Crawcrook is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. The population taken at the 2021 Census of the Gateshead ward (Crawcrook and Greenside) was 9,058, increasing from 8,841 in 2011.[2][3] The village is historically part of County Durham.
In local government, Crawcrook is located in the 'Crawcrook, Greenside and Clara Vale ward'. The ward is at the far west of the borough and borders Northumberland. The Crawcrook and Greenside ward is served by three Labour councillors, Helen Haran, Kathleen McCartney and Hugh Kelly.
Crawcrook was formerly a township in the parish of Ryton,[4] in 1866 Crawbrook became a separate civil parish, on 1 April 1914 the parish was abolished and merged with Ryton.[5] In 1911 the parish had a population of 3523.[6]
At the turn of the twentieth century, and in common with the nearby areas of Greenside, Clara Vale and Stargate, Crawcrook was a village with a vibrant coal industry. With major pits such as Emma and Clara, as well as several smaller pits, Crawcrook became a major coal mining centre. However the coal industry collapsed in the village during the 1950s and 1960s. As has happened to a number of other northern English villages employment in tertiary industries has replaced the coal industry. However, Crawcrook's coal mining heritage is still evident; a number of the old miners' homes still exist in the surrounding area, including Clifford Terrace and Morgy Hill near to Crawcrook's main street, and the Simpson Memorial Home in nearby Barmoor. Old wagonways used to transport coal are also still present, although they are now maintained as footpaths.
During the 1970s and 1980s, with the creation of the Kepier Chare and Westburn private housing estates, Crawcrook grew significantly in size and became largely suburbanised and is being used increasingly as a commuter village for the conurbation of Tyneside.
Significant expansion once again took place in the 2010s, with the construction of the Valley Rise estate in the north of the village, and the Fairfields Manor estate in the south. The latter attracted significant opposition due to its encroachment on the popular 'Hill 60' publicly accessible fields.
Unlike many villages of a similar semi-rural character, Crawcrook has maintained its broad range of amenities. Crawcrook main street has several shops including a library, a co-operative food store and two petrol stations. It also has a selection of independent shops, including a family-run freezer centre/bargain store, which in October 2015 was renovated into a One Stop Store which is still family run, a greengrocers, a butchers, Three gentlemen's barbers, two hairdressing salons, a tanning salon, a number of pubs, a chiropodist, a doctor's surgery, which was rebuilt with a new pharmacy right next door, two veterinary practices and a restaurant. There are also several churches in the village from a number of denominations including Catholic, Pentecostal, Church of England and Methodist. After the closure of Kepier Chare school, the village now has only two primary schools; St Agnes Roman Catholic school and Emmaville school. During 2007, Emmaville school was extended to allow former pupils from Kepier Chare to attend there. In 2009 St Agnes Roman Catholic School relocated to the former Kepier Chare school. There is also a separate private nursery located next to the Doctor's Surgery.
The village sits around a mile from the railway station in Wylam, providing a rail link to Newcastle and Carlisle.
Crawcrook sits less than 2 miles from the Hadrian's and Keelman's ways, providing traffic free cycling and walking routes into Newcastle, Gateshead and Low Prudhoe
Crawcrook has its own village park, located in the Garden House Estate area of the village. Created in the 1950s it consists of toddler play equipment, a tennis court/five a side football area, and a bowling green.
Other recreational facilities nearby include four golf courses, Tyneside golf club at Ryton, Ryton golf club at Clara Vale, Close House golf club in Wylam, and Prudhoe golf club in Prudhoe. Golf courses slightly further away include Whickham golf club, at Whickham, Garesfield golf club at High Spen and Stocksfield golf club in Stocksfield.
There are two primary schools in the village. St Agnes RC school, the school of Crawcrook's Roman Catholic parish, and Emmaville primary school. Both schools perform exceedingly well compared to other schools in the Gateshead Local Education Authority and nationally.
There was a third school, Kepier Chare school. However, in 2007 it was closed with some pupils transferred to Emmaville school or other local schools. In 2010 St Agnes RC school relocated to the former Kepier Chare and is to date still there, the existing St Agnes school building was demolished, with a small housing development taking its place.
Secondary education for the village is provided by Thorp Academy in Ryton, and St Thomas More Catholic School in Blaydon.
Demography
As of the 2021 census, 96.4% of people in the Crawcrook and Greenside ward were in the white British ethnic group,[3] more than both the national average, and the Gateshead average of 93.5%.[7] The ward has an ageing population according to the 2021 census, with the number of people aged 60+ increasing while the number of those aged under 60 decreased. The Ward had slightly higher employment rates than the rest of Gateshead at the 2021 census, with 61% of residents being 'economically active', defined as: "those aged 16+ who were working in the week before the Census, or were not working but had accepted a job, or were looking for work and could start within 2 weeks", compared to 58% across the whole borough. This includes 57% of residents who were in full or part time employment, or were self employed.
Within less than a mile of Crawcrook's main street and its residential areas, lies farmland and rich countryside, particularly to the west and north of the village. To the west of the village these include farmland and Sled Lane, with its woodland and ponds; Bradley Gardens, a Victorian walled garden and, to the north, more farmland as well as the meadows between Crawcrook and Wylam.
Other notable features of Crawcrook's environment include its landed estates, in particular Bradley Hall, and its sand quarries, that have partly encroached on some of its countryside to the north-west of the village. Further down the Tyne valley there are picturesque villages and towns such as Prudhoe, Stocksfield and Corbridge.
Prudhoe is a town and civil parish in the south of Northumberland, England. It is 11 miles (18 km) west of Newcastle upon Tyne and situated on a steep, north-facing hill on the south bank of the River Tyne. Prudhoe had a population of 11,675 at the 2011 census, making it the second largest town in the Tyne Valley after Hexham.
The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It includes Gateshead, Rowlands Gill, Whickham, Blaydon, Ryton, Felling, Birtley, Pelaw, Dunston and Low Fell. The borough forms part of the Tyneside conurbation, centred on Newcastle upon Tyne. At the 2021 census, the borough had a population of 196,154.
Blaydon is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, and historically in County Durham. Blaydon, and neighbouring Winlaton, which Blaydon is now contiguous with, form the town of Blaydon-on-Tyne. The Blaydon/Winlaton ward had a population in 2011 of 13,896.
Blaydon was a constituency represented in the House of Commons from 2017 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Liz Twist of the Labour Party.
There are 10 civil parishes in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear, most of the county being unparished; North Tyneside and South Tyneside are completely unparished. It is the county of England with the lowest number of civil parishes. At the 2001 census, there were 41,044 people living in the 10 parishes, accounting for 3.8 per cent of the county's population. A civil parish is the lowest unit of local government in England.
Rowlands Gill is a village on the north bank of the River Derwent, in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. The Gibside Estate is near the town.
Wylam is a village and civil parish in the county of Northumberland, England. It is located about 10 miles (16 km) west of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Ryton is a village in Tyne and Wear, England. It is in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, historically part of County Durham. In 2011, the population of the Ryton, Crookhill and Stella ward was 8,146. It is 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Greenside is a village in the extreme west of the Metropolitan County of Tyne and Wear, England. Once an independent village in County Durham, it became incorporated into Tyne and Wear in 1974 and then the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in 1986.
Stella is a community in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. It lies on the south bank of the Tyne, about 5 miles (8 km) west of central Newcastle upon Tyne, between Blaydon and Ryton. The area includes the Stella Park housing estate, built on the grounds of a mansion of the same name.
Sunniside is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, which is located around 5.5 miles (9 km) from Newcastle upon Tyne. Prior to the creation of the county of Tyne and Wear in 1974, it was part of Whickham Urban District, which in turn formed a part of County Durham.
Clara Vale is a village situated on the south bank of the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England. Once an independent village in County Durham it became incorporated into the new metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear in 1974 as part of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead.
The NE postcode area, also known as the Newcastle upon Tyne postcode area, is a group of 61 postcode districts in north-east England covering 34 post towns. These cover most of Tyne and Wear and Northumberland, plus a very small part of northern County Durham. The NE postcode area is one of six with a population above 1 million.
Thorp Academy is a large 11–18 secondary Academy in Ryton Tyne & Wear, England. The academy was established in the 19th century by Charles Thorp who went on to found Durham University. The site that Thorp Academy now stands on is the site of the original school established by Charles Thorp. In the early 2010's, Gateshead Council merged Ryton Comprehensive School and Hookergate School in High Spen. With the two schools merging, the school was renamed Charles Thorp Comprehensive School. The school later converted into an academy sponsored by Northern Education Trust and was renamed as Thorp Academy.
The Tyne Valley Line is a 58-mile (93 km) route, linking Newcastle upon Tyne with Hexham and Carlisle, England. The line follows the course of the River Tyne through Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. Five stations and two viaducts on the route are listed structures.
National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 141 is a Sustrans Regional Route. It is 11.2 km (7.0 mi) long. It provides a connection between Route 14 and Route 72 along the south bank of the River Tyne through Gateshead. The full length of the route is part of the Keelmans Way. It is fully signed and open after the section between Wylam and Ryton Golf Course recently reopened after repairs following a landslip.
Blaydon and Consett is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Created as a result of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election and is currently held by Liz Twist of the Labour Party, who previously represented the abolished Blaydon constituency from 2017 to 2024.
References
↑ Crawcrook is made up of 19 output areas in the Crawcrook and Greenside ward. "Crawcrook and Greenside". UK Census Data 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
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