The Town Moor is a large area of common land

Common land

Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...

 in 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...

. It covers an area of around 400ha, and is larger than Hyde Park

Hyde Park, London

Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...

 and Hampstead Heath

Hampstead Heath

Hampstead Heath is a large, ancient London park, covering . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London clay...

 combined, stretching from the city centre and Spital Tongues

Spital Tongues

Spital Tongues is a historic area of Newcastle upon Tyne, located north west of the city centre.Its unusual name is believed to be derived from 'spital' – a corruption of the word 'hospital' that is quite commonly found in UK place names - and 'tongues', meaning outlying pieces of land...

 in the south out to Cowgate/Kenton Bar to the west, Gosforth

Gosforth

Gosforth is an area of Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom, to the north of the city centre. Gosforth constituted an urban district from 1895 to 1974, when it became part of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne. It has a population of 23,620...

 to the north and Jesmond

Jesmond

Jesmond is a residential suburb and is split into two electoral wards just north of the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The population is about 12,000. It is adjacent to, and to the east of, the Town Moor, providing pedestrian and cycle paths to Spital Tongues and the city's two Universities...

 to the east.

At the south-eastern corner lies the Exhibition Park

Exhibition Park, Newcastle

The Exhibition Park is a short walk from Newcastle City Centre.- History :The 1870 Town Moor Improvement Act determined that 2 x 35acres of land to be developed for recreation one would become Leazes Park and one at the Town Moor. The original location of the park was to be the Bull Park where the...

, but the rest of the Town Moor is not laid out as a park and is mostly treeless. Freemen

Freedom of the City

Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...

 of the city have the right to graze cattle on the moors, the rental income is distributed through the Town Moor Money Charity.

The ornithologist

Ornithology

Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...

 and landscape architect

Landscape architect

A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....

 John Hancock

John Hancock (ornithologist)

John Hancock , naturalist, ornithologist, taxidermist and landscape architect. He is considered the father of modern taxidermy.Hancock was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and educated at The Royal Grammar School...

, after whom the nearby Hancock Museum

Hancock Museum

The Hancock Museum is a museum of natural history in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, established in 1884. In 2006 it merged with Newcastle University's Hatton Gallery to form the Great North Museum. The museum and all of its collections are owned by the Natural History Society of Northumbria,...

 is named, produced a planned layout for the Town Moor in 1868, which was only partly realised.

The Hoppings

The Hoppings

The Hoppings is held on the Town Moor in Newcastle upon Tyne during the last week in June.It is recognised to be Europe's largest travelling fun fair....

, said to be Europe's largest travelling fun fair

Funfair

A funfair or simply "fair" is a small to medium sized travelling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...

, is held on the Town Moor during the last week in June.

The area of common land is actually split up into two sections, of which the Town Moor is but the major part. The area is intersected by the A189 road

A189 road

The A189 is a road in North East England, linking Gateshead to southeast Northumberland. The section within southeast Northumberland is also known as the Spine Road; and West-Central Route is used to describe its route around Newcastle City Centre...

 and the section on the other side of the road is known as Nuns Moor, and includes the Newcastle United Golf Club.

The moor now has recently had a new pathway laid with more street lighting and CCTV

Closed-circuit television

Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....

.