Bill Quay is a residential area in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

, located around from

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, from

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, and from Durham. In 2011,

Census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

data for the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of ''Heworth and Pelaw'' recorded a total population of 9,100. Bill Quay is situated between

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the South Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly in County Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south bank of the River Tyne between Gateshead and Jarrow and ...

to the east, and Pelaw to the southwest. It lies on the south bank of the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden, Northumberland, Warden near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The ...

, facing

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

. The area is home to ''Bill Quay Albion Cricket Club'', competitors in the Durham Cricket League.

History

During the nineteenth century, Bill Quay was an industrial area catering for chemical works, bottle works, Robson's Paint, and shipbuilding. The area saw an economic upturn at the end of the nineteenth century, when the

Co-Operative Wholesale Society A cooperative wholesale society (CWS) is a form of cooperative federation (that is, a cooperative in which all the members are cooperatives), in this case, the members are usually consumer cooperatives. The theory, practice and history of th ...

(CWS) opened its vast and extensive string of factories along Shields Road. Boutlands, Harrisons and Wood-Skinner were shipbuilders at Bill Quay, with Harrisons being the final shipbuilder on the south bank of the

to close.

Demography

According to the 2011 Census, the ''Pelaw and Heworth''

has a population of 9,100. The ward is split into three distinct districts: * Bill Quay (population of 1,525) – Located to the east of King George's Field, and to the north of the A185 road. * Heworth (population of 5,273) – Located to the south of the

Tyne and Wear Metro The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). The owners Nexus have ...

line. * Pelaw (population of 2,302) – Located to the north of the

line, and the A185 road. 52.2% of the population are female, slightly above the national average, while 47.8% are male. Only 2.7% of the population were from a black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) group, as opposed to 14.6% of the national population. Data from the 2011 Census found that the average life expectancy in ''Pelaw and Heworth'' is 79.1 years for men, and 81.1 years for women. These statistics compare fairly favourably, when compared to the average life expectancy in the North East of England, of 77.4 and 81.4 years, respectively. Car ownership is lower than the average in the

Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It includes Gateshead, Rowlands Gill, Whickham, Blaydon, Ryton, Tyne and Wear, Ryton, Felling (UK), Felling, Birtley, Tyne and ...

(63.5%), and lower than the national average of 74.2% – with 61.1% of households in the ''Pelaw and Heworth'' ward owning at least one car.

Education

Bill Quay is served by one primary school, Bill Quay Primary School. In November 2011, the school was rated "good" by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

. Nearby primary schools include St. Alban's Catholic Primary School in Pelaw, and Wardley Primary School and White Mere Community Primary School in Wardley. In terms of secondary education, Bill Quay is located within the catchment area for Heworth Grange School in Leam Lane. An inspection carried out by Ofsted in January 2017 deemed the school to be "inadequate". St. Alban's Catholic Primary School in Pelaw also acts as a feeder school for Cardinal Hume Catholic School in

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 ...

, rated "outstanding" by Ofsted in January 2014, as well as the nearby St. Joseph's Catholic Academy in

, which was rated "requires improvement" by Ofsted in January 2019.

Governance

''Pelaw and Heworth'' is a local council

in the

. This ward covers an area of around , and has a population of 9,100. As of April 2020, the ward is served by three councillors: Ian Patterson, John Paul Dilston and Rosy Oxberry. Bill Quay was located within the

parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Historically in County Durham, it is on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. The 2011 census area classed Hebburn and the Boldons as ...

until it was replaced by Jarrow and Gateshead East from 2024.. As of April 2020, the constituencies have beeb served by

Kate Osborne Katharine Helen Osborne (born 18 June) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Jarrow and Gateshead East, formerly Jarrow (UK Parliament consti ...

Transport

Air

The nearest airport to Bill Quay is

Newcastle International Airport Newcastle International Airport is an international airport serving Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Located approximately from Newcastle City Centre, it is the primary and busiest airport in North East England, and the second busiest in Northe ...

, which is located around away by road.

Teesside International Airport Teesside International Airport , formerly Durham Tees Valley Airport, is a small international airport in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It primarily serves Teesside (including Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees), south and ...

and

Carlisle Lake District Airport Carlisle Lake District Airport is a small airport located north-east of Carlisle, England on a plain near the River Irthing. Originally opened as an RAF base in 1941, it came under government ownership in the 1960s before being sold to Haug ...

are located around away by road, respectively.

Bus

Bill Quay is served by

Go North East Go North East is a bus operator running both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It was previously known as the Northern General Transport Company and Go-Ahead No ...

's frequent ''Crusader'' 27 service, which runs up to every 10 minutes from

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

and Heworth to

and

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

. It is also served by the Gateshead Central Taxis bus services 568, which runs hourly between Heworth and Bill Quay, and 515, which runs hourly between Heworth and Hebburn.

Rail

The nearest

station is located at Pelaw. The

provides a regular service to

, with trains running up to every 6 minutes (7–8 minutes during the evening and Sunday) between Pelaw and South Gosforth, increasing to up to every 3 minutes at peak times. Heworth is the nearest rail station, with

Northern Trains Northern Trains, Trade name, trading as Northern, is a British train operating company that operates Commuter rail, commuter and Inter-city rail, medium-distance intercity services in the North of England. It is owned by DfT Operator for the Dep ...

providing an hourly service along the

Durham Coast Line The Durham Coast Line is an approximately railway line running between Newcastle railway station, Newcastle and in North East England. Heavy rail passenger services, predominantly operated Northern Trains, and some freight services operate ove ...

Road

Bill Quay is served by the A185 – a route linking the area with Heworth,

and

. By road,

can be reached in around 10 minutes,

in 15 minutes, and

in 30 minutes.

Bill Quay Community Farm

Bill Quay Community Farm is an important urban farm, and one of only 16 farm parks nationally recognised by the

Rare Breeds Survival Trust The Rare Breeds Survival Trust is a conservation (ethic), conservation charity whose purpose is to secure the continued existence and viability of the native farm animal genetic resources (FAnGR) of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1973 b ...

in the UK. Breeds included Tamworth pigs,

Jacob sheep The Jacob is a British breed of domestic sheep. It combines two characteristics unusual in sheep: it is piebald—dark-coloured with areas of white wool—and it is often polycerate or multi-horned. It most commonly has four horns. The origin ...

Hebridean sheep The Hebridean is a breed of small black sheep from Scotland, similar to other members of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group, having a short, triangular tail. They often have two pairs of horn (anatomy), horns. They were formerly know ...

, Scots Grey hens and

Bagot goat The Bagot goat is a breed of goat which for several hundred years has lived semi-wild at Blithfield Hall, Staffordshire, England. It is a small goat, with a black head and neck and the remainder of the body white. In 2010 it was considered "cri ...

s. It used to play host to ''Chickenstock'', an annual showcase festival for local Gateshead based bands. Bill Quay Community Farm opened in 1986 and closed in September 2019, but later reopened. It is managed by a registered charity.

In fiction

The novel ''Schoolfrenz'' by Ray Crowther () is set mainly on Tyneside. Bill Quay is mentioned several times and is the location for a murder scene in the book. The author's website
Ray Crowther
contains an extract from Schoolfrenz about Bill Quay, and has photographs of Bill Quay, and the surrounding area.

References

{{T&W places

External links

Early shipbuilding at Bill QuayGeograph's page for NZ2962Website of the Bill Quay Albion Cricket ClubWebsite of Bill Quay Primary schoolWebsite of former Bill Quay Community Farm
Geography of Tyne and Wear Gateshead