Dunston, Tyne and Wear
Encyclopedia
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
. It has now been absorbed into the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead
Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead
The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead is a metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. It is named after its largest town, Gateshead, but also spans the towns of Rowlands Gill, Whickham, Blaydon and Ryton; suburban areas include Felling, Pelaw, Dunston and Low Fell.It is bordered...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
. Much of Dunston forms part of the inner Gateshead regeneration area.
The Dunston area is serviced by the Dunston railway station
Dunston railway station
Dunston railway station serves Dunston, an area of Gateshead, in Tyne and Wear, northern England. It is located on the Tyne Valley Line which runs from Newcastle upon Tyne to Carlisle....
, along the Tyne Valley Line.
Dunston is now split into two distinct areas separated by the A1 dual carriageway. Much of the area south of the A1 is known as Dunston Hill.
To the west of Dunston is the site of Dunston Power Station
Dunston Power Station
Dunston Power Station refers to a pair of adjacent coal-fired power stations in the North East of England, now demolished. They were built on the south bank of the River Tyne, in the western outskirts of Dunston in Gateshead. The two stations were built on a site which is now occupied by the...
, now demolished. The site is now home to the MetroCentre, which was the largest shopping and leisure centre in Europe before the Stratford Westfield complex was opened in 2011. Another Dunston landmark is the Derwent Tower
Derwent Tower
Derwent Tower is a 29-storey residential apartment building in Dunston, United Kingdom. Due to the tower block's unusual shape, the building was nicknamed the "Dunston Rocket" during construction and the name has remained with locals throughout its life.The tower was designed by the Owen Luder...
, commonly known as the "Dunston Rocket", a tower block that was once the highest in Gateshead, and was designed by the Owen Luder
Owen Luder
Owen Luder, CBE is a British architect who designed a number of notable and sometimes controversial buildings in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s...
Partnership and completed in 1973. Luder also designed the Trinity Centre Multi-Storey Car Park
Trinity Centre Multi-Storey Car Park
Trinity Square was a shopping centre and multi-storey car park situated in Gateshead, North East England, demolished in 2010. It was particularly noted for the Brutalist design of its car park, designed by the Owen Luder Partnership. The concrete structure, which dominated the skyline of the town,...
in Gateshead town centre.
On 6 June 1993 the IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
attacked a gas holder in the nearby area of Low Team. The damage was limited and no one was injured.
Dunston staithes
Dunston is particularly known for its wooden staithes, first opened in 1893 as a structure for loading coal from the North Durham coalfield onto ships. In the 1920s 140,000 tons of coal per week were loaded from the staithes, and they continued to be used until the 1970s. They were finally closed and partially dismantled in 1980.The staithes were restored and reopened for the Gateshead Garden Festival
Gateshead Garden Festival
The Gateshead Garden Festival was the fourth of the United Kingdom's five National Garden Festivals. Held between May and October 1990, in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, it lasted 157 days, and received over three million visitors. Attractions included public art displays, a Ferris wheel, and dance,...
in 1990. Following similar events in Liverpool (1984), Stoke on Trent (1986) and Glasgow (1988), the Garden Festival occupied a large area of Dunston and Team Valley
Team Valley
Team Valley is a traditionally heavily industrial area of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. More recently it has become home to the 'Retail World' retail park, which makes up just a small percentage of the entirety of the Team Valley Trading Estate...
. Though other parts of the Garden Festival site, such as the Eslington and Norwood areas of Team Valley, gained an immediate spur for regeneration, the area around the staithes remained derelict and inaccessible for the whole of the 1990s.
Today, the staithes are reputed to be the largest wooden structure in Europe, and are protected as a Listed Building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
.
In 2002, work began on a development of riverside apartments and houses designed by Wayne Hemingway
Wayne Hemingway
Wayne Andrew Hemingway, MBE is an English fashion designer and co-founder of Red or Dead. He is also chairman of the South Coast Design Forum, and chair of Building For Life .Hemingway is the son of Canadian Mohawk chief and former wrestler Billy Two Rivers...
. Known as Staiths South Bank
Staiths South Bank
Staiths South Bank is a part completed housing development in Gateshead, England, designed in collaboration with fashion designers Wayne & Gerardine Hemingway, .-Location:...
, this development celebrates the area's heritage as well as improving the setting for the historic structure. Unfortunately, in the early hours of 20 November 2003, a section of the staithes was destroyed by fire. As a result, access onto the Staithes themselves is not possible, but the structure can be viewed from the new riverside walkway constructed as part of the Staiths South Bank development. In 2005 Gateshead Council commissioned a study into possible options for the Staithes' restoration.
The Staithes suffered further fire damage in July 2010.
Notable people
Footballers Paul GascoignePaul Gascoigne
Paul John Gascoigne , commonly referred to as Gazza, is a retired English professional footballer.Playing in the position of midfield, Gascoigne's career included spells at Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, Rangers, Middlesbrough, Everton and Gansu Tianma, where he scored at least a goal...
and Ray Hudson
Ray Hudson
Ray Hudson , is a retired professional football player and former coach who currently works as an English-language football commentator on Gol TV.-Career:...
and lead singer of AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson is an English singer and lyricist who has been the lead singer for the rock band AC/DC since 1980. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 along with the other members of the band....
grew up in Dunston, as well as a Maltese International Rugby Player, Ryan Robson.
Champion rower and boat-builder Harry Clasper
Harry Clasper
Harry Clasper was a Tyneside professional rower and boat builder. He was an innovative boat designer who pioneered the development of the racing shell and the use of outriggers. He is said to have invented spoon-shaped oars...
was born in Dunston.