| Gateshead | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
.jpg) .jpg) .jpg)  .jpg) .jpg)
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  Gateshead Location withinTyne and Wear | |
| Population | 199,139 [1] |
| OS grid reference | NZ2460 |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | GATESHEAD |
| Postcode district | NE8-NE11 |
| Dialling code | 0191 |
| Police | Northumbria |
| Fire | Tyne and Wear |
| Ambulance | North East |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | gateshead |
| |
Gateshead (/ˈɡeɪts(h)ɛd/) is a town in theGateshead Metropolitan Borough ofTyne and Wear, England. It is on theRiver Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tallAngel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts,The Glasshouse International Centre for Music and theBaltic Centre for Contemporary Art. The town shares theMillennium Bridge,Tyne Bridge and multiple other bridges withNewcastle upon Tyne.
Historically part ofCounty Durham, under theLocal Government Act 1888 the town was made acounty borough, meaning it was administered independently of thecounty council.[2]
In the2021 Census, the town had a population of 196,151.[3]
Gateshead is first mentioned in Latin translation inBede'sEcclesiastical History of the English People asad caput caprae ("at the goat's head"). This interpretation is consistent with the later English attestations of the name, among themGatesheued (c. 1190), literally "goat's head" but in the context of a place-name meaning 'headland or hill frequented by (wild) goats'. Although other derivations have been mooted, it is this that is given by the standard authorities.[4]
ABrittonic predecessor, named with the element*gabro-, 'goat' (c.f.Welshgafr), may underlie the name.[5] Gateshead might have been theRoman-British fort ofGabrosentum.[5]
There has been a settlement on the Gateshead side of the River Tyne, around the old river crossing where theSwing Bridge now stands, since Roman times.
The first recorded mention of Gateshead is in the writings of theVenerable Bede who referred to an Abbot of Gateshead called Utta in 623. In 1068William the Conqueror defeated the forces ofEdgar the Ætheling andMalcolm king of Scotland (Shakespeare'sMalcolm) on Gateshead Fell (nowLow Fell andSheriff Hill).
During medieval times Gateshead was under the jurisdiction of theBishop of Durham. At this time the area was largely forest with some agricultural land. The forest was the subject of Gateshead's first charter, granted in the 12th century byHugh du Puiset, Bishop of Durham. An alternative spelling may be "Gatishevede", as seen in a legal record, dated 1430.[6]
Throughout theIndustrial Revolution the population of Gateshead expanded rapidly; between 1801 and 1901 the increase was over 100,000. This expansion resulted in the spread southwards of the town.
In 1854, acatastrophic explosion on the quayside destroyed most of Gateshead's medieval heritage, and caused widespread damage on the Newcastle side of the river.
Sir Joseph Swan lived atUnderhill, Low Fell, Gateshead from 1869 to 1883, where his experiments led to the invention of theelectric light bulb. The house was the first in the world to be wired for domestic electric light.
In 1889 one of the largest employers (Hawks, Crawshay and Sons) closed down and unemployment has since been a burden. Up to theSecond World War there were repeated newspaper reports of the unemployed sending deputations to the council to provide work. The depression years of the 1920s and 1930s created even more joblessness and theTeam Valley Trading Estate was built in the mid-1930s to alleviate the situation.
In the latenoughties, Gateshead Council started to regenerate the town, with the long-term aim of making Gateshead a city.[7] The most extensive transformation occurred in theQuayside, with almost all the structures there being constructed or refurbished in this time.
In the early 2010s, regeneration refocused on the town centre. The £150 millionTrinity Square development opened in May 2013, it incorporates student accommodation, a cinema, health centre and shops.[8] It was nominated for theCarbuncle Cup in September 2014.[9] The cup was however awarded to another development which involvedTesco,Woolwich Central.[10]
In 1835, Gateshead was established as amunicipal borough[2] and in 1889 it was made acounty borough, independent fromDurham County Council.
In 1870, theOld Town Hall was built, designed by John Johnstone who also designed the previously builtNewcastle Town Hall.[11] The ornamental clock in front of the old town hall was presented to Gateshead in 1892 by the mayor, Walter de Lancey Willson, on the occasion of him being elected for a third time.[11] He was also one of the founders of Walter Willson's, a chain of grocers in the North East and Cumbria.[11] The old town hall also served as a magistrate's court and one of Gateshead's police stations.[11]
In 1974, following theLocal Government Act 1972, the County Borough of Gateshead was merged with theurban districts ofFelling,Whickham,Blaydon andRyton and part of therural district ofChester-le-Street to create the much largerMetropolitan Borough of Gateshead.[2]
The town of Gateshead is in theNorth East of England in the ceremonial county ofTyne and Wear, and within the historic boundaries ofCounty Durham. It is located on the southern bank of theRiver Tyne at alatitude of 54.57° N and alongitude of 1.35° W.Gateshead experiences atemperate climate which is considerably warmer than some other locations at similar latitudes as a result of the warming influence of theGulf Stream (via theNorth Atlantic drift). It is located in therain shadow of theNorth Pennines and is therefore in one of the driest regions of theUnited Kingdom.
One of the most distinguishing features of Gateshead is itstopography. The land rises 230 feet fromGateshead Quays to the town centre and continues rising to a height of 525 feet at Queen Elizabeth Hospital inSheriff Hill. This is in contrast to the flat and low lyingTeam Valley located on the western edges of town. The high elevations allow for impressive views over the Tyne valley intoNewcastle and acrossTyneside toSunderland and theNorth Sea from lookouts in Windmill Hills and Windy Nook respectively.[12][13]
TheOffice for National Statistics defines the town as an urban sub-division. The 2011 ONS urban sub-division of Gateshead contains the historical County Borough together with areas that the town has absorbed, includingDunston,Felling,Heworth,Pelaw andBill Quay.[14]
Given the proximity of Gateshead to Newcastle, just south of theRiver Tyne from thecity centre, it is sometimes incorrectly referred to as being a part of Newcastle.Gateshead Council andNewcastle City Council teamed up in 2000 to create a unified marketing brand name,NewcastleGateshead, to better promote the whole of the Tyneside conurbation.
Climate in this area has small differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round to meet the criterion for Oceanic climate, at least 30 mm per month. TheKöppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).[15]
| Climate data for Gateshead, UK | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7 (45) | 8 (46) | 10 (50) | 11 (52) | 14 (57) | 17 (63) | 19 (66) | 20 (68) | 17 (63) | 13 (55) | 10 (50) | 7 (45) | 13 (55) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3 (37) | 3 (37) | 4 (39) | 5 (41) | 8 (46) | 10 (50) | 13 (55) | 13 (55) | 10 (50) | 7 (45) | 5 (41) | 3 (37) | 7 (45) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 43 (1.7) | 41 (1.6) | 38 (1.5) | 66 (2.6) | 48 (1.9) | 61 (2.4) | 48 (1.9) | 61 (2.4) | 51 (2) | 61 (2.4) | 66 (2.6) | 56 (2.2) | 640 (25.3) |
| Source: Weatherbase[16] | |||||||||||||
The town is within the wider Tyne & Wear Green Belt,[17] with its portion in much of its surrounding rural area of the borough. It is a part of the localdevelopment plan which is in conjunction with Newcastle city borough, and was created in the 1960s.
Its stated aims[18] are to:
In the Gateshead borough boundary, as well as the aforementioned areas, it also surrounds the communities ofChopwell,Crawcrook,Greenside,High Spen,Kibblesworth, Lockhaugh,Rowlands Gill,Ryton,Sunniside, as well several small hamlets. Landscape features and facilities such as woods and nature reserves, local golf courses, Burdon Moor and Whinell Hill are also within the green belt area.
The town of Gateshead consists of the following districts. Some of them were once separate settlements that were absorbed by encroachingurban sprawl, while others consist entirely of retail, industrial and housing estates. Many of these areas overlap each other and their boundaries are by no means official or fixed. Gateshead is a Town (Urban Subdivision) in theTyneside urban area.[14]
 | This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: Updated data fromCensus 2021 is now available. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2024) |
The table below compares the demographics of Gateshead with the wider Metropolitan borough. The town's population in 2011 was 120,046 compared with 78,403 in 2001. This is due to a slight population increase and boundary and methodology changes since 2001. Felling used to be a separate urban subdivision and had a population of around 35,000, but now it is considered part of Gateshead town. The population of the 2011 census boundaries in 2001 was 113,220,[20] proving that there was some sort of population increase.
| Gateshead Ethnicity 2011 | White British | Asian | Black |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gateshead | 92.0% | 2.5% | 0.8% |
| Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead | 94.0% | 1.9% | 0.5% |
In 2011, 8.0% of the population of Gateshead Town were from an ethnic minority group (non-indigenous), compared with only 6.0% for the surrounding borough. Despite the borough's low ethnic minority population compared with the England average of 20.2%,[23] it has slightly more ethnic minorities than other boroughs in Tyne and Wear, such as Sunderland or North Tyneside, and two wards near the town centre (Bridges and Saltwell) have minority populations very similar to the national average. The Tyneside metropolitan area, which contains the borough of Gateshead, has a population of 829,300;[24] the NewcastleGateshead urban core area has population of 480,400.[24] TheMetropolitan borough of Gateshead had a population of 200,214 in 2011. Gateshead is the main major area in the metropolitan borough and the town takes up around 60% of the borough's population.[22] Other major areas in the borough includeWhickham,Birtley,Blaydon-on-Tyne andRyton.
Gateshead is home to theMetroCentre, the largestshopping mall in the UK until 2008; and theTeam Valley Trading Estate, once the largest and still one of the larger purpose-built commercial estates in the UK.
TheBaltic Centre for Contemporary Art has been established in a converted flour mill.The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, previously The Sage, aNorman Foster-designed venue for music and the performing arts opened on 17 December 2004. Gateshead also hosted theGateshead Garden Festival in 1990, rejuvenating 200 acres (0.81 km2) of derelict land (now mostly replaced with housing). TheAngel of the North, a famous sculpture in nearbyLamesley, is visible from theA1 to the south of Gateshead, as well as from theEast Coast Main Line. Other public art include works byRichard Deacon, Colin Rose,Sally Matthews,Andy Goldsworthy, Gordon Young andMichael Winstone.
The earliest recorded coal mining in the Gateshead area is dated to 1344.[25] As trade on the Tyne prospered there were several attempts by the burghers of Newcastle to annex Gateshead. In 1576 a small group of Newcastle merchants acquired the 'Grand Lease' of the manors of Gateshead andWhickham. In the hundred years from 1574 coal shipments from Newcastle increased elevenfold while the population of Gateshead doubled to approximately 5,500. However, the lease and the abundant coal supplies ended in 1680. The pits were shallow as problems of ventilation and flooding defeated attempts to mine coal from the deeper seams.
William Cotesworth (1668-1726) was a prominent merchant based in Gateshead, where he was a leader in coal and international trade. Cotesworth began as the son of a yeoman and apprentice to a tallow - candler. He ended as an esquire, having been mayor,Justice of the Peace and sheriff of Northumberland. He collected tallow from all over England and sold it across the globe. He imported dyes from the Indies, as well as flax, wine, and grain. He sold tea, sugar, chocolate, and tobacco. He operated the largest coal mines in the area, and was a leading salt producer. As the government's principal agent in the North country, he was in contact with leading ministers.[26][27]
William Hawks, originally ablacksmith, started business in Gateshead in 1747, working with the iron brought to the Tyne as ballast by the Tyne colliers.Hawks and Co. eventually became one of the biggest iron businesses in theNorth, producing anchors, chains and so on to meet a growing demand. There was keen contemporary rivalry between 'Hawks' Blacks' and 'Crowley's Crew'. The famous 'Hawks' men' including Ned White, went on to be celebrated inGeordie song and story.
In 1831 a locomotive works was established by the Newcastle and Darlington Railway, later part of theYork, Newcastle and Berwick Railway. In 1854 the works moved to the Greenesfield site and became the manufacturing headquarters ofNorth Eastern Railway. In 1909, locomotive construction was moved toDarlington and the rest of the works were closed in 1932.
Robert Stirling Newall took out a patent on the manufacture of wire ropes in 1840 and in partnership with Messrs. Liddell and Gordon, set up his headquarters at Gateshead. A worldwide industry of wire-drawing resulted. The submarine telegraph cable received its definitive form through Newall's initiative, involving the use ofgutta-percha surrounded by strong wires. The first successfulDover–Calais cable on 25 September 1851, was made in Newall's works. In 1853, he invented the brake-drum and cone for laying cable in deep seas. Half of the firstAtlantic cable was manufactured in Gateshead. Newall was interested in astronomy, and his giant 25-inch (640 mm) telescope was set up in the garden at Ferndene, his Gateshead residence, in 1871.
J. B. Priestley, writing of Gateshead in his 1934 travelogueEnglish Journey, said that "no true civilisation could have produced such a town", adding that it appeared to have been designed "by an enemy of the human race".[28]
William Wailes the celebrated stained-glass maker, lived at South Dene from 1853 to 1860. In 1860, he designedSaltwell Towers as a fairy-tale palace for himself. It is an imposing Victorian mansion in its own park with a romantic skyline of turrets and battlements. It was originally furnished sumptuously by Gerrard Robinson. Some of the panelling installed by Robinson was later moved to theShipley Art Gallery.[29] Wailes sold Saltwell Towers to the corporation in 1876 for use as a public park, provided he could use the house for the rest of his life. For many years the structure was essentially an empty shell but following a restoration programme it was reopened to the public in 2004.[30]
The council sponsored the development of a Gateshead Quays cultural quarter. The development includes theGateshead Millennium Bridge, erected in 2001, which won the prestigiousStirling Prize for Architecture in 2002.[31]
ThebrutalistTrinity Centre Car Park, which was designed byOwen Luder, dominated the town centre for many years until its demolition in 2010. A product of attempts to regenerate the area in the 1960s, the car park gained an iconic status due to its appearance in the 1971 filmGet Carter, starringMichael Caine. An unsuccessful campaign to have the structurelisted was backed bySylvester Stallone, who played the main role in the2000 remake of the film.[32][33] The car park was scheduled for demolition in 2009, but this was delayed as a result of a disagreement betweenTesco, who re-developed the site, andGateshead Council.[34] The council had not been given firm assurances that Tesco would build the previously envisioned town centre development which was to include a Tesco mega-store as well as shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, offices and student accommodation.[35][36] The council effectively used the car park as a bargaining tool to ensure that the company adhered to the original proposals and blocked its demolition until they submitted a suitable planning application.[35] Demolition finally took place in July–August 2010.
TheDerwent Tower, another well known example of brutalist architecture, was also designed by Owen Luder and stood in the neighbourhood ofDunston. Like the Trinity Car Park it also failed in its bid to become alisted building and was demolished in 2012.[37] Also located in this area are the Grade II listedDunston Staiths which were built in 1890. Following the award of aHeritage Lottery Fund grant of almost £420,000 restoration of the structure was planned in 2014[38] and completed by 2015.[39]
Gateshead International Stadium regularly holds internationalathletics meetings over the summer months, and is home of theGateshead Harriers athletics club. It is also host torugby league fixtures, and the home ground ofGateshead Football Club.Gateshead Thunder Rugby League Football Club played at Gateshead International Stadium until its purchase by Newcastle Rugby Limited and the subsequent rebranding asNewcastle Thunder. Both clubs have had their problems:Gateshead A.F.C. were controversially voted out of theFootball League in 1960 in favour ofPeterborough United, whilstGateshead Thunder lost their place inSuper League as a result of a takeover (officially termed a merger) byHull F.C. Both Gateshead clubs continue to ply their trade at lower levels in their respective sports, thanks mainly to the efforts of their supporters. TheGateshead SenatorsAmerican Football team also use the International Stadium, as well as this it was used in the 2006 Northern Conference champions in theBritish American Football League.
Gateshead Leisure Centre is home to the Gateshead Phoenix Basketball Team. The team currently plays in EBL League Division 4. Home games are usually on a Sunday afternoon during the season, which runs from September to March. The team was formed in 2013 and ended their initial season well placed to progress after defeating local rivals Newcastle Eagles II and promotion chasingKingston Panthers.
InLow Fell there is a cricket club and a rugby club adjacent to each other on Eastwood Gardens. These are Gateshead Fell Cricket Club[40] and Gateshead Rugby Club.[41] Gateshead Rugby Club was formed in 1998 following the merger of Gateshead Fell Rugby Club and North Durham Rugby Club.[42]
Gateshead is served by the following rail transport stations with some being operated byNational Rail and some beingTyne & Wear Metro stations:Dunston,Felling,Gateshead Interchange,Gateshead Stadium,Heworth Interchange,MetroCentre andPelaw.
Tyne & Wear Metro stations at Gateshead Interchange and Gateshead Stadium provide direct light-rail access toNewcastle Central,Newcastle Airport,Sunderland,Tynemouth andSouth Shields Interchange.
National Rail services are provided byNorthern atDunston andMetroCentre stations. TheEast Coast Main Line, which runs fromLondon Kings Cross toEdinburgh Waverley, cuts directly through the town on its way betweenNewcastle Central andChester-le-Street stations. There are presently no stations on this line within Gateshead, asLow Fell,Bensham andGateshead West stations were closed in 1952, 1954 and 1965 respectively.[43]
Several major road links pass through Gateshead, including theA1 which linksLondon toEdinburgh and the A184 which connects the town toSunderland.
Gateshead Interchange is the busiest bus station inTyne & Wear and was used by 3.9 million bus passengers in 2008.[44]
Various bicycle trails traverse the town; most notably is the recreationalKeelmans Way (National Cycle Route 141), which is located on the south bank of the Tyne and takes riders along the entire Gateshead foreshore.[45][46] Other prominent routes include the East Gateshead Cycleway, which connects toFelling, the West Gateshead Cycleway, which links the town centre toDunston and theMetroCentre, and routes along both the old and new Durham roads, which take cyclists toBirtley,Wrekenton and theAngel of the North.[47][48][49]
Christianity has been present in the town since at least the 7th century, whenBede mentioned a monastery in Gateshead. A church in the town was burned down in 1080 with theBishop of Durham inside.[citation needed] St Mary's Church was built near to the site of that building, and was the only church in the town until the 1820s. Undoubtedly the oldest building on the Quayside, St Mary's has now re-opened to the public as the town's first heritage centre.[50]
Many of theAnglican churches in the town date from the 19th century, when the population of the town grew dramatically and expanded into new areas.[51] The town presently has a number of notable and large churches of many denominations.[52]
TheBensham district is home to a community of hundreds ofOrthodox Jewish families and has been referred to as theOxbridge of British Jewry.[53][54][55] Within the community is theGateshead Yeshiva, founded in 1929,[56] and other Jewish educational institutions with international enrolments. These include two seminaries:Beis Medrash L'Morot andBeis Chaya Rochel, colloquially known together as Gateshead "old" and "new" seminaries. Manyyeshivos andkollelim also are active, includingSunderland Yeshiva, Baer Hatorah, Nesivos Hatorah, Nezer Hatorah andYeshiva Ketana.
Islam is practised by a large community of people in Gateshead and there are 2 mosques located in the Bensham area (in Ely Street and Villa Place).
Gateshead is twinned with the town ofSaint-Étienne-du-Rouvray nearRouen in France, and the city ofKomatsu in Japan.[57]
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In 1974, under the 1972 Local Government Act Gateshead County Borough merged with... to form Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council (see MD/GA).
480.400 (city member area), 829.300
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