Gateshead () is a large town in

northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angles, Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Scandinavian York, K ...

. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, and has on its outskirts the twenty metre tall

Angel of the North The ''Angel of the North'' is a contemporary sculpture by Antony Gormley, located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Completed in 1998, it is believed to be the largest sculpture of an angel in the world and is viewed by an estimated 33 ...

sculpture.

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

part of

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, under the Local Government Act 1888 the town was made a

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

, meaning it was administered independently of the

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

. Since 1974, the town has been administered as part of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead within

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcas ...

. In the 2011 Census, town had a population 120,046 while the wider borough had 200,214.

Toponymy

Gateshead is first mentioned in Latin translation in Bede's ''

Ecclesiastical History of the English People The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' ( la, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict b ...

'' as ''ad caput caprae'' ("at the goat's head"). This interpretation is consistent with the later English attestations of the name, among them ''Gatesheued'' (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. A Brittonic predecessor, named with the element ''*gabro-'', 'goat' (c.f.

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

''gafr''), may underlie the name. Gateshead might have been the

Roman-British Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...

fort of ''Gabrosentum''.

History

There has been a settlement on the Gateshead side of the River Tyne, around the old river crossing where the Swing Bridge now stands, since Roman times. The first recorded mention of Gateshead is in the writings of the

Venerable Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom ...

who referred to an Abbot of Gateshead called Utta in 623. In 1068

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

defeated the forces of Edgar the Ætheling and Malcolm king of Scotland (

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's Malcolm) on Gateshead Fell (now Low Fell and

Sheriff Hill Sheriff Hill is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. It lies on the B1296 road south of Gateshead, south of Newcastle upon Tyne and north of the historic city of Durham. According to the 2001 UK census ...

). During medieval times Gateshead was under the jurisdiction of the

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop 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 by Hugh du Puiset, Bishop of Durham. An alternative spelling may be "Gatishevede", as seen in a legal record, dated 1430. The earliest recorded coal mining in the Gateshead area is dated to 1344. 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 and Whickham. 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. William Hawks originally a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

, 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 the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

, 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 in Geordie song and story. Gateshead Council building

Throughout the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

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, a catastrophic explosion on the quayside destroyed most of Gateshead's medieval heritage, and caused widespread damage on the Newcastle side of the river. 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 of

gutta-percha Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus '' Palaquium'' in the family Sapotaceae. The name also refers to the rigid, naturally biologically inert, resilient, electrically nonconductive, thermoplastic latex derived from the tree, particularly fr ...

surrounded by strong wires. The first successful

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

– 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 first

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

cable was manufactured in Gateshead. Newall was interested in astronomy, and his giant telescope was set up in the garden at Ferndene, his Gateshead residence, in 1871. In 1831 a locomotive works was established by the Newcastle and Darlington Railway, later part of the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway. In 1854 the works moved to the Greenesfield site and became the manufacturing headquarters of North Eastern Railway. In 1909, locomotive construction was moved to Darlington and the rest of the works were closed in 1932. Sir Joseph Swan lived at

Underhill, Low Fell, Gateshead Underhill is a large and imposing detached house, located at 99 Kells Lane in the Low Fell district of Gateshead, north-east England, United Kingdom. Built primarily from sandstone in Victorian architectural style, it was the home of Sir ...

from 1869 to 1883, where his experiments led to the invention of the electric light bulb. The house was the first in the world to be wired for domestic electric light. In 1870, the

Old Town Hall Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

was built, designed by John Johnstone who also designed the previously built

Newcastle Town Hall The Town Hall was a local government building located in St Nicholas Square, Newcastle upon Tyne. History Until the mid-19th century civic leaders had held their meetings in the Guildhall. The town hall had its origins in the Corn Exchange whi ...

. 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. He was also one of the founders of Walter Willson's, a chain of grocers in the North East and Cumbria. The old town hall also served as a magistrate's court and one of Gateshead's police stations. In 1835, Gateshead was established as a

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

and in 1889 it was made a

, independent from

Durham County Council Durham County Council is a local authority administering all significant local government functions in the unitary authority area of County Durham in North East England. The council area covers part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, ...

. In the same year, however, one of the largest employers, Hawks, Crawshay and Company, closed down and unemployment has since been a burden. Up to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

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 the Team Valley Trading Estate was built in the mid-1930s to alleviate the situation. In 1974, following the Local Government Act 1972, the County Borough of Gateshead was merged with the

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (his ...

s of Felling, Whickham,

Blaydon Blaydon is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, and historically in County Durham. Blaydon, and neighbouring Winlaton, which Blaydon is now contiguous with, form the postal town of Blaydon-on-Tyne. The Blay ...

and Ryton and part of the rural district of

Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea ...

to create the much larger Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. In the past decade, Gateshead Council has begun developing plans to regenerate the town, with the long-term aim of making Gateshead a city. The most extensive transformation thus far has occurred in the Quayside, with almost all the structures there being constructed or refurbished in this time. Gateshead Millennium Bridge at night in January 2006

Gateshead Millennium Bridge at night in January 2006

The town centre has also been redeveloped, with the £150 million Trinity Square development opening in May 2013. The centre incorporates student accommodation, a cinema, health centre and stores. It was nominated for the Carbuncle Cup in September 2014. The cup was however awarded to another development which involved Tesco, Woolwich Central.

Geography

The town of Gateshead is situated in the North East of England in the ceremonial county of

, and within the historic boundaries of

. It is located on the southern bank of the River Tyne at a

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north ...

of 54.57° N and a

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east– west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek let ...

of 1.35° W. Gateshead experiences a temperate climate which is considerably warmer than some other locations at similar latitudes as a result of the warming influence of the Gulf Stream (via the North Atlantic drift). It is located in the rain shadow of the North Pennines and is therefore in one of the driest regions of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. One of the most distinguishing features of Gateshead is its

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

. The land rises 230 feet from Gateshead Quays to the town centre and continues rising to a height of 525 feet at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in

. This is in contrast to the flat and low lying Team Valley located on the western edges of town. The high elevations allow for impressive views over the Tyne valley into Newcastle and across Tyneside to Sunderland and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

from lookouts in Windmill Hills and Windy Nook respectively. The

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for ...

defines the town as an urban sub-division. The latest (2011) ONS urban sub-division of Gateshead contains the historical County Borough together with areas that the town has absorbed, including Dunston, Felling, Heworth, Pelaw and

Bill Quay Bill Quay is a residential area in Gateshead, located around from Newcastle upon Tyne, from Sunderland, and from Durham. In 2011, Census data for the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council ward of ''Heworth and Pelaw'' recorded a total populati ...

.These are the boundaries of the town of Gateshead (2011 methodology) Given the proximity of Gateshead to Newcastle, just south of the River Tyne from the

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

, it is sometimes incorrectly referred to as being a part of Newcastle. Gateshead Council and Newcastle City Council teamed up in 2000 to create a unified marketing brand name, NewcastleGateshead, to better promote the whole of the Tyneside conurbation.

Climate

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. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

subtype for this climate is " Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/ Oceanic climate).

Green belt

The town is within the wider Tyne & Wear Green Belt, with its portion in much of its surrounding rural area of the borough. It is a part of the local development plan which is in conjunction with Newcastle city borough, and was created in the 1960s. Its stated aims are to: * ''Prevent the merging of settlements, particularly: Gateshead with

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It governed under the borough of South Tyneside; formerly governed under the county of Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the sou ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, Birtley or Whickham ...the main built-up area with nearby villages; and villages with each other,'' * ''Safeguard the countryside from encroachment,'' * ''Check unrestricted

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

, and'' * ''Assist in urban regeneration in the city-region by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.'' In the Gateshead borough boundary, as well as the aforementioned areas, it also surrounds the communities of

Chopwell Chopwell is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, west of Rowlands Gill and north of Hamsterley. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 9,395. In 1150, Bishop Pudsey granted the Manor of Chopwell to ...

, 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.

Districts

The town of Gateshead consists of the following districts. Some of them were once separate settlements that were absorbed by encroaching

, 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 the Tyneside urban area. *Gateshead town centre *

Bensham Bensham is a suburban area in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. The area consists mainly of residential properties, with a range of predominantly terraced housing, built between the late 1890s and the 1980s. Community Like nearby Saltwell, ...

's ward ** Team Valley **Team Valley Trading Estate *

Deckham Deckham is a residential suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. It is bordered by Gateshead town centre to the north, Sheriff Hill to the south, Felling and Carr Hill to the east and Shipcote to the west. ...

's ward **Mount Pleasant **

Carr Hill Carr Hill is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. It is bordered by Felling to the north, Sheriff Hill to the south, Windy Nook to the east and Deckham to the west. It lies south of Gateshead, south of t ...

**Old Fold **Shipcote (overlaps into to wards) *Bridges' ward **Central **Redheugh *Chowdene's ward **Harlow Green * Dunston and Teams' ward **Low Teams **

Swalwell Swalwell is a village in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, in the United Kingdom. History On 27 August 1640, an encampment of soldiers was gathered in the fields north of Whickham church on the slope down to Swalwell. This was part of the Roy ...

* Low Fell *Whickham East's ward **Dunston Hill *High Fell's ward **Black Hill **

**Ravensworth **Beacon Lough **Egremont Estate *Low Fell's ward **Lyndhurst **Allerdene *Saltwell's ward **Shipcote (overlaps into two wards) * Wardley and Leam Lane's ward **Follingsby * Pelaw and Heworth's ward **Bill Quay * Felling **North Felling/ Felling Shore (Formerly known as Tyne Main) ** Falla Park ** Sunderland Road *Lamesley's ward **

Wrekenton Wrekenton is a residential area in Gateshead, located around from Newcastle upon Tyne, from Sunderland, and from Durham. In 2011, Census data for the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council ward of ''High Fell'' recorded a total population of 6, ...

** Eighton Banks * Windy Nook and Whitehills' ward **Staneway **Whitehills Estate

Demography

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, proving that there was some sort of population increase. 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%, 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; the NewcastleGateshead urban core area has population of 480,400. The Metropolitan 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. Other major areas in the borough include Whickham, Birtley, Blaydon-on-Tyne and Ryton.

MetroCentre and Team Valley

Gateshead is home to the MetroCentre, the largest

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that ...

in the UK until 2008; and the Team Valley Trading Estate, once the largest and still one of the larger purpose-built commercial estates in the UK.

Architecture

JB Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...

, writing of Gateshead in his travelogue '' English Journey'' (1934) 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".

Victorian

William Wailes the celebrated stained-glass maker, lived at South Dene from 1853 to 1860. In 1860, he designed

Saltwell Towers Saltwell Park is a Victorian park in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Opened in 1876, the park was designed by Edward Kemp and incorporates the mansion and associated grounds of the Saltwellgate estate owner, William Wailes, who sold his es ...

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 the Shipley Art gallery. 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.

Post world wars brutalism

The brutalist Trinity Centre Car Park, which was designed by Owen 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 film '' Get Carter'', starring Michael Caine. An unsuccessful campaign to have the structure listed was backed by

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

, who played the main role in the 2000 remake of the film. The car park was scheduled for demolition in 2009, but this was delayed as a result of a disagreement between Tesco (who plan to re-develop the site) and Gateshead Council. 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. 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. Demolition finally took place in July–August 2010. The Derwent Tower, another well known example of brutalist architecture, was also designed by Owen Luder and stood in the neighbourhood of Dunston. Like the Trinity Car Park it also failed in its bid to become a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

and was demolished in 2012. Also located in this area are the Grade II listed Dunston Staithes which were built in 1890. Following the award of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of almost £420,000 restoration of the structure is expected to begin in April 2014.

Post millennium

The council sponsored the development of a Gateshead Quays cultural quarter. The development includes the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, erected in 2001, which won the prestigious Stirling Prize for Architecture in 2002.

Arts

The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art has been established in a converted flour mill. The Sage Gateshead, a Norman Foster-designed venue for music and the performing arts opened on 17 December 2004. Gateshead also hosted the Gateshead Garden Festival in 1990, rejuvenating of derelict land (now mostly replaced with housing). The

, a famous sculpture in nearby Lamesley, is visible from the A1 to the south of Gateshead, as well as from the East Coast Main Line. Other public art include works by Richard Deacon, Colin Rose, Sally Matthews, Andy Goldsworthy, Gordon Young and

Michael Winstone Michael Winstone (born 1958, Toronto) is an English sculptor. Biography Winstone studied Fine Art at Leeds Polytechnic from 1978 to 1981 and sculpture at the Royal College of Art from 1981 to 1984.Elena, Ivankina"Winstone, Michael."Intervi ...

Sport

Gateshead International Stadium regularly holds international

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

meetings over the summer months, and is home of the Gateshead Harriers athletics club. It is also host to

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

fixtures, and the home ground of Gateshead Football Club. Gateshead Thunder Rugby League Football Club played at Gateshead International Stadium until its purchase by Newcastle Rugby Limited and the subsequent rebranding as Newcastle Thunder. Both clubs have had their problems:

Gateshead A.F.C. Gateshead Association Football Club was a football club based in Gateshead, County Durham, England. The club was formed in South Shields in 1899 as South Shields Adelaide Athletic. After success in the North Eastern League prior to World ...

were controversially voted out of the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

in 1960 in favour of Peterborough United, whilst Gateshead Thunder lost their place in Super League as a result of a takeover (officially termed a merger) by

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and wer ...

Both Gateshead clubs continue to ply their trade at lower levels in their respective sports, thanks mainly to the efforts of their supporters. The

Gateshead Senators Gateshead Senators are a British American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field ...

American Football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

team also use the International Stadium, as well as this it was used in the 2006 Northern Conference champions in the British 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 chasing Kingston Panthers. In Low Fell there is a cricket club and a rugby club adjacent to each other on Eastwood Gardens. These are Gateshead Fell Cricket Club and Gateshead Rugby Club. Gateshead Rugby Club was formed in 1998 following the merger of Gateshead Fell Rugby Club and North Durham Rugby Club.

Transport

Rail

Gateshead is served by the following rail transport stations with some being operated by National Rail and some being Tyne & Wear Metro stations: , , Gateshead Interchange, ,

Heworth Interchange Heworth Interchange consists of a National Rail, Tyne and Wear Metro and bus station. It is located in the suburb of Heworth, Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England, and opened on 5 November 1979 for rail and bus services. The station joined the ...

, and . Tyne & Wear Metro stations at Gateshead Interchange and Gateshead Stadium provide direct light-rail access to , Newcastle Airport , , and

South Shields Interchange South Shields Interchange is the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive ran transport hub which serves the coastal town of South Shields, South Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. History The station, which was originally located on Mil ...

. National Rail services are provided by

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

at Dunston and MetroCentre stations. The East Coast Main Line, which runs from to , cuts directly through the town on its way between and stations. There are presently no stations on this line within Gateshead, as , and stations were closed in 1952, 1954 and 1965 respectively.

Road

South side of Gateshead Bus Station - geograph

Several major road links pass through Gateshead, including the A1 which links

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and the A184 which connects the town to Sunderland. Gateshead Interchange is the busiest bus station in Tyne & Wear and was used by 3.9 million bus passengers in 2008.

Cycle routes

Various bicycle trails traverse the town; most notably is the recreational Keelmans Way (National Cycle Route 14), which is located on the south bank of the Tyne and takes riders along the entire Gateshead foreshore. Other prominent routes include the East Gateshead Cycleway, which connects to Felling, the West Gateshead Cycleway, which links the town centre to Dunston and the MetroCentre, and routes along both the old and new Durham roads, which take cyclists to Birtley,

and the

Religion

Christianity

Christianity has been present in the town since at least the 7th century, when Bede mentioned a monastery in Gateshead. A church in the town was burned down in 1080 with the

inside. 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. Many of the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

churches in the town date from the 19th century, when the population of the town grew dramatically and expanded into new areas. The town presently has a number of notable and large churches of many denominations.

Judaism

The

district is home to a community of hundreds of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

families and used to be known as "Little Jerusalem". Within the community is the Gateshead Yeshiva, founded in 1929, and other Jewish educational institutions with international enrollments. These include two seminaries: Beis Medrash L'Morot and Beis Chaya Rochel seminary, colloquially known together as Gateshead "old" and "new" seminaries. Many yeshivot and

kollel A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); ...

s also are active. Yeshivat Beer Hatorah, Sunderland Yeshiva, Nesivos Hatorah, Nezer Hatorah and Yeshiva Ketana make up some of the list.

Islam

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

is practised by a large community of people in Gateshead and there are 2 mosques located in the

area (in Ely Street and Villa Place).

Trivia

An article in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' stated that a woman was denied entry into the UK at some time prior to 2007 for giving her reason for coming to the UK as wanting to visit Gateshead. British visa officials ruled this as "not credible". The research into Britain's confused immigration policies was taken up by Steve Boggan in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' in a piece dated 23 January 2007, which expressed incredulity at the ignorance of London officials, echoed by Newcastle-Gateshead tourism heads.

Twinning

Gateshead is twinned with the town of

Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. History Evidence of ancient habitation has been found on and around the site of modern-day Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray including ...

near Rouen in France, and the city of Komatsu in Japan.

Notable people

Eliezer Adler Eliezer Adler (1866-1949) was one of the founders of the Jewish community in Gateshead, England. Biography Adler was born on 30 August 1866 in what is now Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, then known as Stanisławówin in Galicia, then part of the A ...

– founder of Jewish Community *

Marcus Bentley Marcus Morgan Bentley (born 4 October 1967) is a British actor, broadcaster and voice-over artist. Bentley is most known for narrating the UK version of the Dutch reality television programme '' Big Brother'' since its inception in 2000, until ...

– narrator of '' Big Brother'' *

Catherine Booth Catherine Booth (''née'' Mumford, 17 January 1829 – 4 October 1890) was co-founder of The Salvation Army, along with her husband William Booth. Because of her influence in the formation of The Salvation Army she was known as the 'Mot ...

– wife of William Booth, known as the Mother of The Salvation Army * William Booth – founder of the Salvation Army * Mary Bowes – ''the Unhappy Countess'', author and celebrity * Ian Branfoot – footballer and manager (

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

) * Andy Carroll – footballer ( Newcastle United,

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

and West Ham United) * Frank Clark – footballer and manager ( Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest) *

David Clelland David Gordon Clelland (born 27 June 1943) is a British Labour Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tyne Bridge from the 1985 by-election until the 2010 general election. Early life David Clelland was born in Gatesh ...

– Labour

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

and MP * Derek Conway – former Conservative politician and MP * Joseph Cowen – Radical politician * Steve Cram – athlete (middle-distance runner) * Emily Davies – educational reformer and feminist, founder of Girton College, Cambridge * Daniel Defoe – writer and government agent * Ruth Dodds – politician, writer and co-founder of the

Little Theatre Little Theatre or Little Theater may refer to: Australia * Little Theatre, Adelaide, South Australia * Little Theatre, Sydney, former name of the Royal Standard Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales * Melbourne Little Theatre, an amateur theatre compan ...

* Jonathan Edwards – athlete ( triple jumper) and television presenter * Sammy Johnson – actor ('' Spender'') * George Elliot – industrialist and MP * Paul Gascoigne – footballer ( Newcastle United,

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Rangers and

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

) *

Alex Glasgow Alex Glasgow (14 October 1935 – 14 May 2001) was an English singer-songwriter from Low Fell, Gateshead, England. He wrote the songs and music for the musical plays ''Close the Coal House Door'' and '' On Your Way, Riley!'' by Alan Plater, and ...

– singer/songwriter *

Avrohom Gurwicz Avrohom Gurwicz is an English-born Orthodox rabbi and Talmudic scholar. Since 1982 he has been the rosh yeshivah of Gateshead Talmudical College, a yeshiva in Gateshead, England, where he has been giving the largest ''shiur'' (Torah lecture) ...

– rabbi, Dean of Gateshead Yeshiva *

Leib Gurwicz Aryeh Ze'ev (Leib) Gurwicz (1906–20 October 1982) was an influential Orthodox rabbi and Talmudic scholar. He was the son-in-law of Rabbi Elyah Lopian and best known as Rosh Yeshiva of the Gateshead Yeshiva in Gateshead, England, where he taught ...

– rabbi, Dean of Gateshead Yeshiva * Jill Halfpenny – actress ('' Coronation Street'' and '' EastEnders'') * Chelsea Halfpenny – actress ('' Emmerdale'') * David Hodgson – footballer and manager (

and Sunderland) * Sharon Hodgson – Labour

and MP * Norman Hunter – footballer ( Leeds United and member of 1966 World Cup-winning

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

squad) * Don Hutchison – footballer (

, West Ham United, Everton and Sunderland) * Brian Johnson – AC/DC frontman * Tommy Johnson – footballer ( Aston Villa and

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

) * Riley Jones - actor * Howard Kendall – footballer and manager ( Preston North End and Everton) *

J. Thomas Looney John Thomas Looney (luni) (14 August 1870 – 17 January 1944) was an English school teacher who is notable for having originated the Oxfordian theory, which claims that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (1550–1604) was the true author of S ...

–

scholar * Gary Madine – footballer (

) *

Justin McDonald Justin McDonald (born 21 March 1983) is a British actor of film, television and theatre. Early life Justin Mark McDonald was born in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear in North East England. His keen interest in Art and Literature led him into acting a ...

– actor ('' Distant Shores'') * Lawrie McMenemy – football manager (

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

) and pundit * Thomas Mein – professional cyclist ( Canyon DHB p/b Soreen) * Robert Stirling Newall – industrialist *

Bezalel Rakow Bezalel Rakow (15 May 1927 – 20 July 2003) was a British orthodox rabbi who headed Gateshead’s Jewish community. He was the chair of the Council of Torah Sages of Agudas Yisroel of Great Britain. Born in Frankfurt, Germany into a distinguis ...

– communal rabbi * John William Rayner –

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

and war hero * James Renforth – oarsman * Mariam Rezaei – musician and artist * Sir Tom Shakespeare - baronet, sociologist and disability rights campaigner *

William Shield William Shield (5 March 1748 – 25 January 1829) was an English composer, violinist and violist. His music earned the respect of Haydn and Beethoven. Life and musical career Shield was born in Swalwell near Gateshead, County Durham, the son o ...

–

Master of the King's Musick Master of the King's Music (or Master of the Queen's Music, or earlier Master of the King's Musick) is a post in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. The holder of the post originally served the monarch of England, directing the court orche ...

Christina Stead Christina Stead (17 July 190231 March 1983) was an Australian novelist and short-story writer acclaimed for her satirical wit and penetrating psychological characterisations. Christina Stead was a committed Marxist, although she was never a me ...

–

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n novelist * John Steel – drummer ( The Animals) * Henry Spencer Stephenson – chaplain to King George VI and

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

* Steve Stone – footballer ( Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

) * Chris Swailes – footballer (

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professio ...

) * Sir Joseph Swan – inventor of the

incandescent light bulb An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxi ...

Nicholas Trainor Nicholas Trainor (born 29 June 1975) is a former English cricketer. He played for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, Gloucestershire between 1996 and 1998. References External links

* * 1975 births Living people Cricketers from Gates ...

– cricketer (

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of ...

) *

Chris Waddle Christopher Roland Waddle (born 14 December 1960) is an English former professional football player and manager. He currently works as a commentator. Nicknamed "Magic Chris", football journalist Luke Ginnell wrote that Waddle was "widely ackn ...

– footballer ( Newcastle United,

and

) * William Wailes – stained glass maker * Taylor Wane – adult entertainer * Robert Spence Watson – public benefactor * Sylvia Waugh – author of ''The Mennyms'' series for children *Chris Wilkie – guitarist ( Dubstar) * John Wilson - orchestral conductor * Peter Wilson – footballer (

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary ...

, captain of

) * Thomas Wilson – poet/school founder * Robert Wood – Australian politician

References

External links

Gateshead Council
Local government web site
Gateshead Heritage @ St Mary's
Heritage Centre website *Images of Gateshead �
Webshots - Desktop Wallpaper / Screen SaversVisit NewcastleGateshead
Official Tourism website for Gateshead
Convention Bureau website for Gateshead
*Friends of Red Kites �
Details about the reintroduced kites in the Derwent Valley, GatesheadSaltwell Park Community Portal Gateshead
News and events from Saltwell Park {{Authority control Towns in Tyne and Wear Unparished areas in Tyne and Wear Orthodox Jewish communities