Sheriff Hill
Encyclopedia
Sheriff Hill is a settlement (formerly a village) situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead
in Tyne and Wear
, England
. It is bordered by the villages of High Fell and Deckham
to the North, Beacon Lough to the South, Windy Nook and Carr Hill to the East and Low Fell
to the West. The settlement lies on a major bus route 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Gateshead
, 2.5 miles (4 km) south of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne
and 12 miles (19.3 km) north of the historic City of Durham. According to the 2001 UK census, the settlement had a population of 5,051.
For centuries little more than part of a windswept, barren and treacherous heath, the settlement at Sheriff Hill was initially established by a moderate influx of tinker
s and miners
in the 18th century. Considered a village in the historic county of Durham
for almost as long as it has been inhabited in measurable numbers, it was formally incorporated into the newly formed Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead by the Local Government Act 1972
which took effect on 1 April 1974.
One of the more populous of the two dozen or so villages which now comprise the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Sheriff Hill has a long and rich history. The industrial revolution
brought heavy industry
to the settlement, so that Sheriff Hill was once the centre of pottery
in Gateshead as well as the site of a large coal mine. One of several historic public houses in the settlement, Ye Olde Cannon, was the regular haunt of bishops and judges
whose public procession
s to and from Sheriff Hill would ultimately provide the name of the settlement today.
Sheriff Hill has been transformed since its formative, industrial days. Now predominantly a residential suburb in the council ward
of High Fell, it is home to Gateshead's largest hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital
, as well as a small dene
and one of Gateshead's many parks (Hodkin Park). The principal landmark in the settlement is St John the Evangelist Church; one of three Grade II listed buildings in the settlement and one of two remaining churches. Once the site of one of Gateshead's largest boarding schools, Sheriff Hill is now served by Glywood Primary School. The settlement is also a place of topographical significance; the southern most end of Sheriff's Highway, the major road in the settlement, reaches a height of over 500 feet (152.4 m) above sea level
, making it the highest point in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead.
. Once described as a "windswept, barren and treacherous heath
", by the middle of the 18th century, Gateshead Fell had become a place of considerable notoriety. When theologian John Wesley
arrived in 1785, he found a "pathless waste of white". In 1809 an Act was finally obtained ordering the enclosure
of Gateshead Fell. Commissioner
s were appointed to settle claims in land and to apportion Gateshead Fell accordingly. Plans were laid for the requisition and construction of wells, quarries, drains, roads, watering places and other essential requirements. New roads were to be built on what is now Blue Quarries Road, Church Road and Windy Nook Road. A well was also to be provided at Blue Quarries. Progress was slow, with the last allotment land disputes not settled until almost 1830, but by the time of completion, Gateshead Fell was at last enclosed and effectively consigned to history. The divisions of Gateshead Fell have remained more or less settled, so that the villages created by enclosure have survived, almost entirely intact, to the present day.
operated under a strict feudal system
. Allegiance and subservience to the Crown
was required by all men and women at all times and on most occasions was demonstrated by the swearing of oaths
. Once such occasion occurred twice a year, when the Sheriff of Northumberland
met with the Crown Judges who came to Newcastle upon Tyne
and sat on the Assizes
to hear any legal matters which required their attention. To further emphasise the importance and solemnity of these visitations, a procession was to be held prior to the official meeting of the parties.
At an inquisition at Tynemouth
in 1278, it was duly declared that the King of Scotland, the Archbishop of York
, the Prior of Tynemouth, the Bishop of Durham and Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus should arrange to meet with the justices prior to their entry into Newcastle, provided that they came through the county of Yorkshire first. On the appointed day, usually a Saturday, the procession of these learned men would take place, starting in Newcastle upon Tyne before crossing the River Tyne
and passing into Gateshead
. After a short refreshment break, the procession then made its way slowly up the old (and remarkably steep) turnpike road (now Old Durham Road/Sheriffs Highway) until all concerned parties came to the designated meeting place. This was initially established at Chile Well but latterly the procession came to "light and go into the house". The house in question was Ye Olde Cannon, located on the turnpike road at the crest of Gateshead Fell. This place was chosen because of the convenience of both the gentry of Northumberland
and for the judges journeying from Durham
and it was here that wine and punch
were again served to the members of the procession at the expense of the Sheriffs who would wait here until the judges made their arrival. Once they had done so, all would return to Newcastle upon Tyne.
This procession took place, bi-annually, until 1826 when the procession was re-routed through Low Fell
. It is as a direct result of the "Sheriff's March" that the area around Ye Olde Cannon and the old turnpike road became known as Sheriff Hill.
Sheriff's Highway is a direct descendant of the old turnpike road which ran along the exact same route. The turnpike road was an essential trade route between the historic city of Durham and the rapidly developing city of Newcastle upon Tyne, itself flourishing as the industrial revolution
began to take hold. As the importance of the turnpike road increased, a small number of settlers and at least two public houses sprang forth and established themselves alongside it.
The road was, for many years, known as Sodhouse Bank, because the dwelling-houses on the road were largely made of mud and sod
. Built on turf by tinker
s, these were initially inhabited by a combination of the tinkers themselves and a sizeable mining community. These dwellings were known as 'sodhuts' and were extremely squalid so that most were demolished in 1886 after local councillors decreed that they were no longer fit for human habitation.
The route of Sodhouse Bank remains but is now called Sheriff's Highway. Sheriff's Highway today is a "wide and bustling road" which is notable for the "spectacular long views over Gateshead, Newcastle and beyond" as well as the steepness of its slope northward towards Wrekenton
.
Sheriff Hill is part of the High Fell ward
of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead
. This ward is approximately 2 square kilometre (0.77220431718507 sq mi) in area and has a population of 8,952. The High Fell ward is represented by three councillors. In March 2011, these were Malcolm Graham, Jean Lee and Doreen Davidson. The 2010 council election
turnout
was 50.5%, an improvement on the lowly 27.7% turnout at the 2008 election
which was achieved in spite the introduction of postal voting
in an attempt to increase voter turnout. The British National Party
polled over 10% of the vote in 2008, but their vote fell to 7.6% by 2010.
Sheriff Hill is now part of the Westminster parliamentary constituency of Gateshead
. It had previously formed part of the Gateshead East and Washington West
constituency which was abolished by boundary changes prior to the 2010 UK General Election. For many years the MP
for the area was Joyce Quin, who retired on 11 April 2005 and was later awarded a life peerage into the House of Lords on 13 June 2006 and is now Baroness Quin.
The present incumbent is Ian Mearns
MP, who lives in nearby Saltwell, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear
. Mearns was selected by the party
in March 2010 to contest the newly formed Gateshead seat in place of David Clelland
, formerly the Labour MP for the now defunct constituency of Tyne Bridge
who stepped down in January 2010. Formerly the deputy leader of Gateshead Council and a long time Councillor for the Saltwell ward, Mearns replaced former incumbent Sharon Hodgson
MP, who successfully campaigned for election in the newly formed constituency of Washington and Sunderland West. In the 2010 UK General Election, Mearns was elected with a majority of 12,549 votes over the second placed candidate, Frank Hindle. The swing from the Labour party to the Liberal Democrats
was 3.9%.
Sheriff Hill is part of one of the safest
Labour
parliamentary seats in the United Kingdom. Mearns' success in 2010 followed the return of Sharon Hodgson in the 2005 UK General Election
after she had polled over 60% of the total votes cast whilst in 2001, Joyce Quin was returned to parliament with a majority of 53.3%
town centre on an "historic route from Durham to the north". which lies 254.5 miles (409.6 km) from London
. The land upon which the settlement is built contains predominantly sandstone
, grindstone and clay. After the enclosure of Gateshead Fell
, Sheriff Hill began as a rural settlement before latterly becoming a village. Following the large urban expansion of Gateshead, Sheriff Hill was enveloped so that "now it is surrounded by suburban Gateshead, which has developed in dense form around it with little visual delineation" and in 1974 the village was formerly incorporated into the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead
by the Local Government Act 1972
. Until the implementation of that Act, Sheriff Hill was considered part of County Durham
. It is now bordered by a number of settlements which also now form part of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. These are Low Fell
to the west, Deckham
to the north, Beacon Lough to the south and Windy Nook and Carr Hill to the east
The settlement benefits from "striking topography
". The natural lie of the land means that Sheriff Hill is the highest point in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead and this allows for views of considerable beauty. In 1829, it was noted that "the view of Newcastle and the Tyne
from the hill is uncommonly grand" and it so moved local artist Thomas Miles Richardson Sr. that it inspired "his first remarkable picture"; View of Newcastle from Gateshead Fell, in 1816. The spire at St John's Church, once completed, became a visible landmark for miles in all directions which "gives an aspect of comfort and civilisation to the district". At the corner of what is now Church Road, McKenzie noted "from its lofty position, it commands one of the finest and most extensive views in the North of England. It embraces the whole line of the Tyne, the beautiful vale of Ravensworth, the city of Durham, and the German Ocean both to the North and to the East"
In spite of the extensive rebuilding of the settlement and the surrounding areas since the middle of the nineteenth century, residents of Sheriff Hill are still able to enjoy "awe inspiring" views of the surrounding locale so that, according to one official report:
According to the United Kingdom Census 2001
, Sheriff Hill has a population of 5,051- 53% of the population are female, slightly above the national average, whilst 47% are male. Only 2.5% of the population are from a Black or other Minority Ethnic Group (BME), as opposed to 9.1% of the national population. Of the BME group in the settlement, 41% are from the Asian or Asian-British ethnic group. Sheriff Hill has a high proportion of lone parent households at some 18.9% of all households in the settlement. This is the fifth highest figure in Gateshead and compares with a Gateshead average of 11.5% and a national average of 9.5%. Some 32.1% of households have dependent children, as opposed to 29.5% nationally and 28.4% in Gateshead. The Index of Multiple Deprivation
, which divides England into 32,482 areas and measures quality of life
indicators to indicate deprivation
, splits Sheriff Hill into two areas; one of which is listed in the top five percent of all deprived areas in England in 2007.
Sheriff Hill compares unfavourably with the wider Gateshead area in respect of adults with educational qualifications. Some 50.7% of adults in the settlement have no educational qualifications, compared to 38.4% across the whole of Gateshead and the England average of 28.9%. Only 25.2% of adults have five or more GCSE
s or equivalent at A*-C (compared to 46.6% nationally) whilst 11.5% of adults in the settlement have two or more A-Levels (or equivalent).
and coal mining
on Tyneside
. Indeed, the geological abundance of grindstone and coal, and the ability to mine both, were the predominant reason for the birth of the settlement.
The history of potting in Gateshead
is still the subject of considerable research and speculation, but there can be little doubt that Sheriff Hill was "an epicentre" of the pottery industry in the town. Sheriff Hill, and its neighbour Carr Hill, have been described as "the main centres" of potting during the 17th and 18th centuries. This was due in no small part to the decisions of John Warburton to relocate his manufacturing operations to Newcastle and to base his main factory in Carr Hill in 1740. Warburton is credited with introducing white earthenware
into the area and it is thought that the Old Brown Jug public house in Carr Hill is so named in reference to the rich potting history of that area. Apparently buoyed by the success of Warburton, Paul Jackson established the Sheriff Hill Pottery in 1771 at the corner of Pottery Lane (now Pottersway) and Sodhouse Bank. In 1775, an advertisement in the local newspaper, The Journal
, declared:
Members of the Jackson family were partners in the business until 1837 when Thomas Patterson took over. By 1839 there were 50 employees, many of whom lived in a row of cottages adjoining the Old Cannon Inn. The pottery still operated at the turn of the twentieth century and was a considerable source of local pride, as one resident recalled:
This pottery closed in 1909 and the buildings were demolished in the 1920s to make way for council houses. Potter's Field, now the site of Hodkin Park, survived as a reminder of Sheriff Hill's potting heritage until the 1940s, whilst Pottery Lane is still today called 'Pottersway'.
Tyneside has a rich coal mining heritage
and Sheriff Hill is no different in this regard. Sheriff Hill Colliery
(alternatively referred to as 'Ellison Main Colliery') was situated at the summit of Gateshead Fell
(now the boundary between Sheriff Hill and Low Fell
) and which opened in 1793. Sheriff Hill Colliery operated two main shafts- Fanny Pit and Isabella Pit, the former of which was the deeper of the two. Mining during the 18th and19th centuries was notoriously difficult and often resulted in disasters causing numerous fatalities. Sheriff Hill Colliery suffered a number of such incidents. On 19 July 1819 an explosion caused the deaths of thirty-five men. The Colliery closed in 1926 and never re-opened.
Gateshead has been a centre of the milling
industry for centuries. Indeed, the Boldon Book
documents the presence of windmills in the area as early as 1189. Whilst many of the mills fell into disuse during the 19th century, the Old Mill, also known as Heworth Windmill or Snowden's Mill, was built in 1823 in Sheriff Hill and continued to operate for several decades before finally closing just prior to the turn of the 20th century. Using wind power to mill corn, the Old Mill provided employment to dozens of local workers as well as providing stables, a granary
and a shop for the usage of members of the community. Situated on what now is Queen Elizabeth Avenue, the mill stood dormant for over seventy years and survived long after all of the other industrial mills in Gateshead had been demolished. It stood as a monument to Sheriff Hill's milling heritage until 1964, when it was finally demolished.
Located immediately opposite the Old Mill, Blue Quarries was one of many similar quarries scattered throughout Gateshead and provided some employment for the smattering of experienced stonemasons
, quarry
men and their apprentices in Sheriff Hill. During the 19th century, quarries in Gateshead concerned themselves primarily with grindstones which could be used in the building of new dwelling-houses and Blue Quarries would have been no different in this regard. Quarrymen were notoriously difficult employees. They were infrequent in the payment of rent owed and were prolific spoilers of land through waste and rubbish. They were also extremely difficult to contain as a workforce, with one employer baldy stating that "if you do not make a publicke example of some of those fellowes they'll ride on your shoulders as long as you live". Few were ever employed in Gateshead; during 1839, a boom period of quarrying, only seventy five were employed in total in the whole of Gateshead. By the turn of the 20th century, the quarries were becoming gradually less active and, one by one, they were discontinued. Those that did survive occupied themselves with the cutting and shaping of sandstone
, which had replaced grindstone as the brick of choice in the home building industry. The quarrymen remained a source of intrigue for local children. One noted that "We watched the stonemasons at the quarry squaring off and smoothing sandstone blocks. The men wore fustian trousers tied with string below the knee". It is not known when Blue Quarries ceased operations, but there is little evidence of it in Sheriff Hill today, as the area is now part of a housing estate. One major reference however remains for posterity— the road from Sheriffs Highway leading to The Causeway was named Blue Quarries Road and remains so called today.
".
, the few cottages and properties which were available in Sheriff Hill were so poor that in 1713 a total of only ninety-one cottages returned the paltry sum of £8 9s 6d in rent. This rental rate actually declined in the preceding years, with poverty rates so high that several tenants simply paid no rent at all. The houses themselves were "scruffy and unappealing". Most were essentially mud huts; earth mounds carved into dwellings and roofed with either turf or, in the majority of cases, sod
. It is for this reason that the expanse of the turnpike road
which ran directly through Sheriff Hill became known as Sodhouse Bank. The vast majority of these cottages were torn down after enclosure but the standard of housing remained "one of abject squalor".
was made to Gateshead Council and was staunchly rebuffed and in 1917 Parliament
made a further proposal which was again rejected. However, a Gateshead Council survey concluded in 1919 that "overcrowding was at dangerous levels, that landlords were scrimping on repairs and improvements" and that housing levels "were effectively unsustainable in light of the rapid population growth
". When in February 1919 the Town Improvement Committee recommended the purchase of 214 acre (0.86602804 km²; 0.334375295645662 sq mi) of land between Dryden Road at Low Fell
and Carr Hill under the Housing Act 1919, the Council finally yielded and purchased 65 acre (0.2630459 km²; 0.101562589798916 sq mi) of land in Carr Hill and Sheriff Hill at the cost of £19,000.
The result was the first council estate in Gateshead. Alderman Hodkin laid the foundation stone on 27 October 1920 at the site directly opposite Kells Lane on the other side of Sodhouse Bank, which was to become Broadway. He informed local newspapers that: “…we can build houses, but we cannot build homes. Only the people themselves can do that and I hope that the spirit of ‘esprit de corps’ will prevail and this will be a model estate”
The area of each house and garden averaged about 300 yd2. Trees would be placed on paths, with grass margins, every 10 yard apart. The total cost of the scheme was £730,000 and the average price per house was £1,123 with ten houses built per 1 acre (0.404686 ha). Demand was enormous- there were four hundred and twenty seven applicants for the first twenty eight houses built. Two hundred and thirty two houses were built in the Pottersway and The Avenue areas and a further four hundred and nine followed in 1924 at Sodhouse Bank, Broadway, Fosse Terrace, Ermine Crescent and Crossway, despite the Government
withdrawing the funding they had promised at the outset of the scheme. By 1936, most of the housing evidenced in Sheriff Hill today was in place.
After the initial period of prevacation followed a time of great ambition and pride. M. G. Moses was clearly impressed when he noted after his visit in 1930 that:
These houses have remained in situ
and provide residential accommodation to over half of the population of the settlement today.
dwellings are also reasonably prevalent. The Egremont Estate is a "quiet, peaceful and very distinctive estate" located to the immediate rear of Sheriffs Highway with entry at Egremont Drive. The houses here are privately owned and have unusual, flat roofs with steps leading to them as an architectural feature. The character of this area is "a progressive suburban development, constructed on a plateau
nestling in the landscape...this has the feel of an enclosed community, with development encircling a central space". The entire estate is now part of the Sheriff Hill Conservation Area. Also part of the conservation area is Sourmilk Hill, located at the rear of the Egremont Estate and leading towards St John the Evangelist Church. This is "an informal grouping of vernicular stone buildings, with the character of a small rural farmstead, on the perimeter of a vestige of woodland
". The houses here are built with locally quarried stone and brick and add considerable charm to the settlement. Windy Nook Road is another area of Sheriff Hill in which privately-owned dwellinghouses are prevalent. Located at the crest of Sheriff's Highway directly adjacent to the Traveller's Rest, the character of this area is of a "loose, straggling ribbon development along a minor east-west hilltop route". Building here is especially irregular and has created stepped frontages in the "important and early vernacular stone grouping of Field House (a Grade II listed building), Sandmill House and Home Cottage". There is a great variety among the buildings here, several of which are built from locally quarried brick, slate
and sandstone
to open a new asylum in a similar vein. In 1844, records show that the asylum had 86 patients. Escapes do not seem to have especially commonplace, but incidents have been recorded. The asylum closed in 1860.
Sheriff Hill's association with isolation
and mental health
did not end with the demise of the asylum; a thirty-eight bed isolation hospital was built on what is now Queen Elizabeth Avenue. In 1878, the first part of the hospital was erected whilst other sections were added in subsequent years. The site comprised around 4 acres (1.6 ha) in total and was enclosed by a large stone wall tipped with barbed wire
(or broken glass in places) By 1903 the buildings comprised a main block with an administrative building in the centre and a ward block on each side. There was also a new three-ward block, a porter's lodge, a steam disinfecting building, a laundry and a mortuary. The ward blocks contained seven wards in addition to four other single bed wards. These allowed a potential maximum of seventy eight patients. There were ten nurses, nine other female staff, two porters and two ambulance staff in addition to the matron. There was also a medical officer, who in 1904 was a Dr Clayton assisted by a Dr Kapp. The isolation hospital continued to thrive during the First World War, but otherwise the medical provisions in Sheriff Hill remained woefully substandard. Sheriff Hill had no doctor save those in the isolation hospital and as the population grew, so too did the urgent need for better medical provisions.
First mooted in 1931 when a local governmental survey concluded that hospital provisions in the whole of Gateshead
were entirely inadequate, work began on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. It was decided that this new hospital be built on the exact site of the old isolation hospital in Sheriff Hill and the conversion and extension work required duly commenced in March 1938. After good early progress saw the foundations for the new general hospital laid in 1939, the war years
delayed building work so that the hospital was finally (and belatedly) opened on 18 March 1948 by Queen Elizabeth
(the wife of George VI)
. It is now by far the largest hospital in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead
and has been expanded on numerous occasions since, most notably with the opening of the North East NHS Surgery Centre in 2008. This new facility cost £13.3 million to build and treated over 6000 patients for both urgent and non-urgent operations in its first year. In 2009, the Care Quality Commission
rated the hospital as 'excellent', the highest possible rating, in both the quality of its care and the use of its resources. The hospital is also currently the 'Dr Foster Medium Sized Acute Trust of the Year' and has been rated second best in the country for maternity services by the Healthcare Commission
.
Whilst once considered an affluent suburb of the town of Gateshead, the area is now markedly less so, with almost half of the total working age population not economically active and less than half of the households in the area owning a car. Over one quarter of the adult population of the area are considered clinically obese
, Around 44% of the adult population smoke
(as opposed to a national average of 33%) and 23.8% of the adults in the area are statistically binge drinkers
. The average life expectancy for men in Sheriff Hill is 70.7 years. Women have a higher life expectancy of 77.5 years. Both figures are below the UK national average.
. It was proposed
that five new schools be built; Park Lane, Prince Concert Road
, Askew Road, near Gateshead Cemetery and at Sheriff Hill Building work was "piecemeal and laborious", even after the second school board (1873–76) elected to follow the proposals mooted by its predecessor. Alexandra Road School was not opened until 1875 due to the contractor in charge being declared bankrupt and work on the school at the Teams
proved "extraordinary complex". In the event, a temporary board school
was established at Sheriff Hill and by the time that the third school board completed the original planned building work by taking full control of Sheriff Hill National School in 1870, Sheriff Hill had its first fully fledged educational institution.
. Attendance was compulsory but as parents were required to pay for their children, truancy
was rife- indeed, such was the scale of the problem that prizes and awards were presented to children to encourage attendance. Thankfully, such problems were largely eradicated when, in 1891, the 'penny-a-week' charge on parents was expunged in law and mandatory, free education
for children up to the age of twelve years was established.
After 1889 the board introduced technical instruction and modern language
s with the assistance of the town council. Biblical instruction
was heavily emphasized, with forty minutes a day being devoted solely to the reading and interpretation of the ‘Good Book
’. This part of the early curriculum was undertaken with some relish; one Committee noted that “we have proof that many teachers highly approve and most faithfully discharge this part of their duty”. The eighth school board (1894–97) went on to introduce physical exercises, organised games and an intra-schools football league was created. Voluntary swimming instruction was also introduced. As one former pupil recalled, discipline at the school was strict:
Sheriff Hill School continued providing education to village children well into the 20th century until its closure in 1947.
, Gateshead Council drew up far reaching plans in respect of education provisions which intended to cope with the enormous growth in population and the subsequent over-demand for school places. An "enormous sum of public money", some seven million pounds, was set aside for the building of thirty four new primary and secondary schools in the town.
Glynwood Primary School and Ennerdale Junior School were built and duly opened by Alderman Grant on 28 November 1953 after a dedication by the Rector
of Gateshead and in the presence of the local press. Situated on Glynwood Gardens to the north and Southend Road to the south, the schools have since merged so that only Glynwood School still survives today and it is the sole educational provision directly available to the children of Sheriff Hill. Today there is also a nursery provision.
There are two hundred and fifty eight students on the roll at present and around sixty more enrolled at nursery. The school day lasts from 8.55am until 3.15pm, with a fifteen minute break in the morning and a fifty-five minute lunch break. An additional ten minute break is provided for the youngest children at 2.40pm. It has an above average number of students with learning disabilities/difficulties and provides specific learning for those children who require it. The number of children entitled to, and claiming, free school meal
s is above the national average. Those who pay for their meals pay £1.70 per day (or £8.50 per week). Packed lunch
es are allowed but must not contain sweets or chocolate, which are barred from school. The youngest children also receive one piece of fruit, free of charge, per day. Children are required to wear a uniform and the school operates a strict ‘no football tops’ policy, even in Physical Education classes.
The pupils are taught a variety of subjects under Key Stages One
and Two
of the National Curriculum including Mathematics, English, Science, History and Geography. In national tests, the school is performing well in English, utilising their ‘'Reading Together'’ programme, which encourages parents and/or carers to work together with teachers to improve reading, writing and comprehension skills. However, the school does not perform quite so well in Mathematics and Science, where it is still scoring fractionally below (or just in line with) the national average.
The ethos of the school is "to provide a positive culture of successful learning in a safe, secure environment" and pupils are said to "feel safe in school and are likely to approach the staff if they have problems". There is "an ethos of giving children responsibility which encourages them to trust and take charge of themselves and others which allows them to develop into thoughtful, caring young people". In 2006 the school was subjected to the latest OFSTED
inspection:
to Sheriff Hill.
The park is split unevenly into two sections. The larger of the two sections consists mainly of green space and flower beds, which produce roses, daffodils and other typical British seasonal blooms. A stone stairwell provides access to the larger section of the park from Blue Quarries Road. The smaller section of the park contains a variety of childrens play equipment such as a climbing frame and football goalposts.
Hodkin Park had become something of a no-go area
in recent years, frequented mainly by youths for the purposes of anti-social behaviour. In 2009 Gateshead Council gave the park a further makeover, with pupils from the local South Street Primary School being invited to plant one of several new herb beds being created as part of a package of improvements to make the park lighter and more open by pruning and clearing dense trees and shrubs and replacing them with more appropriate and inviting planting. Prior to the outset of the work, Gateshead Councillor David Napier stated that:
Hodkin Park was locally listed by Gateshead Council in 2004; "this is a positive way of recognising elements of the Borough’s historic built environment which, whilst not of national importance (such as Listed Buildings or Registered Parks and Gardens), are of significance to local communities and contribute to the distinctiveness of the Borough".
, which contains a number of old, tall trees (especially oaks, pines and horse chestnuts providing plentiful supplies of conkers for the local children) and a selection of typical British
fauna
and flora
. The dene is shown as the Quarry Plantation on Ordnance Survey maps of 1858.
Gateshead Council have recently made improvements to encourage a more traditional, lawful use of the area. Dirt pathways, or more precisely, desire lines
, run through the dene providing access by foot for users. These have now been officially marked-out, with obtrusive branches and plants pruned and/or removed, whilst wooden stairways have recently been installed by Gateshead Council to further encourage visitors to safely enjoy the area.
s. This is thought to result from its origins as an area of dwelling for local miners and tinkers
and due to the fact that, prior to the opening of Durham Road through Low Fell
in 1827, Sodhouse Bank was the route to the Great North Road. Pubs along major roads such as this traditionally thrived as meeting and resting places.
Ye Olde Cannon is situated at the bottom of Sheriffs Highway and has existed in a variety of guises since medieval times
. When the Sheriffs of Newcastle travelled to meet the Durham judges prior to holding the assizes
in the City of Newcastle Upon Tyne
, they would stop here for refreshment and "to discuss serious legal matters". The pub has operated under its present name since at least 1782. The historical significance of this venue has been locally recognised: Ye Olde Cannon is one of two public houses in Sheriff Hill to be locally listed by Gateshead Council in 2004 (the other is the Three Tuns).
Slightly further 'up' Sheriffs Highway (travelling south) is The Queens Head. The exact date of opening is unknown but the venue is listed in trade directories in 1848. Unlike The Cannon, surviving photographs demonstrate that this venue has substantially changed in appearance over the last one hundred years; so much so that it is extremely likely that the building which now stands is an entirely different one to that which existed one hundred or so years ago. Circa
1900 the public house was a long, two storey building with steps leading to the primary entrance/exit in the centre of the establishment indicating that the main drinking area was elevated by around foot or so. A side entrance also existed and complimented the rest of the windowed frontage. The proprietor was a William Edward Robinson. It is not known when the rebuilding took place but the Queens Head now sports a mock Tudor look in a mixture of black, red-brick and white painted hues.
The Three Tuns is situated directly at the junction of Sheriffs Highway and Kells Lane/Broadway. It is another public house in the area with a long and well documented history. It is not known when this venue opened but it is listed in trade directories as early as 1778 The Three Tuns was chiefly used by pitmen and quarry
men. Its social activities were cock fighting
(abolished by law in 1849) and cuddy races which took place on the open ground in Kells Lane. In 1867 the Three Tuns was the scene of a big reception to celebrate the passing of Lord Russell's Reform Act
. It was also the home of reform meetings and benefit societies such as the 'Women's Box', run by Jenny Hall, wife of a leading local Primitive Methodist
. Since re-opening after refurbishment in 2002, the Three Tuns has hosted live rock and punk music every Friday, Saturday and Sunday (as well as most Thursdays) which attracts customers from far outside the Sheriff Hill area. It has also held a number of niche events, including an International Sausage Festival in August 2011 which followed an international pie festival on 30 April 2010. Formerly a "failed Scottish and Newcastle house", the venue has been turned around completely and, as a result, has twice been awarded the title of 'Gateshead Pub of the Year' (in 2005 and 2007) by the now defunct Gateshead Herald and Post newspaper. In 2007, Ian McKellen
and Sylvester McCoy
made an impromptu visit to the pub and drank with locals.
The Travellers Rest is situated at the top of Sheriff's Highway (nominally listed as 1-2 Southend Terrace). Little is documented in respect of this pub, though contemporary evidence confirms that it was once known as The Golden Quiot. It has been suggested that the name change took place in 1895 and refers simply to the tendency of travellers through Sheriff Hill to stop and take refreshment once they reached the top of the steepest part of the hill.
The Causeway was situated at the junction between Causeway and Blue Quarries Road. This has existed in a variety of guises since around 1860. By 1890, Mr. Angus McKie was the proprietor of the Causey House Inn; this establishment is marked on Ordnance Survey
maps in the exact same location as the establishment which became latterly called the Causeway Hotel. The venue thrived during the latter part of the nineteenth century as it provided refreshment for quarrymen employed a minute or so walk away However, the venue closed in 2003 and is now used for residential purposes.
Even more spectacular has been the recent demise of The White Swan Inn. Located on Windy Nook Road, this is another public house which can be traced back as far as 1858. By 1890 it was in the hands of Mrs. Ann Robson, who provided refreshment to a combination of the quarrymen and pitmen who worked within short walking distance. However, a downturn in trade at the turn of the twenty-first century resulted in the venue closing in 2003. It has subsequently been completely demolished and replaced by a number of residential flats.
church.
Chapel was situated immediately adjacent Hope Pit near Blue Quarries Road. A surviving photograph of this building exists and has recently been uploaded It is not known when this church was erected or indeed demolished, though by 1919 the Church was no longer shown on Ordnance Survey
maps. There are no surviving remnants of the church and council house
s have since been erected in the Blue Quarries area. The United Methodist Free Churches
were formed in 1857 by the amalgamation of two reform movements arising out of doctrinal
disputes within the Wesleyan Church
. One of these movements, the Wesleyan Reformers, opened its first preaching room in Gateshead
in 1852 and a separate circuit
was created in 1858. Six years later, in 1864, the Church opened the Providence Chapel in Sheriff Hill near Sodhouse Bank. The Providence Chapel was built in the Gothic style
and had seating for three hundred worshippers. It also accommodated its own Sunday school
for the village children, which was situated underneath the Church. The church was demolished in the middle of the 20th Century. The exact location of the church is unknown and the church is not evidenced on any Ordnance Survey maps. The New Connection (Zion) Chapel was built in 1836 and was opened by James Forsyth, the third minister in the Gateshead Wesleyan circuit at that time. It is not known exactly when it ceased to be used for worship but one published testimony recalls attending the Church in 1914. During the 1990s and early 2000s this church was used as a gymnasium but it has since been completely renovated and is now used for residential purposes. In 2004, the Zion chapel was locally listed as a building of special local architectural or historic interest (Category 2). and still stands midway 'up' the western side of Sheriffs Highway at the corner of Egremont Drive.
One eyewitness later recounted;
. An acre of land was set aside and the sum of £1000 was raised by trustees, so that, despite several delays, the foundation stone
was laid by Rev. John Collinson, at a "lofty eminence" on Sour Milk Hill, on May 13, 1824. After an overall expenditure of £2742, the building itself was completed and the church was consecrated
on August 30, 1825.
An "impressive landmark", St John the Evangelist Church contained 1000 sittings, half of which were "declared to be free and unappropriated for ever". The benefice
was in the patronage of the Bishop of Durham and the Rev. William Hawkes was the first incumbent. underwent a period of restoration (including the addition of an organ loft on the north side and stalls) in 1883. In the late 1990s the Church was again the subject of much needed renovation, with the addition of two meeting rooms and two toilets, both at the rear of the church. Somewhat unusually, the church also has its traditional pews removed and replaced with carpet and comfortable chairs.
To the side and rear of the church is a sizeable graveyard
, though this has been closed for a number of years and is now the responsibility of Gateshead Council. The rectory
is not located on the site of the church itself, but rather is situated some fifteen minutes walk away in Shotley Gardens, Low Fell
.
The building itself is a neat, plain, Gothic structure
built from ashlar
and slate. Along with some detailed and well maintained stained glass
windows, the predominant distinguishing feature of the church is its elegant tower and spire
, which stretches some 148 feet (45.1 m) into the Sheriff Hill skyline. Coupled with the natural terrain of the land, the top of the spire reaches over 500 feet (152.4 m) into the air, making it the highest point in the entire metropolitan borough of Gateshead and one of the highest churches in England. The church itself, therefore, is visible for several miles in all directions, particularly to the west where it is clearly visible as far away as Blaydon-on-Tyne, Ryton
and beyond into County Durham
.
and the Methodist Free Churches, out of largely financial necessity, amalgamated into one body. The resultant organisation, the United Methodist Free Churches
, continued its work in Sheriff Hill at the Zion Church on Sodhouse Bank. Ordnance survey maps of 1939 show a 'United Methodist Church' situated on the corner of Kells Lane and Sodhouse Bank, directly opposite the Three Tuns public house.
This is the exact site of the sole surviving Methodist Church in Sheriff Hill today; the Sheriff Hill Methodist Church.
There is little documented history of the building which is unusual in shape. The main body of the church is contained within a brick building of semi-circular design, baldly described as "a bland modern church...which signally fails to pay respect to its position". In the grounds of the church stands a tall wooden cross, inscribed with the words "Jesus Christ, God's Son Saviour".
Sheriff Hill Methodist Church is a focal point for social activity in the settlement. It has hosted bi-annual jumble sales for many years as well as bi-annual auctions. An annual Christmas fayre, replete with traditional stalls and homemade cakes, is also held and which has been said to mark "the start of Christmas in Sheriff Hill". The church also works in collaboration with nearby St John the Evangelist Church to provide Cornerstone: a successful cafe and thrift shop which runs every Monday morning. The result is a Church which is heavily used and in need of renovation and expansion, with fundraising events ongoing.
, there are three Grade II listed buildings in Sheriff Hill. These are St John the Evangelist Church, Field House and Thornlea. Field House is located on Windy Nook Road. Evidenced since 1822, this building "conveys a sense of the rural origins of the area, is visually warm and full of character". It is built with 'rubble stone' with visible quoins and a Welsh slate roof. It was listed on 13 January 1983. Thornlea is a remnant of Sheriff Hill Hall and is "one of the earliest buildings {in the settlement}...important for its social, historic, architectural and ‘hidden’ qualities. The grounds are largely intact enclosed by substantial stone walls, and contain many mature trees, which contribute to its historic character". It is built from ashlar
with a low hipped
, pitched slate
roof and a doorpiece of two Greek Ionic
columns remains intact and the building was listed on 13 January 1988.
Sheriff Hill is also home to eight locally listed buildings. These are the Zion Methodist Chapel, 97, 99, 101 and 103 Sheriff's Highway, 168 and 170 Sheriff's Highway, The Three Tuns public house and 13-14 Egremont Drive.
before it was diverted through Low Fell
on the present route of the A167
. The journey time by car or bus to Gateshead town centre is approximately ten minutes, with a further five minutes journey taking travellers into the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne.
The nearest mainline railway
station to the settlement is Newcastle Central Station
. This is located 2.78 miles (4.5 km) away. The nearest Metro
station is Gateshead
Sheriff Hill lies on a major bus route out of Gateshead
served by several bus services, such as the 'Waggonway 28', the 'Fab 56' which continues into Sunderland as well as the 'Fab 57' which terminates at the Ellen Wilkinson Estate
. It is also part of the 93/94 'loop' network. All of the buses which serve Sheriff Hill are operated by Go North East
under the administration of Nexus
.
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 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...
, England
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...
. It is bordered by the villages of High Fell and Deckham
Deckham
Deckham is a suburb of Gateshead, bordered by Low Fell, Felling & Sheriff Hill.It is situated on the B1296 Old Durham Road which is a former route of the famous Great North Road....
to the North, Beacon Lough to the South, Windy Nook and Carr Hill to the East and Low Fell
Low Fell
Low Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It overlooks the lake of Loweswater to the south and to the north is bordered by its neighbour Fellbarrow. It is usually climbed from the villages of Loweswater or Thackthwaite. The fell is largely occupied by grassed enclosures, although there are...
to the West. The settlement lies on a major bus route 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
, 2.5 miles (4 km) south of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
and 12 miles (19.3 km) north of the historic City of Durham. According to the 2001 UK census, the settlement had a population of 5,051.
For centuries little more than part of a windswept, barren and treacherous heath, the settlement at Sheriff Hill was initially established by a moderate influx of tinker
Tinker
A tinker was originally an itinerant tinsmith, who mended household utensils. The term "tinker" became used in British society to refer to marginalized persons...
s and miners
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
in the 18th century. Considered a village in the historic county of Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
for almost as long as it has been inhabited in measurable numbers, it was formally incorporated into the newly formed Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead by the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
which took effect on 1 April 1974.
One of the more populous of the two dozen or so villages which now comprise the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Sheriff Hill has a long and rich history. The industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
brought heavy industry
Heavy industry
Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production. In general, it is a popular term used within the name of many Japanese and Korean firms, meaning...
to the settlement, so that Sheriff Hill was once the centre of pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
in Gateshead as well as the site of a large coal mine. One of several historic public houses in the settlement, Ye Olde Cannon, was the regular haunt of bishops and judges
Assizes
Assize or Assizes may refer to:Assize or Assizes may refer to:Assize or Assizes may refer to::;in common law countries :::*assizes , an obsolete judicial inquest...
whose public procession
Procession
A procession is an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner.-Procession elements:...
s to and from Sheriff Hill would ultimately provide the name of the settlement today.
Sheriff Hill has been transformed since its formative, industrial days. Now predominantly a residential suburb in the council ward
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
of High Fell, it is home to Gateshead's largest hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital is based in Sheriff Hill in Gateshead, England and was officially opened on 18 March 1948. The fully furnished and equipped hospital, contains 26 wards and an Accident & Emergency....
, as well as a small dene
Dene (valley)
A Dene, derived from the Old English denu and frequently spelled dean, used to be a common name for a valley, in which sense it is frequently found as a component of English place-names, such as Rottingdean and Ovingdean....
and one of Gateshead's many parks (Hodkin Park). The principal landmark in the settlement is St John the Evangelist Church; one of three Grade II listed buildings in the settlement and one of two remaining churches. Once the site of one of Gateshead's largest boarding schools, Sheriff Hill is now served by Glywood Primary School. The settlement is also a place of topographical significance; the southern most end of Sheriff's Highway, the major road in the settlement, reaches a height of over 500 feet (152.4 m) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
, making it the highest point in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead.
Gateshead Fell
Prior to 1800, Sheriff Hill was part of Gateshead Fell; itself a constituent part of the ancient County of DurhamCounty Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
. Once described as a "windswept, barren and treacherous heath
Heath
-Habitats:* Heath or heathland, low-growing woody vegetation, mostly consisting of heathers and related species* Heaths in the British National Vegetation Classification system...
", by the middle of the 18th century, Gateshead Fell had become a place of considerable notoriety. When theologian John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
arrived in 1785, he found a "pathless waste of white". In 1809 an Act was finally obtained ordering the enclosure
Enclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...
of Gateshead Fell. Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
s were appointed to settle claims in land and to apportion Gateshead Fell accordingly. Plans were laid for the requisition and construction of wells, quarries, drains, roads, watering places and other essential requirements. New roads were to be built on what is now Blue Quarries Road, Church Road and Windy Nook Road. A well was also to be provided at Blue Quarries. Progress was slow, with the last allotment land disputes not settled until almost 1830, but by the time of completion, Gateshead Fell was at last enclosed and effectively consigned to history. The divisions of Gateshead Fell have remained more or less settled, so that the villages created by enclosure have survived, almost entirely intact, to the present day.
Sheriff's March
Medieval BritainEngland in the Middle Ages
England in the Middle Ages concerns the history of England during the Medieval period — from the end of Roman rule in Britain through to the Early Modern period...
operated under a strict feudal system
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
. Allegiance and subservience to the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
was required by all men and women at all times and on most occasions was demonstrated by the swearing of oaths
Oath of allegiance
An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to monarch or country. In republics, modern oaths specify allegiance to the country's constitution. For example, officials in the United States, a republic, take an oath of office that...
. Once such occasion occurred twice a year, when the Sheriff of Northumberland
High Sheriff of Northumberland
This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Northumberland.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post...
met with the Crown Judges who came to Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
and sat on the Assizes
Assizes
Assize or Assizes may refer to:Assize or Assizes may refer to:Assize or Assizes may refer to::;in common law countries :::*assizes , an obsolete judicial inquest...
to hear any legal matters which required their attention. To further emphasise the importance and solemnity of these visitations, a procession was to be held prior to the official meeting of the parties.
At an inquisition at Tynemouth
Tynemouth
Tynemouth is a town and a historic borough in Tyne and Wear, England, at the mouth of the River Tyne, between North Shields and Cullercoats . It is administered as part of the borough of North Tyneside, but until 1974 was an independent county borough in its own right...
in 1278, it was duly declared that the King of Scotland, the Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
, the Prior of Tynemouth, the Bishop of Durham and Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus should arrange to meet with the justices prior to their entry into Newcastle, provided that they came through the county of Yorkshire first. On the appointed day, usually a Saturday, the procession of these learned men would take place, starting in Newcastle upon Tyne before crossing the River Tyne
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...
and passing into Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
. After a short refreshment break, the procession then made its way slowly up the old (and remarkably steep) turnpike road (now Old Durham Road/Sheriffs Highway) until all concerned parties came to the designated meeting place. This was initially established at Chile Well but latterly the procession came to "light and go into the house". The house in question was Ye Olde Cannon, located on the turnpike road at the crest of Gateshead Fell. This place was chosen because of the convenience of both the gentry of Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
and for the judges journeying from Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
and it was here that wine and punch
Punch (drink)
Punch is the term for a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice. The drink was introduced from India to England in the early seventeenth century; from there its use spread to other countries...
were again served to the members of the procession at the expense of the Sheriffs who would wait here until the judges made their arrival. Once they had done so, all would return to Newcastle upon Tyne.
This procession took place, bi-annually, until 1826 when the procession was re-routed through Low Fell
Low Fell
Low Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It overlooks the lake of Loweswater to the south and to the north is bordered by its neighbour Fellbarrow. It is usually climbed from the villages of Loweswater or Thackthwaite. The fell is largely occupied by grassed enclosures, although there are...
. It is as a direct result of the "Sheriff's March" that the area around Ye Olde Cannon and the old turnpike road became known as Sheriff Hill.
Sodhouse Bank/Sheriff's Highway
The major road in the settlement is Sheriff's Highway, which forms part of the B1296 or the old Great North Road.Sheriff's Highway is a direct descendant of the old turnpike road which ran along the exact same route. The turnpike road was an essential trade route between the historic city of Durham and the rapidly developing city of Newcastle upon Tyne, itself flourishing as the industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
began to take hold. As the importance of the turnpike road increased, a small number of settlers and at least two public houses sprang forth and established themselves alongside it.
The road was, for many years, known as Sodhouse Bank, because the dwelling-houses on the road were largely made of mud and sod
Sod
Sod or turf is grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of thin material.The term sod may be used to mean turf grown and cut specifically for the establishment of lawns...
. Built on turf by tinker
Tinker
A tinker was originally an itinerant tinsmith, who mended household utensils. The term "tinker" became used in British society to refer to marginalized persons...
s, these were initially inhabited by a combination of the tinkers themselves and a sizeable mining community. These dwellings were known as 'sodhuts' and were extremely squalid so that most were demolished in 1886 after local councillors decreed that they were no longer fit for human habitation.
The route of Sodhouse Bank remains but is now called Sheriff's Highway. Sheriff's Highway today is a "wide and bustling road" which is notable for the "spectacular long views over Gateshead, Newcastle and beyond" as well as the steepness of its slope northward towards Wrekenton
Wrekenton
Wrekenton is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, in Tyne and Wear, England, that was formerly a separate village.Wrekenton is probably best known to passers by as the location of a large branch of the Co-op supermarket...
.
Governance
| Gateshead Council, High Fell- 2010 Local Elections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate Name | Political Party | Number of Votes | % of Votes Cast |
| Doreen Davison | Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after... |
2,123 | 63.9% |
| Ann McCarthy | Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the... |
609 | 18.3% |
| Dennis W Stokoe | Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
340 | 10.2% |
| Ronald Fairlamb | British National Party British National Party The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982... |
252 | 7.6% |
Sheriff Hill is part of the High Fell ward
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
of 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...
. This ward is approximately 2 square kilometre (0.77220431718507 sq mi) in area and has a population of 8,952. The High Fell ward is represented by three councillors. In March 2011, these were Malcolm Graham, Jean Lee and Doreen Davidson. The 2010 council election
United Kingdom local elections, 2010
The 2010 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 6 May 2010, when the 2010 general election also took place. Direct elections were held to all 32 London boroughs, all 36 metropolitan boroughs, 76 second-tier district authorities, 20 unitary authorities and various Mayoral posts, all in...
turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
was 50.5%, an improvement on the lowly 27.7% turnout at the 2008 election
United Kingdom local elections, 2008
The 2008 United Kingdom local elections were held on 1 May 2008. These elections took place in 137 English Local Authorities and all Welsh Councils....
which was achieved in spite the introduction of postal voting
Postal voting
Postal voting describes the method of voting in an election whereby ballot papers are distributed or returned by post to electors, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system....
in an attempt to increase voter turnout. The British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
polled over 10% of the vote in 2008, but their vote fell to 7.6% by 2010.
Sheriff Hill is now part of the Westminster parliamentary constituency of Gateshead
Gateshead (UK Parliament constituency)
Gateshead is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election. A previous Gateshead constituency existed from 1832 to 1950....
. It had previously formed part of the Gateshead East and Washington West
Gateshead East and Washington West
Gateshead East and Washington West was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
constituency which was abolished by boundary changes prior to the 2010 UK General Election. For many years the MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the area was Joyce Quin, who retired on 11 April 2005 and was later awarded a life peerage into the House of Lords on 13 June 2006 and is now Baroness Quin.
The present incumbent is Ian Mearns
Ian Mearns
Ian Mearns is a British Labour Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for Gateshead. He was first elected at the 2010 general election....
MP, who lives in nearby Saltwell, Gateshead, 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...
. Mearns was selected by the party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in March 2010 to contest the newly formed Gateshead seat in place of David Clelland
David Clelland
David Gordon Clelland is a British Labour Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Tyne Bridge from 1985 until 2010.-Early life:...
, formerly the Labour MP for the now defunct constituency of Tyne Bridge
Tyne Bridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Tyne Bridge was a parliamentary constituency in the north east of England, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, from 1983 until 2010...
who stepped down in January 2010. Formerly the deputy leader of Gateshead Council and a long time Councillor for the Saltwell ward, Mearns replaced former incumbent Sharon Hodgson
Sharon Hodgson
Sharon Hodgson is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Washington and Sunderland West since 2010...
MP, who successfully campaigned for election in the newly formed constituency of Washington and Sunderland West. In the 2010 UK General Election, Mearns was elected with a majority of 12,549 votes over the second placed candidate, Frank Hindle. The swing from the Labour party to the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
was 3.9%.
Sheriff Hill is part of one of the safest
Safe seat
A safe seat is a seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both...
Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
parliamentary seats in the United Kingdom. Mearns' success in 2010 followed the return of Sharon Hodgson in the 2005 UK General Election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
after she had polled over 60% of the total votes cast whilst in 2001, Joyce Quin was returned to parliament with a majority of 53.3%
Geography and topography
Sheriff Hill lies 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the centre of GatesheadGateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
town centre on an "historic route from Durham to the north". which lies 254.5 miles (409.6 km) from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The land upon which the settlement is built contains predominantly sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, grindstone and clay. After the enclosure of Gateshead Fell
Gateshead Fell
Gateshead Fell was a district in County Durham, England. It was located on the immediate border of the town of Gateshead, 2.3 miles from the city of Newcastle upon Tyne...
, Sheriff Hill began as a rural settlement before latterly becoming a village. Following the large urban expansion of Gateshead, Sheriff Hill was enveloped so that "now it is surrounded by suburban Gateshead, which has developed in dense form around it with little visual delineation" and in 1974 the village was formerly incorporated 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...
by the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
. Until the implementation of that Act, Sheriff Hill was considered part of County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
. It is now bordered by a number of settlements which also now form part of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. These are Low Fell
Low Fell
Low Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It overlooks the lake of Loweswater to the south and to the north is bordered by its neighbour Fellbarrow. It is usually climbed from the villages of Loweswater or Thackthwaite. The fell is largely occupied by grassed enclosures, although there are...
to the west, Deckham
Deckham
Deckham is a suburb of Gateshead, bordered by Low Fell, Felling & Sheriff Hill.It is situated on the B1296 Old Durham Road which is a former route of the famous Great North Road....
to the north, Beacon Lough to the south and Windy Nook and Carr Hill to the east
The settlement benefits from "striking topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
". The natural lie of the land means that Sheriff Hill is the highest point in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead and this allows for views of considerable beauty. In 1829, it was noted that "the view of Newcastle and the Tyne
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...
from the hill is uncommonly grand" and it so moved local artist Thomas Miles Richardson Sr. that it inspired "his first remarkable picture"; View of Newcastle from Gateshead Fell, in 1816. The spire at St John's Church, once completed, became a visible landmark for miles in all directions which "gives an aspect of comfort and civilisation to the district". At the corner of what is now Church Road, McKenzie noted "from its lofty position, it commands one of the finest and most extensive views in the North of England. It embraces the whole line of the Tyne, the beautiful vale of Ravensworth, the city of Durham, and the German Ocean both to the North and to the East"
In spite of the extensive rebuilding of the settlement and the surrounding areas since the middle of the nineteenth century, residents of Sheriff Hill are still able to enjoy "awe inspiring" views of the surrounding locale so that, according to one official report:
"Sheriff Hill enjoys an elevated position on one of the highest points in the vicinity, commanding dramatic views of the surrounding area as far as the Cheviot Hills in the north, and across the Team Valley to the west. The views into and out of the area are therefore of crucial importance...This can be seen particularly at Church Road, Sourmilk Hill and Egremont Drive, where it is possible to view a panorama to the north or west... At the crossroads between Sheriff’s Highway and Church/Windy Nook Roads, the land to the north falls away, creating one of the key panoramic views covering Gateshead, Newcastle and beyond..."
Demography
| Sheriff Hill compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |Sheriff Hill | 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... |
England 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... |
|
| Total population | 5,051 | 191,151 | 49,138,831 |
| White | 97.5% | 98.4% | 90.9% |
| BME | 2.5% | 1.6% | 4.6% |
| Aged 0–19 | 29.2% | 24.2% | 26.32% |
| Aged 65+ | 16.8% | 17.3% | 15.9% |
| Male | 47% | 48.3% | 48.7% |
| Female | 53% | 51.7% | 51.3% |
According to the United Kingdom Census 2001
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, Sheriff Hill has a population of 5,051- 53% of the population are female, slightly above the national average, whilst 47% are male. Only 2.5% of the population are from a Black or other Minority Ethnic Group (BME), as opposed to 9.1% of the national population. Of the BME group in the settlement, 41% are from the Asian or Asian-British ethnic group. Sheriff Hill has a high proportion of lone parent households at some 18.9% of all households in the settlement. This is the fifth highest figure in Gateshead and compares with a Gateshead average of 11.5% and a national average of 9.5%. Some 32.1% of households have dependent children, as opposed to 29.5% nationally and 28.4% in Gateshead. The Index of Multiple Deprivation
Index of Multiple Deprivation
The Indices of deprivation 2004 is a Deprivation index at the small area level, created by the British Department for Communities and Local Government....
, which divides England into 32,482 areas and measures quality of life
Quality of life
The term quality of life is used to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and politics. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of standard of...
indicators to indicate deprivation
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, splits Sheriff Hill into two areas; one of which is listed in the top five percent of all deprived areas in England in 2007.
Sheriff Hill compares unfavourably with the wider Gateshead area in respect of adults with educational qualifications. Some 50.7% of adults in the settlement have no educational qualifications, compared to 38.4% across the whole of Gateshead and the England average of 28.9%. Only 25.2% of adults have five or more GCSE
General Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is equivalent to a Level 2 and Level 1 in Key Skills...
s or equivalent at A*-C (compared to 46.6% nationally) whilst 11.5% of adults in the settlement have two or more A-Levels (or equivalent).
Heavy industry (1750-1925)
Sheriff Hill was once a place of heavy industry, playing a pivotal role in both pottingPottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
and coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
on Tyneside
Tyneside
Tyneside is a conurbation in North East England, defined by the Office of National Statistics, which is home to over 80% of the population of Tyne and Wear. It includes the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside — all settlements on...
. Indeed, the geological abundance of grindstone and coal, and the ability to mine both, were the predominant reason for the birth of the settlement.
The history of potting in Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
is still the subject of considerable research and speculation, but there can be little doubt that Sheriff Hill was "an epicentre" of the pottery industry in the town. Sheriff Hill, and its neighbour Carr Hill, have been described as "the main centres" of potting during the 17th and 18th centuries. This was due in no small part to the decisions of John Warburton to relocate his manufacturing operations to Newcastle and to base his main factory in Carr Hill in 1740. Warburton is credited with introducing white earthenware
Earthenware
Earthenware is a common ceramic material, which is used extensively for pottery tableware and decorative objects.-Types of earthenware:Although body formulations vary between countries and even between individual makers, a generic composition is 25% ball clay, 28% kaolin, 32% quartz, and 15%...
into the area and it is thought that the Old Brown Jug public house in Carr Hill is so named in reference to the rich potting history of that area. Apparently buoyed by the success of Warburton, Paul Jackson established the Sheriff Hill Pottery in 1771 at the corner of Pottery Lane (now Pottersway) and Sodhouse Bank. In 1775, an advertisement in the local newspaper, The Journal
The Journal (newspaper)
The Journal is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne. Published by ncjMedia, , The Journal is produced every weekday and Saturday morning and is complemented by its sister publications the Evening Chronicle and the Sunday Sun.The newspaper mainly has a middle-class and professional...
, declared:
“P. Jackson, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle, having brought his different kind of Earthen Ware to great perfection, hopes for Encouragement from his Friends. He sells wholesale and retail at his manufactory on Gateshead CommonsGateshead FellGateshead Fell was a district in County Durham, England. It was located on the immediate border of the town of Gateshead, 2.3 miles from the city of Newcastle upon Tyne...
, adjoining the turnpike road and near the Two-mile stone, and at his shop on the Quay, cream coloured enameled, fine black, gilded, spotted and brown Earthen Ware; also large Ware, as Milk, Cream, Butter and Beef Pots and Washing Mugs. HawkersHawker (trade)A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with peddler or costermonger. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells items or food that are native to the area...
from NorthumberlandNorthumberlandNorthumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
and CumberlandCumberlandCumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
may be supplied at his shop”
Members of the Jackson family were partners in the business until 1837 when Thomas Patterson took over. By 1839 there were 50 employees, many of whom lived in a row of cottages adjoining the Old Cannon Inn. The pottery still operated at the turn of the twentieth century and was a considerable source of local pride, as one resident recalled:
“When we were not playing games by ourselves, we watched men digging clay from a cavity in a hillock and the potters at their wheels…I remember the satisfactory feeling which swept through the lower end of the village near the pottery when the kilnKilnA kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...
was drawn, and the wareEarthenwareEarthenware is a common ceramic material, which is used extensively for pottery tableware and decorative objects.-Types of earthenware:Although body formulations vary between countries and even between individual makers, a generic composition is 25% ball clay, 28% kaolin, 32% quartz, and 15%...
in it was pronounced good..."
This pottery closed in 1909 and the buildings were demolished in the 1920s to make way for council houses. Potter's Field, now the site of Hodkin Park, survived as a reminder of Sheriff Hill's potting heritage until the 1940s, whilst Pottery Lane is still today called 'Pottersway'.
Tyneside has a rich coal mining heritage
Selling coal to Newcastle
Selling, carrying or taking coal to Newcastle is an idiom of British origin describing a foolhardy or pointless action. It refers to the fact that historically, the economy of Newcastle upon Tyne in north-eastern England was heavily dependent on the distribution and sale of coal—by the time the...
and Sheriff Hill is no different in this regard. Sheriff Hill Colliery
Sheriff Hill Colliery
Sheriff Hill Colliery was a coal mine at Gateshead Fell, County Durham, England. The Colliery operated two main shafts and provided employment to the residents of Sheriff Hill, a village formed by the enclosure of Gateshead Fell, after it's opening in 1793...
(alternatively referred to as 'Ellison Main Colliery') was situated at the summit of Gateshead Fell
Gateshead Fell
Gateshead Fell was a district in County Durham, England. It was located on the immediate border of the town of Gateshead, 2.3 miles from the city of Newcastle upon Tyne...
(now the boundary between Sheriff Hill and Low Fell
Low Fell
Low Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It overlooks the lake of Loweswater to the south and to the north is bordered by its neighbour Fellbarrow. It is usually climbed from the villages of Loweswater or Thackthwaite. The fell is largely occupied by grassed enclosures, although there are...
) and which opened in 1793. Sheriff Hill Colliery operated two main shafts- Fanny Pit and Isabella Pit, the former of which was the deeper of the two. Mining during the 18th and19th centuries was notoriously difficult and often resulted in disasters causing numerous fatalities. Sheriff Hill Colliery suffered a number of such incidents. On 19 July 1819 an explosion caused the deaths of thirty-five men. The Colliery closed in 1926 and never re-opened.
Gateshead has been a centre of the milling
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
industry for centuries. Indeed, the Boldon Book
Boldon Book
The Boldon Book contains the results of a survey of the bishopric of Durham that was completed on the orders of Hugh du Puiset, Bishop of Durham, in 1183, designed to assist the administration of the vast diocesan estates...
documents the presence of windmills in the area as early as 1189. Whilst many of the mills fell into disuse during the 19th century, the Old Mill, also known as Heworth Windmill or Snowden's Mill, was built in 1823 in Sheriff Hill and continued to operate for several decades before finally closing just prior to the turn of the 20th century. Using wind power to mill corn, the Old Mill provided employment to dozens of local workers as well as providing stables, a granary
Granary
A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain or animal feed. In ancient or primitive granaries, pottery is the most common use of storage in these buildings. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals.-Early origins:From ancient times grain...
and a shop for the usage of members of the community. Situated on what now is Queen Elizabeth Avenue, the mill stood dormant for over seventy years and survived long after all of the other industrial mills in Gateshead had been demolished. It stood as a monument to Sheriff Hill's milling heritage until 1964, when it was finally demolished.
Located immediately opposite the Old Mill, Blue Quarries was one of many similar quarries scattered throughout Gateshead and provided some employment for the smattering of experienced stonemasons
Stonemasonry
The craft of stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of civilization - creating buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone from the earth. These materials have been used to construct many of the long-lasting, ancient monuments, artifacts, cathedrals, and cities in a wide variety of cultures...
, quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
men and their apprentices in Sheriff Hill. During the 19th century, quarries in Gateshead concerned themselves primarily with grindstones which could be used in the building of new dwelling-houses and Blue Quarries would have been no different in this regard. Quarrymen were notoriously difficult employees. They were infrequent in the payment of rent owed and were prolific spoilers of land through waste and rubbish. They were also extremely difficult to contain as a workforce, with one employer baldy stating that "if you do not make a publicke example of some of those fellowes they'll ride on your shoulders as long as you live". Few were ever employed in Gateshead; during 1839, a boom period of quarrying, only seventy five were employed in total in the whole of Gateshead. By the turn of the 20th century, the quarries were becoming gradually less active and, one by one, they were discontinued. Those that did survive occupied themselves with the cutting and shaping of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, which had replaced grindstone as the brick of choice in the home building industry. The quarrymen remained a source of intrigue for local children. One noted that "We watched the stonemasons at the quarry squaring off and smoothing sandstone blocks. The men wore fustian trousers tied with string below the knee". It is not known when Blue Quarries ceased operations, but there is little evidence of it in Sheriff Hill today, as the area is now part of a housing estate. One major reference however remains for posterity— the road from Sheriffs Highway leading to The Causeway was named Blue Quarries Road and remains so called today.
Residential suburb (1926-present day)
Although the general layout of the settlement has changed very little since the middle of the 19th century, the character of the settlement has "changed radically" so that, save a handful of small indications (mostly street names such as Pottersway and Blue Quarries Road), all remnants of the settlement's industrial past have been expunged. Today, Sheriff Hill is essentially a residential suburb. There is no major employer in the settlement and the settlement has higher than average (compared to both Gateshead and England as a whole) levels of unemployment: in the area of Broadway, Pottersway and The Avenue, only 23.8% of adults here have full time employment and another 10.09% have part-time jobs. Around 3.1% of the population of the settlement are self employed. Those who do hold positions of employment tend to travel to either Gateshead or Newcastle, save the small number of residents who hold employment at one of the settlement's public houses, betting shops or take-aways. There are small, local shops which also provide a limited number of employment opportunities, but few of these are open for any length of time as they "struggle to compete with the lower prices and convenience of the supermarkets located in central Gateshead, the MetroCentre and Team ValleyTeam 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...
".
Housing
Prior to enclosureEnclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...
, the few cottages and properties which were available in Sheriff Hill were so poor that in 1713 a total of only ninety-one cottages returned the paltry sum of £8 9s 6d in rent. This rental rate actually declined in the preceding years, with poverty rates so high that several tenants simply paid no rent at all. The houses themselves were "scruffy and unappealing". Most were essentially mud huts; earth mounds carved into dwellings and roofed with either turf or, in the majority of cases, sod
Sod
Sod or turf is grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of thin material.The term sod may be used to mean turf grown and cut specifically for the establishment of lawns...
. It is for this reason that the expanse of the turnpike road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
which ran directly through Sheriff Hill became known as Sodhouse Bank. The vast majority of these cottages were torn down after enclosure but the standard of housing remained "one of abject squalor".
Social housing
In 1911 an offer to build Sutton DwellingsWilliam Richard Sutton
William Richard Sutton was the founder of the UK's first door-to-door long distance parcel service and founder of the William Sutton housing trust.Born at London's Cheapside, he founded the business of Sutton and Co., general carriers in 1861...
was made to Gateshead Council and was staunchly rebuffed and in 1917 Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
made a further proposal which was again rejected. However, a Gateshead Council survey concluded in 1919 that "overcrowding was at dangerous levels, that landlords were scrimping on repairs and improvements" and that housing levels "were effectively unsustainable in light of the rapid population growth
Population growth
Population growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....
". When in February 1919 the Town Improvement Committee recommended the purchase of 214 acre (0.86602804 km²; 0.334375295645662 sq mi) of land between Dryden Road at Low Fell
Low Fell
Low Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It overlooks the lake of Loweswater to the south and to the north is bordered by its neighbour Fellbarrow. It is usually climbed from the villages of Loweswater or Thackthwaite. The fell is largely occupied by grassed enclosures, although there are...
and Carr Hill under the Housing Act 1919, the Council finally yielded and purchased 65 acre (0.2630459 km²; 0.101562589798916 sq mi) of land in Carr Hill and Sheriff Hill at the cost of £19,000.
The result was the first council estate in Gateshead. Alderman Hodkin laid the foundation stone on 27 October 1920 at the site directly opposite Kells Lane on the other side of Sodhouse Bank, which was to become Broadway. He informed local newspapers that: “…we can build houses, but we cannot build homes. Only the people themselves can do that and I hope that the spirit of ‘esprit de corps’ will prevail and this will be a model estate”
The area of each house and garden averaged about 300 yd2. Trees would be placed on paths, with grass margins, every 10 yard apart. The total cost of the scheme was £730,000 and the average price per house was £1,123 with ten houses built per 1 acre (0.404686 ha). Demand was enormous- there were four hundred and twenty seven applicants for the first twenty eight houses built. Two hundred and thirty two houses were built in the Pottersway and The Avenue areas and a further four hundred and nine followed in 1924 at Sodhouse Bank, Broadway, Fosse Terrace, Ermine Crescent and Crossway, despite the Government
Government of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers...
withdrawing the funding they had promised at the outset of the scheme. By 1936, most of the housing evidenced in Sheriff Hill today was in place.
After the initial period of prevacation followed a time of great ambition and pride. M. G. Moses was clearly impressed when he noted after his visit in 1930 that:
“Council Estates, where neat, modern houses, fitted with new appliances and devices, look like a small village, each house with its garden plot in front and, in nearly every case, vegetable garden behind. Such estates as these depicted are Carr Hill and Sheriff Hill, of which Gateshead Council have every reason to be proud...
These houses have remained in situ
In situ
In situ is a Latin phrase which translated literally as 'In position'. It is used in many different contexts.-Aerospace:In the aerospace industry, equipment on board aircraft must be tested in situ, or in place, to confirm everything functions properly as a system. Individually, each piece may...
and provide residential accommodation to over half of the population of the settlement today.
Private housing
Although social housing is the predominant type of housing in the settlement, privately-ownedOwner-occupier
An owner-occupier is a person who lives in and owns the same home. It is a type of housing tenure. The home of the owner-occupier may be, for example, a house, apartment, condominium, or a housing cooperative...
dwellings are also reasonably prevalent. The Egremont Estate is a "quiet, peaceful and very distinctive estate" located to the immediate rear of Sheriffs Highway with entry at Egremont Drive. The houses here are privately owned and have unusual, flat roofs with steps leading to them as an architectural feature. The character of this area is "a progressive suburban development, constructed on a plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
nestling in the landscape...this has the feel of an enclosed community, with development encircling a central space". The entire estate is now part of the Sheriff Hill Conservation Area. Also part of the conservation area is Sourmilk Hill, located at the rear of the Egremont Estate and leading towards St John the Evangelist Church. This is "an informal grouping of vernicular stone buildings, with the character of a small rural farmstead, on the perimeter of a vestige of woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
". The houses here are built with locally quarried stone and brick and add considerable charm to the settlement. Windy Nook Road is another area of Sheriff Hill in which privately-owned dwellinghouses are prevalent. Located at the crest of Sheriff's Highway directly adjacent to the Traveller's Rest, the character of this area is of a "loose, straggling ribbon development along a minor east-west hilltop route". Building here is especially irregular and has created stepped frontages in the "important and early vernacular stone grouping of Field House (a Grade II listed building), Sandmill House and Home Cottage". There is a great variety among the buildings here, several of which are built from locally quarried brick, slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
and sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
Health
Sheriff Hill Lunatic Asylum, also referred to in documents as Gateshead Fell Lunatic Asylum, was situated on Sour Milk Hill Lane, Sheriff Hill, during the 19th century. It is likely that the asylum was opened by a Mrs Orton and that at some stage soon after ownership was transferred to Jacob Gowling and his wife, who soon moved onto nearby WrekentonWrekenton
Wrekenton is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, in Tyne and Wear, England, that was formerly a separate village.Wrekenton is probably best known to passers by as the location of a large branch of the Co-op supermarket...
to open a new asylum in a similar vein. In 1844, records show that the asylum had 86 patients. Escapes do not seem to have especially commonplace, but incidents have been recorded. The asylum closed in 1860.
Sheriff Hill's association with isolation
Solitude
Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, i.e., lack of contact with people. It may stem from bad relationships, deliberate choice, infectious disease, mental disorders, neurological disorders or circumstances of employment or situation .Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one...
and mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
did not end with the demise of the asylum; a thirty-eight bed isolation hospital was built on what is now Queen Elizabeth Avenue. In 1878, the first part of the hospital was erected whilst other sections were added in subsequent years. The site comprised around 4 acres (1.6 ha) in total and was enclosed by a large stone wall tipped with barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
(or broken glass in places) By 1903 the buildings comprised a main block with an administrative building in the centre and a ward block on each side. There was also a new three-ward block, a porter's lodge, a steam disinfecting building, a laundry and a mortuary. The ward blocks contained seven wards in addition to four other single bed wards. These allowed a potential maximum of seventy eight patients. There were ten nurses, nine other female staff, two porters and two ambulance staff in addition to the matron. There was also a medical officer, who in 1904 was a Dr Clayton assisted by a Dr Kapp. The isolation hospital continued to thrive during the First World War, but otherwise the medical provisions in Sheriff Hill remained woefully substandard. Sheriff Hill had no doctor save those in the isolation hospital and as the population grew, so too did the urgent need for better medical provisions.
First mooted in 1931 when a local governmental survey concluded that hospital provisions in the whole of Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
were entirely inadequate, work began on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. It was decided that this new hospital be built on the exact site of the old isolation hospital in Sheriff Hill and the conversion and extension work required duly commenced in March 1938. After good early progress saw the foundations for the new general hospital laid in 1939, the war years
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
delayed building work so that the hospital was finally (and belatedly) opened on 18 March 1948 by Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
(the wife of George VI)
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
. It is now by far the largest hospital in 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...
and has been expanded on numerous occasions since, most notably with the opening of the North East NHS Surgery Centre in 2008. This new facility cost £13.3 million to build and treated over 6000 patients for both urgent and non-urgent operations in its first year. In 2009, the Care Quality Commission
Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission is a non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom government established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care services in England. This includes services provided by the NHS, local authorities, private companies and voluntary organisations -...
rated the hospital as 'excellent', the highest possible rating, in both the quality of its care and the use of its resources. The hospital is also currently the 'Dr Foster Medium Sized Acute Trust of the Year' and has been rated second best in the country for maternity services by the Healthcare Commission
Healthcare Commission
The Healthcare Commission was a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department of Health of the United Kingdom. It was set up to promote and drive improvement in the quality of health care and public health in England and Wales...
.
Whilst once considered an affluent suburb of the town of Gateshead, the area is now markedly less so, with almost half of the total working age population not economically active and less than half of the households in the area owning a car. Over one quarter of the adult population of the area are considered clinically obese
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
, Around 44% of the adult population smoke
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
(as opposed to a national average of 33%) and 23.8% of the adults in the area are statistically binge drinkers
Binge drinking
Binge drinking or heavy episodic drinking is the modern epithet for drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. It is a kind of purposeful drinking style that is popular in several countries worldwide,...
. The average life expectancy for men in Sheriff Hill is 70.7 years. Women have a higher life expectancy of 77.5 years. Both figures are below the UK national average.
Education
In March 1871 the Census Committee reported to Gateshead Council that there was a chronic deficiency in school provisions throughout Gateshead. It was found that, of the 8041 children of school age residing in the town, only 4111 undertook a programme of formal educationEducation
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
. It was proposed
Elementary Education Act 1870
The Elementary Education Act 1870, commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between ages 5 and 12 in England and Wales...
that five new schools be built; Park Lane, Prince Concert Road
Gateshead Grammar School
Gateshead Grammar School was a school in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, abolished by the Wilson government of the 1960s.-History:The private school Gateshead High School For Boys opened in 1883 at the junction of Durham Road and Prince Consort Road...
, Askew Road, near Gateshead Cemetery and at Sheriff Hill Building work was "piecemeal and laborious", even after the second school board (1873–76) elected to follow the proposals mooted by its predecessor. Alexandra Road School was not opened until 1875 due to the contractor in charge being declared bankrupt and work on the school at the Teams
Dunston, Tyne and Wear
Dunston was originally an independent village on the south bank of the River Tyne. It has now been absorbed into the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in the English county of Tyne and Wear...
proved "extraordinary complex". In the event, a temporary board school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
was established at Sheriff Hill and by the time that the third school board completed the original planned building work by taking full control of Sheriff Hill National School in 1870, Sheriff Hill had its first fully fledged educational institution.
Sheriff Hill Board School
Sheriff Hill Board School was situated on Church Road immediately adjacent St John’s Church at the crest of Sour Milk Hill and catered for all children aged between five and fourteen years of age. Like the great majority of its contempories, the school was extremely elementary, teaching reading, writing and arithmetic, grammar, geography and needleworkNeedlework
Needlework is a broad term for the handicrafts of decorative sewing and textile arts. Anything that uses a needle for construction can be called needlework...
. Attendance was compulsory but as parents were required to pay for their children, truancy
Truancy
Truancy is any intentional unauthorized absence from compulsory schooling. The term typically describes absences caused by students of their own free will, and usually does not refer to legitimate "excused" absences, such as ones related to medical conditions...
was rife- indeed, such was the scale of the problem that prizes and awards were presented to children to encourage attendance. Thankfully, such problems were largely eradicated when, in 1891, the 'penny-a-week' charge on parents was expunged in law and mandatory, free education
History of education in England
The history of education in England can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon settlement of England, or even back to the Roman occupation. During the Middle Ages schools were established to teach Latin grammar, while apprenticeship was the main way to enter practical occupations. Two universities were...
for children up to the age of twelve years was established.
After 1889 the board introduced technical instruction and modern language
Modern language
A modern language is any human language that is currently in use. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication and dead classical languages such as Latin, Attic Greek, Sanskrit, and Classical Chinese, which are studied for...
s with the assistance of the town council. Biblical instruction
Religious education
In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion and its varied aspects —its beliefs, doctrines, rituals, customs, rites, and personal roles...
was heavily emphasized, with forty minutes a day being devoted solely to the reading and interpretation of the ‘Good Book
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
’. This part of the early curriculum was undertaken with some relish; one Committee noted that “we have proof that many teachers highly approve and most faithfully discharge this part of their duty”. The eighth school board (1894–97) went on to introduce physical exercises, organised games and an intra-schools football league was created. Voluntary swimming instruction was also introduced. As one former pupil recalled, discipline at the school was strict:
“The classes were a mixture of boys and girls and discipline was strict. All the teachers could, and did, cane or use a strap on us when we deserved it. We knew afterwards where we stood with them and we were not resentful afterwards...”
Sheriff Hill School continued providing education to village children well into the 20th century until its closure in 1947.
Glynwood Primary School
In the immediate aftermath of the Second World WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Gateshead Council drew up far reaching plans in respect of education provisions which intended to cope with the enormous growth in population and the subsequent over-demand for school places. An "enormous sum of public money", some seven million pounds, was set aside for the building of thirty four new primary and secondary schools in the town.
Glynwood Primary School and Ennerdale Junior School were built and duly opened by Alderman Grant on 28 November 1953 after a dedication by the Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of Gateshead and in the presence of the local press. Situated on Glynwood Gardens to the north and Southend Road to the south, the schools have since merged so that only Glynwood School still survives today and it is the sole educational provision directly available to the children of Sheriff Hill. Today there is also a nursery provision.
There are two hundred and fifty eight students on the roll at present and around sixty more enrolled at nursery. The school day lasts from 8.55am until 3.15pm, with a fifteen minute break in the morning and a fifty-five minute lunch break. An additional ten minute break is provided for the youngest children at 2.40pm. It has an above average number of students with learning disabilities/difficulties and provides specific learning for those children who require it. The number of children entitled to, and claiming, free school meal
Free school meal
A Free School Meal, provided to a child or young person during a school break, is paid for by Government. For a child to qualify for a Free School Meal, their parent or carer must be receiving particular qualifying benefits as stated by Government...
s is above the national average. Those who pay for their meals pay £1.70 per day (or £8.50 per week). Packed lunch
Packed lunch
thumb|A typical American bagged lunchthumb|[[Bento]] packed lunchA packed lunch is a lunch prepared at home and carried to be eaten somewhere else, such as school, a workplace, or at an outing...
es are allowed but must not contain sweets or chocolate, which are barred from school. The youngest children also receive one piece of fruit, free of charge, per day. Children are required to wear a uniform and the school operates a strict ‘no football tops’ policy, even in Physical Education classes.
The pupils are taught a variety of subjects under Key Stages One
Key Stage 1
Key Stage 1 is the legal term for the two years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 1 and Year 2, when pupils are aged between 5 and 7. This Key Stage normally covers pupils during infant school, although in some cases this might form part of a first or...
and Two
Key Stage 2
Key Stage 2 is the legal term for the four years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, when pupils are aged between 7 and 11. The term is applied differently in Northern Ireland where it refers to pupils in Year 5, Year 6 and...
of the National Curriculum including Mathematics, English, Science, History and Geography. In national tests, the school is performing well in English, utilising their ‘'Reading Together'’ programme, which encourages parents and/or carers to work together with teachers to improve reading, writing and comprehension skills. However, the school does not perform quite so well in Mathematics and Science, where it is still scoring fractionally below (or just in line with) the national average.
The ethos of the school is "to provide a positive culture of successful learning in a safe, secure environment" and pupils are said to "feel safe in school and are likely to approach the staff if they have problems". There is "an ethos of giving children responsibility which encourages them to trust and take charge of themselves and others which allows them to develop into thoughtful, caring young people". In 2006 the school was subjected to the latest OFSTED
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
inspection:
“This is a good school. The head teacher provides outstanding leadership and has succeeded in creating high morale and an excellent team spirit. Academic standards and progress, the curriculum, levels of attendance and the quality of the teaching have all improved since the previous inspection. The school provides good value for money and its capacity to continue to improve is good. Pupils achieve well, often from a low starting point, because the teaching is almost always good and sometimes outstanding. They enjoy school, work hard, and appreciate what adults do for them. Consequently, pupils behave well and make good progress in lessons. Teachers make lessons interesting, with chances for everyone to succeed. They ensure that pupils feel safe and valued and provide calm environment which enables them to work well. Pupils learn how to get along with others in and how to keep safe and healthy. There is a strong tradition in the school of participation and success in sport...”
Hodkin Park
Described as "a green oasis" Hodkin Park is one of many small parks in Gateshead. The park adjoins Sheriffs Highway, Causeway, Blue Quarries Road and Southway and is located on the exact site that was previously incumbered by Potter's Field. The name of the park honours Alderman Daniel Hodkin; Gateshead's deputy Mayor in 1920 and a member of the Housing Committee which brough social housingCouncil house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
to Sheriff Hill.
The park is split unevenly into two sections. The larger of the two sections consists mainly of green space and flower beds, which produce roses, daffodils and other typical British seasonal blooms. A stone stairwell provides access to the larger section of the park from Blue Quarries Road. The smaller section of the park contains a variety of childrens play equipment such as a climbing frame and football goalposts.
Hodkin Park had become something of a no-go area
No-go area
A no-go area or no-go zone is a region where the ruling authorities have lost control and are unable to enforce the rule of law.-Rhodesia:The term 'no-go area' has a military origin and was first used in the context of the Bush War in Rhodesia...
in recent years, frequented mainly by youths for the purposes of anti-social behaviour. In 2009 Gateshead Council gave the park a further makeover, with pupils from the local South Street Primary School being invited to plant one of several new herb beds being created as part of a package of improvements to make the park lighter and more open by pruning and clearing dense trees and shrubs and replacing them with more appropriate and inviting planting. Prior to the outset of the work, Gateshead Councillor David Napier stated that:
"The work we are carrying out in Hodkin Park will not only make the park a better place to visit for everyone but sends out a clear signal that we will not tolerate anti-social behaviour in our parks and public spaces...Parks like Hodkin Park are a real asset for our communities and are an important part of helping our residents, whatever their age, to lead active and healthy lives".
Hodkin Park was locally listed by Gateshead Council in 2004; "this is a positive way of recognising elements of the Borough’s historic built environment which, whilst not of national importance (such as Listed Buildings or Registered Parks and Gardens), are of significance to local communities and contribute to the distinctiveness of the Borough".
Quarry plantation
At the north end of Sheriffs Highway there runs on the right hand side of the road a deneDene (valley)
A Dene, derived from the Old English denu and frequently spelled dean, used to be a common name for a valley, in which sense it is frequently found as a component of English place-names, such as Rottingdean and Ovingdean....
, which contains a number of old, tall trees (especially oaks, pines and horse chestnuts providing plentiful supplies of conkers for the local children) and a selection of typical British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
and flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
. The dene is shown as the Quarry Plantation on Ordnance Survey maps of 1858.
Gateshead Council have recently made improvements to encourage a more traditional, lawful use of the area. Dirt pathways, or more precisely, desire lines
Desire lines
A desire path is a path developed by erosion caused by footfall. The path usually represents the shortest or most easily navigated route between an origin and destination...
, run through the dene providing access by foot for users. These have now been officially marked-out, with obtrusive branches and plants pruned and/or removed, whilst wooden stairways have recently been installed by Gateshead Council to further encourage visitors to safely enjoy the area.
Public houses
Despite being a comparatively small suburb of Gateshead, Sheriff Hill has always contained a large number of public housePublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s. This is thought to result from its origins as an area of dwelling for local miners and tinkers
Irish Traveller
Irish Travellers are a traditionally nomadic people of ethnic Irish origin, who maintain a separate language and set of traditions. They live predominantly in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.-Etymology:...
and due to the fact that, prior to the opening of Durham Road through Low Fell
Low Fell
Low Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It overlooks the lake of Loweswater to the south and to the north is bordered by its neighbour Fellbarrow. It is usually climbed from the villages of Loweswater or Thackthwaite. The fell is largely occupied by grassed enclosures, although there are...
in 1827, Sodhouse Bank was the route to the Great North Road. Pubs along major roads such as this traditionally thrived as meeting and resting places.
Ye Olde Cannon is situated at the bottom of Sheriffs Highway and has existed in a variety of guises since medieval times
England in the Middle Ages
England in the Middle Ages concerns the history of England during the Medieval period — from the end of Roman rule in Britain through to the Early Modern period...
. When the Sheriffs of Newcastle travelled to meet the Durham judges prior to holding the assizes
Assizes
Assize or Assizes may refer to:Assize or Assizes may refer to:Assize or Assizes may refer to::;in common law countries :::*assizes , an obsolete judicial inquest...
in the City of Newcastle Upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, they would stop here for refreshment and "to discuss serious legal matters". The pub has operated under its present name since at least 1782. The historical significance of this venue has been locally recognised: Ye Olde Cannon is one of two public houses in Sheriff Hill to be locally listed by Gateshead Council in 2004 (the other is the Three Tuns).
Slightly further 'up' Sheriffs Highway (travelling south) is The Queens Head. The exact date of opening is unknown but the venue is listed in trade directories in 1848. Unlike The Cannon, surviving photographs demonstrate that this venue has substantially changed in appearance over the last one hundred years; so much so that it is extremely likely that the building which now stands is an entirely different one to that which existed one hundred or so years ago. Circa
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1900 the public house was a long, two storey building with steps leading to the primary entrance/exit in the centre of the establishment indicating that the main drinking area was elevated by around foot or so. A side entrance also existed and complimented the rest of the windowed frontage. The proprietor was a William Edward Robinson. It is not known when the rebuilding took place but the Queens Head now sports a mock Tudor look in a mixture of black, red-brick and white painted hues.
The Three Tuns is situated directly at the junction of Sheriffs Highway and Kells Lane/Broadway. It is another public house in the area with a long and well documented history. It is not known when this venue opened but it is listed in trade directories as early as 1778 The Three Tuns was chiefly used by pitmen and quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
men. Its social activities were cock fighting
Cockfight
A cockfight is a blood sport between two roosters , held in a ring called a cockpit. Cockfighting is now illegal throughout all states in the United States, Brazil, Australia and in most of Europe. It is still legal in several U.S. territories....
(abolished by law in 1849) and cuddy races which took place on the open ground in Kells Lane. In 1867 the Three Tuns was the scene of a big reception to celebrate the passing of Lord Russell's Reform Act
Reform Act 1867
The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised the urban male working class in England and Wales....
. It was also the home of reform meetings and benefit societies such as the 'Women's Box', run by Jenny Hall, wife of a leading local Primitive Methodist
Primitive Methodism
Primitive Methodism was a major movement in English Methodism from about 1810 until the Methodist Union in 1932. The Primitive Methodist Church still exists in the United States.-Origins:...
. Since re-opening after refurbishment in 2002, the Three Tuns has hosted live rock and punk music every Friday, Saturday and Sunday (as well as most Thursdays) which attracts customers from far outside the Sheriff Hill area. It has also held a number of niche events, including an International Sausage Festival in August 2011 which followed an international pie festival on 30 April 2010. Formerly a "failed Scottish and Newcastle house", the venue has been turned around completely and, as a result, has twice been awarded the title of 'Gateshead Pub of the Year' (in 2005 and 2007) by the now defunct Gateshead Herald and Post newspaper. In 2007, Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
and Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy is a Scottish actor. As a comic act and busker he appeared regularly on stage and on BBC Children's television in the 1970s and 80s, but is best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1987 to...
made an impromptu visit to the pub and drank with locals.
The Travellers Rest is situated at the top of Sheriff's Highway (nominally listed as 1-2 Southend Terrace). Little is documented in respect of this pub, though contemporary evidence confirms that it was once known as The Golden Quiot. It has been suggested that the name change took place in 1895 and refers simply to the tendency of travellers through Sheriff Hill to stop and take refreshment once they reached the top of the steepest part of the hill.
The Causeway was situated at the junction between Causeway and Blue Quarries Road. This has existed in a variety of guises since around 1860. By 1890, Mr. Angus McKie was the proprietor of the Causey House Inn; this establishment is marked on Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
maps in the exact same location as the establishment which became latterly called the Causeway Hotel. The venue thrived during the latter part of the nineteenth century as it provided refreshment for quarrymen employed a minute or so walk away However, the venue closed in 2003 and is now used for residential purposes.
Even more spectacular has been the recent demise of The White Swan Inn. Located on Windy Nook Road, this is another public house which can be traced back as far as 1858. By 1890 it was in the hands of Mrs. Ann Robson, who provided refreshment to a combination of the quarrymen and pitmen who worked within short walking distance. However, a downturn in trade at the turn of the twenty-first century resulted in the venue closing in 2003. It has subsequently been completely demolished and replaced by a number of residential flats.
Religion and places of worship
The settlement formerly contained a number of Methodist Chapels but only one remains today, along with a solitary AnglicanAnglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church.
Historical
The Wesleyan MethodistWesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)
The Wesleyan Methodist Church was the name used by the major Methodist movement in Great Britain following its split from the Church of England after the death of John Wesley and the appearance of parallel Methodist movements...
Chapel was situated immediately adjacent Hope Pit near Blue Quarries Road. A surviving photograph of this building exists and has recently been uploaded It is not known when this church was erected or indeed demolished, though by 1919 the Church was no longer shown on Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
maps. There are no surviving remnants of the church and council house
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
s have since been erected in the Blue Quarries area. The United Methodist Free Churches
United Methodist Free Churches
United Methodist Free Churches was an English nonconformist community which merged into the United Methodist Church in 1907. The organisation was itself formed in 1857 by the amalgamation of the Wesleyan Association and the Wesleyan Reformers United Methodist Free Churches was an English...
were formed in 1857 by the amalgamation of two reform movements arising out of doctrinal
Doctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
disputes within the Wesleyan Church
Wesleyan Church
"Wesleyan" has been used in the title of a number of historic and current denominations, although the subject of this article is the only denomination to use that specific title...
. One of these movements, the Wesleyan Reformers, opened its first preaching room in Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
in 1852 and a separate circuit
Methodist Circuit
The Methodist Circuit is part of the organisational structure of British Methodism,or at least those branches derived from the work of John Wesley. It is a group of individual Societies or local Churches under the care of one or more Methodist Ministers. In the scale of organisation, the Circuit...
was created in 1858. Six years later, in 1864, the Church opened the Providence Chapel in Sheriff Hill near Sodhouse Bank. The Providence Chapel was built in the Gothic style
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
and had seating for three hundred worshippers. It also accommodated its own Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
for the village children, which was situated underneath the Church. The church was demolished in the middle of the 20th Century. The exact location of the church is unknown and the church is not evidenced on any Ordnance Survey maps. The New Connection (Zion) Chapel was built in 1836 and was opened by James Forsyth, the third minister in the Gateshead Wesleyan circuit at that time. It is not known exactly when it ceased to be used for worship but one published testimony recalls attending the Church in 1914. During the 1990s and early 2000s this church was used as a gymnasium but it has since been completely renovated and is now used for residential purposes. In 2004, the Zion chapel was locally listed as a building of special local architectural or historic interest (Category 2). and still stands midway 'up' the western side of Sheriffs Highway at the corner of Egremont Drive.
One eyewitness later recounted;
"the two Methodist chapels, Zion and Providence, were both well attended. Zion was also known as 'Scotts Chapel' and Providence as 'Pattersons' after the men who built them. The ordained ministers only came occasionally but most of the local preachers were very, very good. They were humble and didn't pretend to know all the answers..."
St John the Evangelist Church
The 1809 Enclosure Act decreed that a church be built on Gateshead FellGateshead Fell
Gateshead Fell was a district in County Durham, England. It was located on the immediate border of the town of Gateshead, 2.3 miles from the city of Newcastle upon Tyne...
. An acre of land was set aside and the sum of £1000 was raised by trustees, so that, despite several delays, the foundation stone
Cornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
was laid by Rev. John Collinson, at a "lofty eminence" on Sour Milk Hill, on May 13, 1824. After an overall expenditure of £2742, the building itself was completed and the church was consecrated
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
on August 30, 1825.
An "impressive landmark", St John the Evangelist Church contained 1000 sittings, half of which were "declared to be free and unappropriated for ever". The benefice
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
was in the patronage of the Bishop of Durham and the Rev. William Hawkes was the first incumbent. underwent a period of restoration (including the addition of an organ loft on the north side and stalls) in 1883. In the late 1990s the Church was again the subject of much needed renovation, with the addition of two meeting rooms and two toilets, both at the rear of the church. Somewhat unusually, the church also has its traditional pews removed and replaced with carpet and comfortable chairs.
To the side and rear of the church is a sizeable graveyard
Graveyard
A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones...
, though this has been closed for a number of years and is now the responsibility of Gateshead Council. The rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
is not located on the site of the church itself, but rather is situated some fifteen minutes walk away in Shotley Gardens, Low Fell
Low Fell
Low Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It overlooks the lake of Loweswater to the south and to the north is bordered by its neighbour Fellbarrow. It is usually climbed from the villages of Loweswater or Thackthwaite. The fell is largely occupied by grassed enclosures, although there are...
.
The building itself is a neat, plain, Gothic structure
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
built from ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
and slate. Along with some detailed and well maintained stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows, the predominant distinguishing feature of the church is its elegant tower and spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
, which stretches some 148 feet (45.1 m) into the Sheriff Hill skyline. Coupled with the natural terrain of the land, the top of the spire reaches over 500 feet (152.4 m) into the air, making it the highest point in the entire metropolitan borough of Gateshead and one of the highest churches in England. The church itself, therefore, is visible for several miles in all directions, particularly to the west where it is clearly visible as far away as Blaydon-on-Tyne, Ryton
Ryton, Tyne and Wear
Ryton is a semi-rural small town near the western border of Tyne and Wear, England. Once an independent town in County Durham it became incorporated into the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear and the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in 1974. It has a population of 15,742.- Location :Ryton lies...
and beyond into County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
.
Sheriff Hill Methodist Church
In 1907 the New ConnectionMethodist New Connexion
Methodist New Connexion was a Protestant nonconformist church, also known as the Kilhamite Methodists. It was formed in 1797 by secession from the Wesleyan Methodists, and merged in 1907 with the Bible Christian Church and the United Methodist Free Churches to form the United Methodist...
and the Methodist Free Churches, out of largely financial necessity, amalgamated into one body. The resultant organisation, the United Methodist Free Churches
United Methodist Free Churches
United Methodist Free Churches was an English nonconformist community which merged into the United Methodist Church in 1907. The organisation was itself formed in 1857 by the amalgamation of the Wesleyan Association and the Wesleyan Reformers United Methodist Free Churches was an English...
, continued its work in Sheriff Hill at the Zion Church on Sodhouse Bank. Ordnance survey maps of 1939 show a 'United Methodist Church' situated on the corner of Kells Lane and Sodhouse Bank, directly opposite the Three Tuns public house.
This is the exact site of the sole surviving Methodist Church in Sheriff Hill today; the Sheriff Hill Methodist Church.
There is little documented history of the building which is unusual in shape. The main body of the church is contained within a brick building of semi-circular design, baldly described as "a bland modern church...which signally fails to pay respect to its position". In the grounds of the church stands a tall wooden cross, inscribed with the words "Jesus Christ, God's Son Saviour".
Sheriff Hill Methodist Church is a focal point for social activity in the settlement. It has hosted bi-annual jumble sales for many years as well as bi-annual auctions. An annual Christmas fayre, replete with traditional stalls and homemade cakes, is also held and which has been said to mark "the start of Christmas in Sheriff Hill". The church also works in collaboration with nearby St John the Evangelist Church to provide Cornerstone: a successful cafe and thrift shop which runs every Monday morning. The result is a Church which is heavily used and in need of renovation and expansion, with fundraising events ongoing.
Culture
According to English HeritageEnglish Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
, there are three Grade II listed buildings in Sheriff Hill. These are St John the Evangelist Church, Field House and Thornlea. Field House is located on Windy Nook Road. Evidenced since 1822, this building "conveys a sense of the rural origins of the area, is visually warm and full of character". It is built with 'rubble stone' with visible quoins and a Welsh slate roof. It was listed on 13 January 1983. Thornlea is a remnant of Sheriff Hill Hall and is "one of the earliest buildings {in the settlement}...important for its social, historic, architectural and ‘hidden’ qualities. The grounds are largely intact enclosed by substantial stone walls, and contain many mature trees, which contribute to its historic character". It is built from ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
with a low hipped
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
, pitched slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
roof and a doorpiece of two Greek Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
columns remains intact and the building was listed on 13 January 1988.
Sheriff Hill is also home to eight locally listed buildings. These are the Zion Methodist Chapel, 97, 99, 101 and 103 Sheriff's Highway, 168 and 170 Sheriff's Highway, The Three Tuns public house and 13-14 Egremont Drive.
Transport
The settlement is situated on the B1296 "Old Durham Road" which is a former route of the Great North RoadGreat North Road (Great Britain)
The Great North Road was a coaching route used by mail coaches between London, York and Edinburgh. The modern A1 mainly follows the Great North Road. The inns on the road, many of which survive, were staging posts on the coach routes, providing accommodation, stabling for the horses and...
before it was diverted through Low Fell
Low Fell
Low Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It overlooks the lake of Loweswater to the south and to the north is bordered by its neighbour Fellbarrow. It is usually climbed from the villages of Loweswater or Thackthwaite. The fell is largely occupied by grassed enclosures, although there are...
on the present route of the A167
A167 road
The A167 is a road in North East England. Most of its route was formerly the A1 as most of it is the original route of the Great North Road until the A1 was re-routed with the opening of the A1 in the 1960s....
. The journey time by car or bus to Gateshead town centre is approximately ten minutes, with a further five minutes journey taking travellers into the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne.
The nearest mainline railway
History of rail transport in Great Britain
The railway system of Great Britain, the principal territory of the United Kingdom, is the oldest in the world. The system was originally built as a patchwork of local rail links operated by small private railway companies. These isolated links developed during the railway boom of the 1840s into a...
station to the settlement is Newcastle Central Station
Newcastle Central station
Newcastle railway station , is the mainline station of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England and is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line. It opened in 1850 and is a Grade I listed building...
. This is located 2.78 miles (4.5 km) away. The nearest Metro
Tyne and Wear Metro
The Tyne and Wear Metro, also known as the Metro, is a light rail system in North East England, serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside and Sunderland. It opened in 1980 and in 2007–2008 provided 40 million public journeys on its network of nearly...
station is Gateshead
Gateshead Interchange
Gateshead Interchange is a transport interchange in the centre of the town of Gateshead, England. It is served by the Tyne and Wear Metro, whose station is underground, as well as local bus services...
Sheriff Hill lies on a major bus route out of Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
served by several bus services, such as the 'Waggonway 28', the 'Fab 56' which continues into Sunderland as well as the 'Fab 57' which terminates at the Ellen Wilkinson Estate
Ellen Wilkinson
Ellen Cicely Wilkinson was the Labour Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough and later for Jarrow on Tyneside. She was one of the first women in Britain to be elected as a Member of Parliament .- History :...
. It is also part of the 93/94 'loop' network. All of the buses which serve Sheriff Hill are operated by Go North East
Go North East
Go North East is the largest operator of bus services in North East England, United Kingdom. Go North East operates services in the counties of Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Northumberland...
under the administration of Nexus
Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive
The Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive using the brandname of Nexus, is the Passenger Transport Executive for the Tyne and Wear region of North East England....
.
| Route | To | Via | Frequency | Route Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| X1 | Easington Lane Easington Lane Easington Lane is located in North East England between Houghton-le-Spring and Easington Village, in the parish of Hetton. It is the southernmost point of the City of Sunderland and Tyne and Wear.... |
Washington Galleries Washington Galleries bus station Washington Galleries bus station serves the town of Washington, Tyne and Wear, England. It was opened in October 2008 replacing the previous bus station and was re-built as part of the redevelopment of the town's Galleries shopping centre... , Houghton-le-Spring Bus Station Houghton-le-Spring Houghton-le-Spring is part of the City of Sunderland in the county of Tyne and Wear, North East England that has its recorded origins in Norman times. It is situated almost equidistant between the cathedral city of Durham 7 miles to the south-west and the centre of the City of Sunderland about 6... |
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| Newcastle Eldon Square Eldon Square Bus Station Eldon Square bus station is one of two bus stations serving the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, England.It is located in the Haymarket area of the city centre, near Newcastle University, adjacent to Haymarket bus station and near Haymarket Metro station... |
Gateshead Interchange Gateshead Interchange Gateshead Interchange is a transport interchange in the centre of the town of Gateshead, England. It is served by the Tyne and Wear Metro, whose station is underground, as well as local bus services... |
|||
| X25 | Langley Park Langley Park, County Durham Langley Park is a village in County Durham, England. The historic city of Durham lies to the east whilst the larger city of Newcastle upon Tyne is to the north.... |
Birtley Birtley, Tyne and Wear Birtley is a town 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... , Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham, England. It has a history going back to Roman times when it was called Concangis. The town is located south of Newcastle upon Tyne and west of Sunderland on the River Wear... , Witton Gilbert Witton Gilbert Witton Gilbert is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated to the north-west of Durham.The village once had a railway station on the... |
Sir Bobby Robson Foundation The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation is a British cancer research charity which raises money to fund the early detection and treatment of cancer, and clinical trials of anti-cancer drugs... |
|
| Newcastle Eldon Square Eldon Square Bus Station Eldon Square bus station is one of two bus stations serving the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, England.It is located in the Haymarket area of the city centre, near Newcastle University, adjacent to Haymarket bus station and near Haymarket Metro station... |
Gateshead Interchange Gateshead Interchange Gateshead Interchange is a transport interchange in the centre of the town of Gateshead, England. It is served by the Tyne and Wear Metro, whose station is underground, as well as local bus services... |
|||
| 28 | Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham, England. It has a history going back to Roman times when it was called Concangis. The town is located south of Newcastle upon Tyne and west of Sunderland on the River Wear... |
Birtley Birtley, Tyne and Wear Birtley is a town 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... , Beamish Beamish, County Durham Beamish, previously named 'Pit Hill', is a village in County Durham, England situated to the north east of Stanley.The village is contained within Hell Hole Wood and is home to Beamish Museum, an open-air museum seeking to replicate a northern town of the early 20th century... , Pelton |
||
| Newcastle Eldon Square Eldon Square Bus Station Eldon Square bus station is one of two bus stations serving the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, England.It is located in the Haymarket area of the city centre, near Newcastle University, adjacent to Haymarket bus station and near Haymarket Metro station... |
Gateshead Interchange Gateshead Interchange Gateshead Interchange is a transport interchange in the centre of the town of Gateshead, England. It is served by the Tyne and Wear Metro, whose station is underground, as well as local bus services... |
|||
| 56 | Sunderland Park Lane Park Lane Interchange Park Lane Interchange is a busy transport interchange on the south-western fringe of the city centre of Sunderland, North East England. It offers Tyne and Wear Metro services, long distance coach services and also local bus services. It is on the site of the Park Lane Bus Station that was built in... |
Wrekenton Wrekenton Wrekenton is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, in Tyne and Wear, England, that was formerly a separate village.Wrekenton is probably best known to passers by as the location of a large branch of the Co-op supermarket... , Concord Concord, Sunderland Concord is a village in Washington, a town in Tyne and Wear, England. Historically part of County Durham, it joined a new county in 1974 with the creation of Tyne and Wear... , Hylton Castle Hylton Castle Hylton Castle is a ruined stone castle in the North Hylton area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. Originally built from wood by the Hilton family shortly after the Norman Conquest in 1066, it was later rebuilt in stone in the late 14th to early 15th century... |
||
| Newcastle New Bridge Street | Gateshead Interchange Gateshead Interchange Gateshead Interchange is a transport interchange in the centre of the town of Gateshead, England. It is served by the Tyne and Wear Metro, whose station is underground, as well as local bus services... |
|||
| 57 | Ellen Wilkinson Estate Ellen Wilkinson Ellen Cicely Wilkinson was the Labour Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough and later for Jarrow on Tyneside. She was one of the first women in Britain to be elected as a Member of Parliament .- History :... |
Beacon Lough, Wardley Wardley, Gateshead Wardley is located on the edge of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, at the borders of Washington and South Tyneside. It is in the postal code area NE10. It is near the Leam Lane Estate.... |
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| Newcastle New Bridge Street | Gateshead Interchange Gateshead Interchange Gateshead Interchange is a transport interchange in the centre of the town of Gateshead, England. It is served by the Tyne and Wear Metro, whose station is underground, as well as local bus services... |
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| 69 | Winlaton Bus Station Winlaton Winlaton is a village situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. Once an independent village in County Durham, it became incorporated into the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear and Borough of Gateshead in 1974.... |
Low Fell Low Fell Low Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It overlooks the lake of Loweswater to the south and to the north is bordered by its neighbour Fellbarrow. It is usually climbed from the villages of Loweswater or Thackthwaite. The fell is largely occupied by grassed enclosures, although there are... , Lobley Hill Lobley Hill Lobley Hill is a village located on the outskirts of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, North East England. It has an approximate population of 8,000... , Whickham Whickham Whickham is a town in North East England, four miles south west of Newcastle upon Tyne and four and a half miles west of Gateshead. Whickham is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Its postal address is Whickham, Newcastle upon Tyne. Whickham is situated on high ground overlooking the... , Blaydon |
||
| Wardley Bus Terminus Wardley, Gateshead Wardley is located on the edge of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, at the borders of Washington and South Tyneside. It is in the postal code area NE10. It is near the Leam Lane Estate.... |
Felling Square, Ellen Wilkinson Estate Ellen Wilkinson Ellen Cicely Wilkinson was the Labour Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough and later for Jarrow on Tyneside. She was one of the first women in Britain to be elected as a Member of Parliament .- History :... , Pelaw Metro station Pelaw Metro station Pelaw Metro station serves the Pelaw area of Gateshead, England. Situated on the Tyne and Wear Metro system, it is at the point where the Yellow and Green lines diverge, with the former continuing to South Shields and the latter over tracks shared with mainline trains to Sunderland and then... |
|||
| 69A | Blackhall Mill | Blaydon, Ryton Ryton, Tyne and Wear Ryton is a semi-rural small town near the western border of Tyne and Wear, England. Once an independent town in County Durham it became incorporated into the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear and the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in 1974. It has a population of 15,742.- Location :Ryton lies... , Crawcrook Crawcrook Crawcrook is a semi-rural village close to the western border of the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear in England. Traditionally an independent village in County Durham it has since been incorporated into the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead.-Location:... |
||
| Wardley Bus Terminus Wardley, Gateshead Wardley is located on the edge of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, at the borders of Washington and South Tyneside. It is in the postal code area NE10. It is near the Leam Lane Estate.... |
Felling Square, Ellen Wilkinson Estate Ellen Wilkinson Ellen Cicely Wilkinson was the Labour Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough and later for Jarrow on Tyneside. She was one of the first women in Britain to be elected as a Member of Parliament .- History :... , Pelaw Metro station Pelaw Metro station Pelaw Metro station serves the Pelaw area of Gateshead, England. Situated on the Tyne and Wear Metro system, it is at the point where the Yellow and Green lines diverge, with the former continuing to South Shields and the latter over tracks shared with mainline trains to Sunderland and then... |
|||
| 93/94 | Gateshead Interchange Gateshead Interchange Gateshead Interchange is a transport interchange in the centre of the town of Gateshead, England. It is served by the Tyne and Wear Metro, whose station is underground, as well as local bus services... |
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... , Dunston Dunston, Tyne and Wear Dunston was originally an independent village on the south bank of the River Tyne. It has now been absorbed into the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in the English county of Tyne and Wear... |
||
| Gateshead Interchange Gateshead Interchange Gateshead Interchange is a transport interchange in the centre of the town of Gateshead, England. It is served by the Tyne and Wear Metro, whose station is underground, as well as local bus services... |
Felling Square, Heworth Interchange | |||
| 187 | MetroCentre | Gateshead Leisure Centre, Dunston Dunston, Tyne and Wear Dunston was originally an independent village on the south bank of the River Tyne. It has now been absorbed into the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in the English county of Tyne and Wear... |
||
Journals, reports, papers and other sources
Where an abbreiviation is used in the references this is indicated below in (brackets) at the end of the source nameExternal links
- Collieries in Northumberland and Durham (updated by academic Brian Pears) at Genuki
- Election 2005- Results at the BBC
- England, 2001 UK Census
- Gateshead, 2001 UK Census
- Gateshead Council Elections- 2008 Results
- Gateshead Council Elections 2010- Results
- Gateshead Council -Parks
- Gateshead East and Washington West Constituency at The Guardian
- Gateshead Election 2010 at the BBC
- Gateshead NHS Trust Press release
- Glynwood Primary School OFSTED Report
- High Fell- Ward Factsheet(Gateshead Council)
- High Fell- Ward Information Gateshead Council Website
- ISee Gateshead
- Issue 212 of Canny Bevvy: the North East CAMRA newsletter
- Kids dig in to improve local park article at Gateshead Council
- Labour Matters
- Neighbourhood Statistics Gateshead 011B (Lower Layer Super Output Area), 2001 UK Census
- Quinn's Report to Council on Locally Listed Buildings and Parks
- Roberts' Index of English and Welsh Lunatic Asylums and Mental Hospitals
- Sheriff Hill Colliery at Durham Mining Museum
- Sheriff Hill Conservation Area Management Plan at Gateshead Council
- The North East Surgery Centre Website
- The Northern Echo- Pit Disasters
- The Three Tuns at CAMRA
- Washington and Sunderland West, Election 2010 at the BBC