #NAGcd16 #NAGplf26

November 14th at The Common Room ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Morning. Unfortunately, we have had to close the café due to staff illness. We will hopefully be back as usual tomorrow. Sorry for any inconvenience.

We are hiring - please share ↗️ Want to work in a beautiful, city centre, Grade II* listed building? We currently have the following job vacancy: 🍹 Food and Beverage Supervisor 🕰️ 20 hours minimum per week 📍 Newcastle, 2 min from Central Station 🔗 Apply now: thecommonroom.org.uk/work-with-us/

Our pamphlet collections contain some unexpected joys but this series of photos of a man testing the strength of a new silicate foam has to be our cataloguing favourite for today…. minst.koha-ptfs.co.uk/cgi-bin/koha...

We had such a lovely, sold-out evening of music from James Yorkston & Nina Persson earlier this week. Their funny stories & brilliant rapport between songs made it extra special. Thanks to all the wonderful people who attended & made it a night to remember. @jamesyorkston.bsky.social

I know we've still got the rest of Autumn to enjoy but we are planning our festive programme of events. Keep an eye out for more information in due course.

On sept. General Admission, come & re-live your memories of S&DR150 with materials from the 1975 celebrations. It's the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway - but how did they celebrate in 1925? See original souvenirs they produced 100 years ago! Our café bar will also be open ☕🥐

James Yorksron & Nina Persson on Sept. 17th is now sold out. Should be a good one! 🙌🏼

Always lovely to receive copies of books that use images of our archives! Thank you to both of these authors for sending us these volumes for our collections.

🏃‍♂️ The Great North Run is here Sun 7th Sept! Our “Born to Run” talk on Fri 5th is sold out – thanks to all attending. Good luck to every runner 👏 esp. those fundraising. Big shoutout to our own David @dvwllms.bsky.social - running for Heel and Toe 💛 We’ll be cheering you on! @greatrun.bsky.social

September at The Common Room. 📖 4th – Book Launch: Tyneside’s Railway Heritage 🎸 6th – Edgar Jones live 📕 11th – NEIMME Book Launch: William Thomas & the S&D Railway 🏛 17th – General Admission Day + Railway 200 archive 🚋 18th – Talk: Newcastle Trams Full info & tix 👉 thecommonroom.org.uk/whats-on

🎬✨ Wallace & Gromit screenings start tomorrow at The Common Room. 🧀 A Grand Day Out 👖 The Wrong Trousers 🐑 A Close Shave 📅 22nd, 26th & 28th Aug ⏰ 11am & 1:30pm - triple features 💛 Pay what you feel Family fun sorted ✅

Join us at for our free General Admission Day on 27th August. Explore our stunning building with our tour guides & relax in our 5|Quarter Cafe Bar. 🎨 Also, this month we are also host a special art exhibition from the Something Wonderful Project, commemorating the Montagu Mining Disaster of 1925.

Next week, as part of our summer events in August, we are transforming our Wood Hall into a play area, including a bouncy castle & giant snakes and ladders - for only £3 per child! We have other free & affordable events this month - see more information here thecommonroom.org.uk/family-summe...

Sorry for any inconvenience, but even though we have had to close our Café today, the scheduled Stay & Play session is OPEN AS ADVERTISED ✏️✍🏼 We hope to be back tomorrow ☕

Celebrate Summer at The Common Room with us this August. For the little ones we have: - Stay & Play (Free) - Bounce & Play (Only £3 per child) - Wallace & Gromit Films (Pay what you feel) - Hunt A Duck (Free) Grown-ups, we have drinks & snacks in our café bar + other events going on in the month.

🗓️ 31.07.2025 | New play, Harper Thursday and the Magic Lantern, has its premiere this Thursday at The Common Room.

Catch Kean Kavanagh, one of Ireland’s most unique new voices, live at The Common Room on November 28th.

Edgar Summertime Jones | 6th September. Catch this true cult hero live in the unique setting of The Common Room with support from local singer-songwriter John Nellist.

The school holidays are here! Why not pop down to The Common Room for our free monthly General Admission day? Discover the history of our beautiful Grade II* listed building, explore the collections, catch the fab Northumberland Line Photographic Journey exhibition before it's gone. Café Open ☕🥖

NEW WOW Edgar Summertyme Jones Lecture Theatre - @thecommonroomgn.bsky.social Saturday 6th September On sale now: www.seetickets.com/event/edgar-... www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y02V...

🚨 Join us on 23rd July for an evening with Stephen Kapos - a moving, vital talk by a Holocaust survivor sharing his powerful story. Hosted in partnership with Stop The War Coalition, this is a rare opportunity to hear firsthand testimony & reflect on lessons from history, still relevant today.

Hello... Unfortunately, our 5|Quarter Café Bar will be closed tomorrow (Friday) but will be back again from Monday 14th at 8:00am. Hope you have a great weekend in the Sun and see you next week! ☕🍷🍵🫖🥐

The Durham Miners’ Gala is back in Durham this weekend, so we’re celebrating by sharing a few gems from our archives; brass bands, banners & community spirit captured in years gone by. We’re proud to help keep this story alive & wish everyone heading to the Gala a brilliant day! 📸 1979, 1976, 1979

What's On July: Jul 3rd | Whisky Tasting with Angus MacRaild July 5th | Vicky Middleton: Awakened Breath Jul 15th-24th | Morgan Sindall Connecting Communities: Northumberland Line Photographic Journey (Free) Jul 23rd | General Admission Day (Free) Jul 31st | Harper Thursday & the Magic Lantern

We’re delighted to have supplied images from our archives to this exhibition. It explores the powerful connection between coal mining & the railways; coal fuelled iron, iron made rails, rails moved coal - an engineering cycle that transformed communities, shaping our region’s history.

Join us on Thursday 3rd July for an evening hosted by Lee Connor and special guest, the one and only Angus MacRaild – the man in charge of bottling stuff at Decadent Drinks #whiskytasting #decadentdrinks Event info ⤵️

Indie pop royalty The Primitives bring their jangly guitars, infectious melodies, and timeless energy to The Common Room this August. With support from The Cords. Tickets & info ⤵️

The next round of the popular whisky tasting at The Common Room is in August with Alasdair Day. Tickets available now via the event link ⤵️ Cheers! 🥃

Just announced! Tickets on sale now 🔥 @noveltyisland.bsky.social