History of Gateshead
Gateshead is a town situated in Tyne and Wear, on the South side of the River Tyne. It is home to over 200,000 people, and includes the towns of Whickham, Blaydon, Winlaton and Ryton. Gateshead has always been at the head of an important road or ‘gate', which would suggest that the name of the town is a reference to its location. Gateshead is also, supposed to be the site of King Arthur's legendary Camelot.
It is not known if the Romans were one of the first settlers in Gateshead, however in 1970 there were Roman coins found, in Church Street , which suggests that there could have been a small settlement of Romans at the southern end of the old Roman Tyne Bridge.
In the Norman times Gateshead was passed into the hands of the Prince Bishops of Durham , who virtually ruled the land between the Tyne and the River Tees. The first Norman Bishop of Durham was William Walcher of Loraine who was appointed this role by William the Conqueror. However Walcher was not popular with the locals, as one of his men murdered a popular Anglo Saxon noble called Liulf of Lumley in 1081. It is said that in Norman times Gateshead was a place of importance, as when the Bishop held a meeting with his people, the site he chose was Gateshead . However the meeting was not successful, as the Bishop was killed by a group of angry mobs. Walcher's body was later found by monks of Jarrow, who conveyed it to their own monastery and then to Durham for an internment.
Another important historical event that occurred was in 1576, when the merchants of Newcastle try to unite the two towns. And on the 13 th May a bill was introduced and read in the House of Commons. However the second reading of the bill was delayed, which allowed the people of Gateshead to organize a resistance.
In 1747 William Hawks started his business in Gateshead, working with iron, which was supplied by the Tyne colliers. Eventually Hawks and Co became the biggest iron business in the North.
And in 1691 the River became very important to Ambrose Crowley, when he moved to Winlaton. He was a Quaker nail-manufacturer, and the river was ideally suitable for tempering the steel. Not only did he produce high-quality nails, but also iron products such as hinges, wheel-hubs and edged tools. Ambrose Crowley was the biggest manufactory of his kind in Europe and became a tourist attraction.
In the 1930's Gateshead was home to one of the most advanced power stations. In the Second World War an extension was built, and the power station ran until the 1970's. The first ever recorded mention about coal mining was in 1344. Whickham played a major part in the mining history of North Eastern England. At this time the local mines belonged to the bishop of Durham and were apparently the largest in Europe . The coal mines were later obtained by Elizabeth I in a ‘Grand Lease', which lasted for 99 years. The local coal mines ultimately ended up in the hands of the Bowes family. Many of the coal mines owned by the Bowes family were linked together by the world's oldest railway at Tanfield.
Gateshead has always been a centre for milling corn, as far back as medieval times. The earliest recorded mention of windmills is in 1189, which is in Boldon Books. Towards the ends of the eighteenth century some surviving mills were converted into the new form of power and steam. However mills were often known to having drawbacks, as they were famous fire risks. In the nineteenth century the windmills became disused, and were used for other purposes such as storehouses and even summer cottages. The last working mill was located at the corner of Jackson Street and West Street and worked until 1890's.
Apart from its corn milling, Gateshead was also centered for it shipbuilding. Although there have been shipbuilders at Gateshead for many centuries, none of them have been large enough to rival their competition nearer the mouth of the river. And in 1821 the first iron boat was built.
The change in Gateshead Industry, also dramatically changed the size of the population in Gateshead , with an increase from 8,597 to 108,024, between 1809 and 1901. As a result of the increase in population the riverside became overcrowded, which contributed to the great disaster in the 19 th century.
The Great fire of Gateshead occurred on the 6 th October 1854. The fire was located to a worsted factory close to the River Tyne. The fire rapidly got out of control and spread to a neighboring warehouse, which contained huge stores of salt, iron, lead, magnesium, nitrate of soda, guano, arsenic, copperas, naptha and 300 tons of Brimstone.
The flying debris caused ships and boats in the centre of the River Tyne to catch alight, but worse than that a second fire broke out on the northern bank of the river, which destroyed many medieval buildings on the Newcastle quayside. In result of the disaster hundreds of people were made homeless. The fire destroyed nearly all of the historic buildings in Gateshead, and this could be the reason why Gateshead has its greater share of less attractive modern concrete buildings, than Newcastle.
Gateshead is also home to the largest indoor shopping centre in Europe , The Metro Centre. Gateshead is also home to the largest purpose built commercial estates, Team Valley Trading Estate. Although Gateshead has been culturally overshadowed by its neighbor, Newcastle , Gateshead has taken dramatic steps to change. The start of this change was The Metro Centre and The International Stadium. More recent developments that have taken place are the Millennium Bridge , which was created in 2001, which went on to win the James Stirling prize for architect in 2002. And in 2004 the Sage, venue for music and the performing arts opened. As well as its buildings Gateshead is also known for its public art, which include The Angel of the North, and the Riverside Sculpture Park.
Gateshead is also well known for its famous residents that have lived their over many years, such as:
• John Barras - Founder of Newcastle Breweries
• William Booth - Founder of the Salvation Army
• Mary Bowes, Countess of Strathmore - Author and celebrity
• David Clelland - Labour politician and M.P.
• Joseph Cowen - Radical politician
• Steve Cram - Athlete
• Emily Davies - Educational reformer and feminist. Founder of Girton College Cambridge
• Daniel Defoe - Writer and government agent
• Madeleine Hope Dodds - Historian/Co Founder of The Peoples' Theatre
• George Elliott - Industrialist and M.P.
• Paul Gascoigne - Footballer
• Alex Glasgow - Singer/Songwriter
• Jill Halfpenny - Actress
• Michelle Heaton - Member of Liberty X
• Sharon Hodgson - Member of Parliament
• James Leathart - Industrialist and art collector
• John Thomas Looney - Shakespeare scholar
• Lawrie McMenemy - Soccer Manager/Pundit
• Robert Stirling Newall - Industrialist
• Bobby Pattinson - Comedian/Actor
• Bezalel Rakow - Communal rabbi
• Geordie Ridley - Composer of 'Blaydon races'
• William Shield - Master of the King's Musick
• Steve Stone - Footballer
• Sir Joseph Swan - Inventor of the electric light bulb
• Robert Spence Watson - Author, arbiter and public benefactor
• Chris Waddle - Footballer
• William Wailes - Stained glass maker
• Thomas Wilson - Poet/School Founder
