| The Boldons | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Parts of Boldon Parish Church date from AD 920 | |
  The Boldons Location withinTyne and Wear | |
| Population | 13,271 (2001) |
| OS grid reference | NZ361615 |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BOLDON COLLIERY |
| Postcode district | NE35 |
| Post town | EAST BOLDON |
| Postcode district | NE36 |
| Dialling code | 0191 |
| Police | Northumbria |
| Fire | Tyne and Wear |
| Ambulance | North East |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
The Boldons is an area made up of the three villages ofEast Boldon,West Boldon andBoldon Colliery inSouth Tyneside in the county ofTyne and Wear, England. In 2001 they had a population of 13,271.[1]
Lying within thehistoric boundaries ofCounty Durham, the villages are first recorded in print in 1170. Their names evolved from the words "Bold" or "Botl", meaning a building, and "dun", meaning a type ofhillfort.[citation needed]
In 1866, work began sinking a pit that began producing coal in 1869, and was then known as Boldon New Winning. The village that developed nearby in the 1870s became known as Boldon Colliery. When the mine was deepened and extended in the 1910s, further housing to accommodate the workforce was built to the south of the pit in an area known as Boldon New Town.
Until 1974 the area was administered as anurban district ofCounty Durham, but since then has been part of the borough ofSouth Tyneside.
In 1976, the Boldon Colliery Band appeared in episode 13 of the television seriesWhen the Boat Comes In. The mine closed in 1982 but more jobs became available when anAsda supermarket opened in 1987. Recent developments include Boldon Business Park. Boldon Colliery also has its own multi-screen cinema operated byCineworld. The main secondary school in the area isBoldon School, a specialist sports college.
East Boldon and Cleadon was previously the only ward in South Tyneside to elect threeConservative councillors. However, in the2011 local elections,Labour candidate Joan Atkinson unseated the sitting Conservative councillor, reducing the number of Conservatives onSouth Tyneside Council to one. Boldon Colliery usually elects three Labour councillors. As of March 2021[update], these two wards have five Labour councillors and one Independent Conservative.[2]
The Boldons are within theJarrow constituency, which also includesJarrow,Hebburn and parts of eastGateshead. The local MP isKate Osborne of the Labour Party, who succeeded the previous Labour incumbent.
In the earlier part of the 20th century, a famous son of the community was the Labour politicianJack Lawson. He representedChester-le-Street inCounty Durham as an MP and was later elevated to theHouse of Lords.
The Boldons form part of the suburban fringe of South Tyneside and are completely surrounded by green belt.
There are conservation areas within the historic village centres of East and West Boldon. East Boldon is considered the more affluent sought after area of the Boldons. With a reputation competing with nearbyCleadon, East Boldon attracts a young professional family market and residents to this day have created a very much desired family, village environment. The three schools are very much sought after, they provide nursery, infants (East Boldon Infant School) and juniors (East Boldon Junior School), who work together via the PTA. The village has its own community Facebook page and theFriends of East Boldon Parks hold annual community events such as party in the park and Halloween trails etc. The East Boldon Scouts is one of the largest in the UK with over 200 attendees. House prices are higher than national average due to gentrification.
Despite the relatively small geographical area, there are a significant number of older buildings considered as being of architectural merit including churches, public houses and former country houses, as well as modern additions. St. Nicholas' Church in West Boldon is a Grade Ilisted building; much of the stonework dates from the thirteenth century, but the foundation of the building dates from theSaxon period.[3]
The area includes a wide range of housing styles, from Edwardian villas to Victorian terraces, post-war housing to more recent smaller-scale developments. The first street built in Boldon Colliery was Cross Row (also known asSinkers Row) which was constructed to house the men who were initially employed to sink the shaft. Several years later, other major housing projects were started and terraced housing such as that at Arnold Street and Charles Street were built.
After the colliery was closed, the former industrial land lay derelict for many years. In 2000, Colliery Wood was created with over 2,500 trees planted. The wood is popular with the local community and provides a habitat for animals such aspheasants,squirrels, woodpeckers andotters. Colliery Wood provides six new paths, which are also suitable for cycling and link to East Boldon, and Brockley Whins and Whiteleas in nearby South Shields.
Boldon Flats is another site important for nature conservation, which contains an area of damp pasture. The flats are flooded from each October to March, attracting a wide array of bird life and a large population ofcommon frogs.
West Boldon Lodge, constructed by theNational Grid, is situated amongst a range of habitats, including wetland, grassland and woodland. Locally rare orchids are present at one site.[4]
The River Don traverses Boldon and is the last stronghold ofwater voles in South Tyneside.
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Brockley Whins andEast Boldon are neighbouring stops on theTyne and Wear Metro system. The Green line serves stations betweenSouth Hylton,Sunderland,Gateshead,Newcastle Central andNewcastle Airport.[5]
The nearestNational Rail stations are atHeworth andSunderland, which are stops on theDurham Coast Line betweenNewcastle,Hartlepool andMiddlesbrough; services are operated byNorthern Trains.[6]
Bus services are provided predominantly byStagecoach North East; routes link the area to South Shields, Cleadon, Heworth, Gateshead and Newcastle.[7]
Boldon has produced many notable sports personalities, among them former Newcastle United footballerWes Saunders. Charlton Athletic goalkeeperSam Bartram, their record appearance holder, who played 800 games for the London club, was signed from Boldon Villa in September 1934 and played in four successive Wembley cup finals from 1944 to 1947. Full backJack Shreeve moved from the Villa to Charlton in 1935 and was a colleague of Bartram's in their 1947 FA Cup winning team. A Sam Bartram Memorial Cup competition was introduced at Boldon in February 2008 aimed at inspiring current footballing youngsters in the Boldon area. Other notable sportsmen from Boldon are cricketersSimon Brown and current England rugby youth player Robert Bell, Darlington strikerShaun Reay and Spennymoor Town midfielderJamie Chandler.[8]
There are private tennis and golf clubs at Dipe Lane as well as other pursuits on offer within local schools, community centres and parks.
TheJarrow Roofing Boldon Community Association F.C. was founded in 1987 and played at The Boldon C.A. Sports Ground.
Chandler, from Boldon, was a Toon fan as a youngster, and the former Sunderland man admits he is excited about the prospect of lining up against his boyhood idols at the Northern Echo Arena.
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