Rowlands Gill is a village on the north bank of the
River Derwent, 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 ...
,
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne.
The county is ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. The
Gibside Estate is near the town.
History
With the coming of the Derwent Valley Railway in 1867, Rowlands Gill became a coal
mining village and was under Blaydon Urban District, in
County Durham
County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
, until it was incorporated into the County of Tyne and Wear and 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 ...
in 1974.
Governance

In
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state.
Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
Rowlands Gill is located mainly within the ward of
Chopwell and Rowlands Gill. It is served by three councillors, all of whom are
Labour councillors, except for the north end at Lockhaugh, which falls within the ward of
Winlaton and
High Spen, and is served by two
Liberal Democrat councillors. Gateshead Council is Labour-controlled.
Rowlands Gill is in 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 ...
of
Blaydon and Consett. The MP is Labour's
Liz Twist
Mary Elizabeth Twist (born 10 July 1956) is a British Labour Party politician. She served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Blaydon from the 2017 general election until the seat's abolition in 2024. She then stood for reelection during the ...
.
Geography
Rowlands Gill is situated within Gateshead's Greenbelt, 6 miles southwest of Newcastle just outside of the Tyneside urban sprawl. Transport in the area is mainly focused on Buses as the nearest railway station is
Blaydon railway station, 3 miles to the north, and is further away from any
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 ...
stations. The village lies on the A694, known as 'Station Road' in the village centre. Another nearby major road is the A692 that passes through the nearby areas of
Byermoor and
Hobson, County Durham.
Retail and facilities
The village has two licensed premises, the Vale of Derwent Working Mens Club and a "micro pub", ''The Railway Tavern''. The ''Towneley Arms Public House'' pre-dated the village, being built in 1835 to serve travellers and their horses on the turnpike road through the valley. It was rebuilt in 1961, but due to low business, demolished in 2002 and replaced with dwellings. There are plentiful dining/alehouse facilities in the surrounding villages of Winlaton Mill, Burnopfield & Winlaton.
The village has a GP with four medical doctors, a dental surgery and a chemist shop. There is a barber, two other hairdressers, two art shops, a gym, a post office, a grocer, a florist, an ice cream shop, a garage, and an appliance shop. It also has an estate agent, an accountant, a bookmaker and a mortician.
There is an Italian restaurant, a Chinese restaurant/take-away, a tea-shop, a sandwich shop, and a fish and chip shop.
A public library is near the village centre. Strathmore Road Methodist Church and St. Barnabas Church of England Church are near the centre.
The war memorial is a Grade II listed building.
Recreation and education
Derwent Park provides access to the river, where permit holders can fish. It also has tennis courts, a putting green, recreational fields and playground facilities. The
Derwent Country Walk runs through the village along the route of the disused railway line.
The A694 runs through the town. There are frequent bus services to
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 ...
City Centre, the
MetroCentre and, in the other direction, Blackhall Mill and
Consett
Consett is a town in the County Durham (district), County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of County Durham, Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in ...
. Other minor bus routes such as UCall bus service operate.
Rowlands Gill has a primary school, which was rebuilt in 2007 after the previously separate infant and junior schools had merged. The school is a feeder to
Thorp Academy
Thorp Academy is a large 11–18 secondary Academy (English school), Academy in Ryton, Tyne and Wear, Ryton, Tyne & Wear, England. The academy is named after the 19th century churchman and rector, Charles Thorp, who went on to found Durham Univ ...
. Some parents send their children to
St Thomas More Catholic School, Blaydon.
Rowlands Gill and the surrounding Derwent Valley were chosen by the Northern Kites Project as the location for re-introducing
red kites in semi-rural areas.
The scheme has proved to be a success, with birds being spotted across the west of the borough, from
Crawcrook through Rowlands Gill, to Burnopfield and Whickham.
Notable people
These notable people were born in Rowlands Gill or lived there for a significant period:
*
Kirsty Wade – athlete, a former resident of the old station-master's house
*
Chris Ryan – SAS soldier and author
*
Frank Clark – European Cup-winning football player and manager
*
Ben Satterley – wrestler currently under contract to
All Elite Wrestling
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
, was billed as being from Rowlands Gill when wrestling in the North East.
*Richard Cobbing – athlete, Olympian, former World Games Trampoline champion and World Championship Silver Medallist at the
FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships
The FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships is the world championship organized by the FIS for freestyle skiing. It was first organized in 1986 and is now held every odd year. Currently, the disciplines included in the World Championships are Aeri ...
*
Daniel Barlaser – footballer for
Middlesbrough FC
Middlesbrough Football Club ( ) is a professional association football club based in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Nicknamed the Boro, they were fo ...
*
Edward Charlton –
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
soldier awarded the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
*
Arthur Carty – academic and former
National Science Adviser to the Government of Canada
*
Anthony A. Barrett – Classical scholar and author
*
Gracie Cole – trumpeter and band leader
References
External links
{{authority control
Villages in Tyne and Wear
Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead