Birtley, Tyne and Wear
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Birtley | |
|
Birtley shown within Tyne and Wear | |
| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| Metropolitan borough | Gateshead |
| Metropolitan county | Tyne and Wear |
| Region | North East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CHESTER LE STREET |
| Postcode district | DH3 |
| Dialling code | 0191 |
| Police | Northumbria |
| Fire | Tyne and Wear |
| Ambulance | North East |
| European Parliament | North East England |
| List of places: UK • England • Tyne and Wear | |
Birtley is an area in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is situated to the south of Gateshead town and is physically linked to Chester-le-Street across the County boundary in County Durham. Until 1974 Birtley and the adjoining areas of Barley Mow, Vigo and Portobello were part of the old Chester-le-Street Rural District. Since 1974 these neighbouring areas have been considered part of 'greater' Birtley. Birtley was a civil parish with a parish council (which also covered the adjoining neighbourhoods) until April 1, 2006 after a local referendum agreed to abolish it. [1]
Birtley lies within the historic county boundaries of County Durham and uniquely among settlements in Gateshead, Birtley forms part of the Chester-le-Street post town, which is associated with Durham.
Antony Gormley's famous Angel of the North is situated on high ground on the site of the baths of the old 'Betty Ann Pit' to the north of Birtley and overlooks the area.
The main road through Birtley is the non-primary A167 which runs from Topcliffe, North Yorkshire through to the north of Newcastle upon Tyne, and is the same road which runs across the Tyne Bridge. This was an original route for the Great North Road and the A1 until a bypass was built in the 1930s.
Birtley is the home of the Royal Ordnance factory and the Komatsu Heavy Engineering Company which operates from the previous premises Birtley Iron Works (1827-, which became premises of the Caterpillar Company in the mid 20th century). A 'CarCraft Hypermarket' has been recently built on the site of an old factory in south west Birtley, reclaiming much wasted brown field site land.
[edit] Schools and Education
There are several primary schools in Birtley and one large Senior School, Lord Lawson of Beamish, which is situated on a hill overlooking Birtley. This school has recently been replaced with a new building on the same site that opened in late 2007[citation needed]. There are several famous past students from Lord Lawson, including famous footballer Bryan Robson.
[edit] Religion and Churches
There are altogether three mainstream Churches in Birtley; these consist of:
- St Joseph's (RC)[2]
Built in 1843 after the 1791 Catholic Relief Act and designed by John Dobson in early Gothic style. Currently serving in this parish are Fr Antony Duffy and Deacon Peter Lavery. - St John the Evangelist (CofE)[3]
- A Methodist Church (name unknown)[4]
- Birtley also has a large Cemetery with a Chapel and Crematorium.
