The Boldons
Encyclopedia
The Boldons are a group of three small villages in the North East of England
- East Boldon, West Boldon and Boldon Colliery - bordering the north of Sunderland and the south of South Shields
and Jarrow
. They have a population of 13,271.
"Bol" is the Anglo Saxon name for "hill," and Don is the name of the river that wraps itself around the bol. Thus the original village was named "Bol-Don", meaning "hill on the Don."
In the 19th century when coal mining
began, a colliery developed at the foot of the hill. Since colliers (miners) needed to live close to their work, at the foot of the hill another village began to grow which became known as Boldon Colliery.
Until 1974 the area was administered by Boldon Urban District Council in County Durham
but since then has been part of the borough of South Tyneside
.
In 1976, the Boldon Colliery Band appeared in episode 13 of the television series When the Boat Comes In
. The mine closed in 1982 but more jobs became available when an Asda
supermarket opened in 1987. Further recent developments include Boldon Business Park. Boldon Colliery also has its own multi-screen cinema (currently operated by Cineworld
). The main school in the area is Boldon School, a special sports college (formerly Boldon Comprehensive School). There is also a junior school and nursery (west boldon primary), a playgroup and a hotel.
The Discovery Channel
programme The Haunting produced an episode centred around the ghostly goings on at the Wheatsheaf Inn in West Boldon. The inn was reputedly haunted by the ghosts of a young girl and her murderer, with several reported sightings.
There are conservation areas within the historic village centres of East and West Boldon.
Despite the relatively small geographical area, there are a significant number of older buildings considered as being of architectural merit including churches, public houses and former country houses, as well as modern additions. St. Nicholas Church in West Boldon is a Grade I listed building.
The area includes a wide range of housing styles, from Edwardian villas to Victorian terraces, post-war housing to more recent smaller-scale developments. The first street built in Boldon Colliery was Cross Row (also known as Sinkers Row) which was constructed to house the men who were initially employed to sink the shaft. Several years later, other major housing projects were started and terraced housing such as that at Arnold Street and Charles Street were built.
After the colliery closed, the former industrial land lay derelict for many years. In 2000, Colliery Wood was created with over 2,500 trees planted. The wood is popular with the local community and provides a habitat for animals such as pheasants
, squirrels, woodpeckers and otters. Colliery Wood provides six new paths, which are also suitable for cycling and link to East Boldon, and Brockley Whins and Whiteleas in nearby South Shields.
Boldon Flats is another site important for nature conservation, which contains an area of damp pasture. The flats are flooded from each October to March and attract a wide array of bird life and a large population of Common Frog
s.
The River Don traverses Boldon and is the last stronghold of water voles in South Tyneside.
Recent/proposed projects include:
The new £17.5 million Boldon School opened on 6 November 2006. It has been funded by a Private Finance Initiative and was constructed by Gleeson Building Company as well as other small businesses. The new school boasts a £750,000 theatre, top-of-the-range arts facilities, a four-lane 25 metre swimming pool and other new sports facilities such as five-a-side football pitches gymnasium. Computerised technology has been incorporated into the school's meals service, with school pupils using an electronic card system to purchase meals.
The recently-built Quadrus Centre at Boldon Business Park houses entrepreneurial businesses and acts as a gateway to South Tyneside on the main A19 trunk road. The building features a modern design within its lakeside setting. The building is illuminated at night in a range of colours and has won many awards for its iconic design.
. Charlton Athletic goalkeeper Sam Bartram
, their record appearance holder, who played 800 games for the London club, was signed from Boldon Villa in Sept 1934 and played in four successive Wembley cup finals from 1944 to 1947. Full back Jack Shreeve
moved from the Villa to Charlton in 1935 and was a colleague of Bartram's in their 1947 FA Cup winning team. A Sam Bartram Memorial Cup competition was introduced at Boldon in February 2008 aimed at inspiring current footballing youngsters in the Boldon area.
Notable sportsmen from Boldon are cricketers Simon Brown
and current England rugby youth player Robert Bell, Blyth Spartans Striker Shaun Reay and Sunderland A.F.C Jamie Chandler
.
There are private tennis and golf clubs at Dipe Lane as well as other pursuits on offer within local schools, community centres and parks.
councillors. However, in the 2011 Local Elections Labour candidate Joan Atkinson unseated the sitting Conservative councillor, reducing the number of Conservatives on South Tyneside Council to one. Boldon Colliery usually elects three Labour councillors.
The Boldons are within the Jarrow constituency
, which also includes Jarrow, Hebburn and parts of east Gateshead. The local MP is Stephen Hepburn
of the Labour Party
.
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...
- East Boldon, West Boldon and Boldon Colliery - bordering the north of Sunderland and the south of South Shields
South Shields
South Shields is a coastal town in Tyne and Wear, England, located at the mouth of the River Tyne to Tyne Dock, and about downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne...
and Jarrow
Jarrow
Jarrow is a town in Tyne and Wear, England, located on the River Tyne, with a population of 27,526. From the middle of the 19th century until 1935, Jarrow was a centre for shipbuilding, and was the starting point of the Jarrow March against unemployment in 1936.-Foundation:The Angles re-occupied...
. They have a population of 13,271.
"Bol" is the Anglo Saxon name for "hill," and Don is the name of the river that wraps itself around the bol. Thus the original village was named "Bol-Don", meaning "hill on the Don."
In the 19th century when 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,...
began, a colliery developed at the foot of the hill. Since colliers (miners) needed to live close to their work, at the foot of the hill another village began to grow which became known as Boldon Colliery.
Until 1974 the area was administered by Boldon Urban District Council in 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...
but since then has been part of the borough of South Tyneside
South Tyneside
South Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear in North East England.It is bordered by four other boroughs - Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead to the west, Sunderland in the south, and North Tyneside to the north. The border county of Northumberland lies further north...
.
In 1976, the Boldon Colliery Band appeared in episode 13 of the television series When the Boat Comes In
When the Boat Comes In
When the Boat Comes In is a British television period-drama produced by the BBC between 1976 and 1981.The series stars James Bolam as Jack Ford, a First World War veteran who returns to his poverty-stricken town of Gallowshield in the North East of England in the 1920s.The memorable traditional...
. The mine closed in 1982 but more jobs became available when an Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
supermarket opened in 1987. Further recent developments include Boldon Business Park. Boldon Colliery also has its own multi-screen cinema (currently operated by Cineworld
Cineworld
Cineworld Group plc is a cinema chain operating in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Jersey. The chain consists of 78 cinemas; 76 of which are located in the UK and one each in Ireland and Jersey. It is the second-largest cinema operator in the UK with 801 screens, and the owner of...
). The main school in the area is Boldon School, a special sports college (formerly Boldon Comprehensive School). There is also a junior school and nursery (west boldon primary), a playgroup and a hotel.
The Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
programme The Haunting produced an episode centred around the ghostly goings on at the Wheatsheaf Inn in West Boldon. The inn was reputedly haunted by the ghosts of a young girl and her murderer, with several reported sightings.
Housing and environment
The Boldons form part of the suburban fringe of South Tyneside and are completely surrounded by green belt.There are conservation areas within the historic village centres of East and West Boldon.
Despite the relatively small geographical area, there are a significant number of older buildings considered as being of architectural merit including churches, public houses and former country houses, as well as modern additions. St. Nicholas Church in West Boldon is a Grade I listed building.
The area includes a wide range of housing styles, from Edwardian villas to Victorian terraces, post-war housing to more recent smaller-scale developments. The first street built in Boldon Colliery was Cross Row (also known as Sinkers Row) which was constructed to house the men who were initially employed to sink the shaft. Several years later, other major housing projects were started and terraced housing such as that at Arnold Street and Charles Street were built.
After the colliery closed, the former industrial land lay derelict for many years. In 2000, Colliery Wood was created with over 2,500 trees planted. The wood is popular with the local community and provides a habitat for animals such as pheasants
Common Pheasant
The Common Pheasant , is a bird in the pheasant family . It is native to Georgia and has been widely introduced elsewhere as a game bird. In parts of its range, namely in places where none of its relatives occur such as in Europe , it is simply known as the "pheasant"...
, squirrels, woodpeckers and otters. Colliery Wood provides six new paths, which are also suitable for cycling and link to East Boldon, and Brockley Whins and Whiteleas in nearby South Shields.
Boldon Flats is another site important for nature conservation, which contains an area of damp pasture. The flats are flooded from each October to March and attract a wide array of bird life and a large population of Common Frog
Common Frog
The Common Frog, Rana temporaria also known as the European Common Frog or European Common Brown Frog is found throughout much of Europe as far north as well north of the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia and as far east as the Urals, except for most of Iberia, southern Italy, and the southern Balkans...
s.
The River Don traverses Boldon and is the last stronghold of water voles in South Tyneside.
Development
In the last 30 or so years, since the decline of traditional industries such as coal mining, Boldon has developed dramatically. At the same time, the historic cores of the old colliery town, East Boldon and West Boldon villages have retained their traditional character and appeal.Recent/proposed projects include:
- the introduction of the Metro light rapid transit system connecting Boldon to the rest of Tyne & Wear
- a new state-of-the-art senior school
- new attractive housing developments
- an expansion to the ASDA WalMart superstore - one of the largest in northern England
- a new Pizza Hut restaurant at the leisure park
- further growth of the business park
- road and cycleway improvements
- a new skate park, and
- community woodland projects
The new £17.5 million Boldon School opened on 6 November 2006. It has been funded by a Private Finance Initiative and was constructed by Gleeson Building Company as well as other small businesses. The new school boasts a £750,000 theatre, top-of-the-range arts facilities, a four-lane 25 metre swimming pool and other new sports facilities such as five-a-side football pitches gymnasium. Computerised technology has been incorporated into the school's meals service, with school pupils using an electronic card system to purchase meals.
The recently-built Quadrus Centre at Boldon Business Park houses entrepreneurial businesses and acts as a gateway to South Tyneside on the main A19 trunk road. The building features a modern design within its lakeside setting. The building is illuminated at night in a range of colours and has won many awards for its iconic design.
Sport
Boldon has produced many notable sports personalities, one of which was former Newcastle United footballer Wes SaundersWes Saunders
Wes Saunders is an English former professional footballer and football club manager.Saunders was born in Sunderland and brought up in Boldon Colliery, attending Boldon Comprehensive school...
. Charlton Athletic goalkeeper Sam Bartram
Sam Bartram
Samuel "Sam" Bartram was an English footballer and manager.-Career:After school, Sam Bartram became a miner and played as either centre forward or wing-half in north east non-league football. As a teenager he had an unsuccessful trial with Reading...
, their record appearance holder, who played 800 games for the London club, was signed from Boldon Villa in Sept 1934 and played in four successive Wembley cup finals from 1944 to 1947. Full back Jack Shreeve
Jack Shreeve
Jack Shreeve was an English professional footballer who played as a full back.-Career:After playing non-league football with Boldon Colliery, Shreeve made 145 appearances in the Football League for Charlton Athletic....
moved from the Villa to Charlton in 1935 and was a colleague of Bartram's in their 1947 FA Cup winning team. A Sam Bartram Memorial Cup competition was introduced at Boldon in February 2008 aimed at inspiring current footballing youngsters in the Boldon area.
Notable sportsmen from Boldon are cricketers Simon Brown
Simon Brown (cricketer)
Simon John Emmerson Brown is a former English cricketer who played in one Test in 1996. He was a right-handed batsman and a left-arm fast-medium bowler....
and current England rugby youth player Robert Bell, Blyth Spartans Striker Shaun Reay and Sunderland A.F.C Jamie Chandler
Jamie Chandler
Jamie Chandler , South Shields, brought up in Boldon is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. He currently plays for Darlington, having made his debut in the Football League for that club in 2009 while on loan from Sunderland.-Career:Chandler began his career at Sunderland,...
.
There are private tennis and golf clubs at Dipe Lane as well as other pursuits on offer within local schools, community centres and parks.
Politics
East Boldon and Cleadon was previously the only ward in South Tyneside to elect three ConservativeConservative 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...
councillors. However, in the 2011 Local Elections Labour candidate Joan Atkinson unseated the sitting Conservative councillor, reducing the number of Conservatives on South Tyneside Council to one. Boldon Colliery usually elects three Labour councillors.
The Boldons are within the Jarrow constituency
Jarrow (UK Parliament constituency)
Jarrow is a parliamentary 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.-Boundaries:...
, which also includes Jarrow, Hebburn and parts of east Gateshead. The local MP is Stephen Hepburn
Stephen Hepburn
Stephen Hepburn is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Jarrow since 1997.-Early life and family:...
of the Labour 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...
.