A long-running blue plaque scheme is in operation in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. Administered by the local council, the scheme was registered with English Heritage in 1970 [1] and 21 blue plaques were installed from the inception of the scheme until 1996. [2] Although the scheme was never formally closed, only one further plaque was then unveiled prior to the presentation of a 'report to cabinet' on 16 November 2004 which recommended that the scheme be revived. [3] Seven further plaques were installed prior to the publication of a commemorative council document in 2010, bringing the total to 29, [4] [5] though a number of further plaques have been installed since that date.
The Gateshead scheme aims to highlight notable persons who lived in the borough, notable buildings within it and important historical events. [6] An individual will only be considered for commemoration by Gateshead blue plaque if they meet the suggested criteria laid out in the 2004 'report to cabinet'. These are that the individual has sufficient local standing, is regarded as an eminent member of their profession, calling or field or has made some important contribution to "human welfare or happiness". The individual must have lived in Gateshead and either had a significant impact on the borough or are of such national or international eminence that their association with the borough is itself noteworthy. They must also be deceased. [7] Some of those commemorated through the scheme include Geordie Ridley, author of the Blaydon Races, [8] William Wailes, a noted 19th century proponent of stained glass who lived in a "fairytale mansion" at Saltwell Park, [9] [10] the industrialist and co-founder of Clarke Chapman, William Clarke [11] and Sir Joseph Swan, the inventor of the incandescent light bulb whose house in Low Fell was the first in the world to be illuminated by electric light. [11] [12]
An historical event will be considered suitable for a Gateshead blue plaque so long as it was not a usual occurrence, had a significant impact on local or national history and can be readily associated with a building or structure to which the corresponding plaque can be appended. [7] Events commemorated by Gateshead blue plaque include the 19th century Felling mining disasters, one of which included "one of the most tremendous explosions in the history of coal mining" and which killed 92 men and boys. [13] [14]
Subject | Image | Location | Year | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
William Clarke | | Adjacent High Fell Club, Old Durham Road, Sheriff Hill. [11] | 2005 | In 1864, Clarke founded Clarke Chapman at the South Shore of the River Tyne. [15] By 1903 the company was the second largest employer in Gateshead. [16] From 1873 Clarke lived in a 20-room mansion called 'The Hermitage', which was built on the same land as the wall on which his commemorative plaque is appended. [17] |
Sir Vincent Litchfield Raven KBE | Site of former Greenesfield, near High Level Bridge [18] | 2011 [19] | Raven was an "engineering genius" who was the chief mechanical engineer at the North Eastern Railway where his successes in steam engineering ultimately frustrated his own visionary work on the possibility of electric trains. [18] | |
Sister Winifred Laver MBE | Gateshead Evangelical Centre, Derwentwater Road, Gateshead. [20] | 2011 | Birkenhead born Laver was a Methodist missionary who worked with the sick, starving and poor of Gateshead through the Vine Street Mission in Teams which she instituted in 1916. For her work she was awarded the Freedom of Gateshead. [21] | |
Carter's Well | | Adjacent Carter's Lodge, west side of Durham Road, Low Fell. [11] | 1995 | Public well which was the principal source of drinking and cooking water in Low Fell until the latter part of the 19th century. Restored in 1994. [5] |
Madeleine-Hope, Ruth and Sylvia Dodds | | Boundary wall of Home House, Low Fell. [11] | 2005 | The Dodds sisters were renowned public figures during the early part of the 20th century – authors, local politicians and founders of the Little Theatre. They lived at Home House for their entire lives. Plaque unveiled by Joe Mitchinson, Mayor of Gateshead, on 19 October 2005. [22] [23] |
William Henry Brockett | ![]() | King James Street (off Old Durham Road), Gateshead. [24] | 2010 | Brockett founded the first Gateshead newspaper, The Gateshead Observer, in 1837. He was editor of the paper from 1860 until his death in 1867. He was also heavily involved in local politics; he was a local councillor, alderman and Mayor of Gateshead in 1839–40. [24] [25] |
Sir Joseph Wilson Swan | ![]() | Underhill, Kells Lane, Low Fell. [26] | 2005 | Swan was a chemist and physicist who invented the incandescent light bulb, demonstrating this to the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1880. His home at Kells Lane, where his blue plaque is now appended, was the first in the world lit by electric light. Swan also revolutionised photography by his patented bromide paper. [27] |
Dr. Alfred Cox OBE | Westview House, Bensham Road, Bensham. [28] | 2011 | Dr. Cox was influential in improving public health in the borough and helped found the Gateshead Queen Victoria Nursing Association and the Gateshead Medical Association. He left the area in 1908 to work for the British Medical Association, where he was appointed Medical secretary in 1912; a post he held for 19 years. [28] | |
Felling mining disasters | Mulberry Street, Felling. [29] | 2012 | Unveiled to commemorate the 200th anniversary of an explosion in John Pit at Felling Colliery which killed 92 men and boys. Plaque is situated at a site corresponding with the original entrance to the colliery and was unveiled after a parade by local residents and schoolchildren. [14] | |
Felling mining disasters (2) | Boundary wall, St Mary's Church, Heworth. [29] | 2012 | Unveiled to commemorate the 200th anniversary of an explosion in John Pit at Felling Colliery which killed 92 men and boys. A memorial for those who died is on the church grounds. Plaque was unveiled after a parade by local residents and schoolchildren. [14] | |
George "Geordie" Ridley | ![]() | Outer wall, William IV public house, High Street, Gateshead. [29] | 1995 | Born and bred in Gateshead, [30] Ridley was a coal miner who was less notable in his lifetime than his brother [31] but is now remembered as composer and performer of the Blaydon Races. The plaque is located on the site of his former home. [32] |
William Wailes | ![]() | Saltwell Towers, Saltwell Park. [33] | 2005 | Wailes was a native of Newcastle upon Tyne who became one of the leading exponents of stained glass in England. His work can still be seen today in cathedrals at Chichester and Newcastle upon Tyne as well as at the restored Saltwell Towers; a "fairytale mansion" which he designed for him and his family in the mid 19th century. [34] [35] |
Blaydon Races | Shibdon Road, Blaydon-on-Tyne. [36] | 2012 | Plaque unveiled to celebrate 150th anniversary of the first running of the original Blaydon Race, along with a sculpture from Andrew Mckeown and the renaming of a train at Newcastle Central Station [36] [37] | |
William Shield | Hood Street/Market Lane, Swalwell. [38] | 2009 | Shield, born 1748, was a popular composer whose most notable work was the light opera Rosina, which continues to give rise to claims in several places that he, rather than Robert Burns, is the original composer of Auld Lang Syne – indeed, school children present at the plaque unveiling sang a rendition of the song. [38] [39] | |
Katherine Githa Sowerby | ![]() | Entrance to The Drive, Durham Road, Low Fell. [40] | 2009 | Sowerby, described by The Spectator in 2013 as a playwright, suffragette and Fabian, [41] was the daughter of a noted Gateshead glass maker and grew up in the town. Despite having been a "forgotten playwright" during much of her life and after her death in 1970, she is best known for her critically acclaimed play Rutherford and Son . [42] |
High Level Bridge | ![]() | East side of the central pier, High Level Bridge [43] | 2008 | Opened in 1845, the High Level Bridge linking Gateshead and Newcastle upon Tyne over the Tyne was the first bridge in the world to combine road and rail travel. [44] Designed by Robert Stephenson, it is now a Grade I listed bridge. [45] |
High Level Bridge Lamps | ![]() | West side of the central pier, High Level Bridge [43] | 2008 | Plaque commemorating the original lamps which still span the length of the bridge. A£171,000 project to restore these and convert them from gas to electric was completed in 2008 as part of a wider £40m bridge restoration project. The completed work was awarded a Grand Prize Europa Nostra Award in 2009. [46] [47] |
Tyne Bridge 75th Anniversary | ![]() | West side of South Tower, Tyne Bridge, Hillgate [43] | 2003 | Plaque commemorating the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Tyne Bridge – a steel and granite symbol of the Tyneside's industrial heritage described by the BBC as "one of the great bridges of the world" – by George V in 1928. [48] |
Arthur Holmes | ![]() | 19 Primrose Hill, Low Fell [49] | 2005 | Born in 1890, geologist Holmes recognised that the earth was billions, rather than millions, of years old. [50] His textbook Principles of Physical Geology is seminal work in the field [49] and he was the first Professor of Geology at Durham University, where they have named a Geological society in his honour [51] |
William and Catherine Booth | 15 Woodbine Place, Bensham [52] | 2005 | William Booth came with his wife Catherine to Gateshead in 1858 where he was appointed minister to the Gateshead Methodist circuit. His preaching at the Bethesda Chapel was "immediately successful" and it was not uncommon for 2,000 people to fill the chapel and hear him preach. [53] He left Gateshead for London in 1861 and in 1865 the Booths founded The Salvation Army. [54] [55] | |
The 1854 Fire | ![]() | East side of south tower, Tyne Bridge, Hillgate. [11] | 2004 [nb 1] | At 12.30am on Friday 6 October 1854, Wilson & Sons Worsted Manufactory at Gateshead quayside caught fire and the intense heat ignited sulphur and other combustibles in the nearby Bertrams Warehouse. The subsequent explosion resulted in the complete destruction of most of Gateshead and Newcastle quaysides and the loss of 53 lives. [57] [58] |
The Gateshead Dispensary | ![]() | South of old Dispensary building, Nelson Street [59] | 1982 | The dispensary was instituted by Rev. John Collinson, William Brockett and others after a cholera epidemic starting in December 1831 killed 234 Gateshead residents over 11 months. The dispensary opened on 2 November 1832 and provided medical help to the sick poor. It closed in 1946. [60] |
Daniel Defoe | ![]() | South side of Hillgate, adjacent St. Mary's Square [59] | 1995 | Author Defoe is thought to have lived at Hillgate around 1710 with a bookseller named Joseph Button. It had been said that he wrote his most famous work, Robinson Crusoe, whilst residing in the town but this has now been refuted. [61] [62] |
Brandling Station | North wall of station building, Mulberry Street, Felling [59] | 1978 | Plaque commemorating the restoration of the original stone station building in 1978. The Brandling Station was built on the Brandling Junction Railway in 1842 and is one of the oldest railway stations in the world. The station is now partially used as Felling Metro station whilst the restored building is a Grade II listed urban studies centre. [63] [64] [65] | |
River Police Station | East wall of former station building, adjacent Swing Bridge [43] | 1986 | The River Tyne Police have patrolled the river since 1845 – in their earliest days they used rowing boats and cutlasses. The plaque commemorates the opening of the Pipewellgate Station, built by Fenwicke and Watson, in 1910. [66] [67] | |
Emily Davies | ![]() | East side of Bensham Road at junction of Rectory Road [68] | 1995 | Born in 1830 in Southampton, Davies' family moved to Gateshead in 1839 when her father John became Rector of the town. Davies travelled to London in the late 1850s and returned to Gateshead to champion women's rights before founding Girton College, Cambridge in 1864. [69] |
Alex Glasgow | ![]() | 59 Church Road, Sheriff Hill/Low Fell boundary | 2006 [70] | Socialist singer/songwriter Alex Glasgow, the so-called "bard of Tyneside", is best remembered for writing and singing the theme tune to the BBC television classic When the Boat Comes In. The blue plaque is at his former family home. [70] [71] |
Robert Spence Watson | South wall Bensham Grove, Bensham Road. [68] | 1995 | Spence Watson was a Quaker who lived in Bensham Grove his entire life. He was a founding partner of Watson Burton LLP in Newcastle but is better known as an educational reformer who was made president of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1901 and was instrumental in the creation of the Durham College of Science which ultimately became Newcastle University. [72] [73] [74] | |
Newcastle Brown Ale is a brown ale, originally brewed in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Launched in 1927 by Colonel Jim Porter after three years of development, the 1960 merger of Newcastle Breweries with Scottish Brewers afforded the beer national distribution and sales peaked in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. The beer underwent a resurgence in the late 1980s and early 1990s with student unions selling it. By the late 1990s, the beer was the most widely distributed alcoholic product in the UK. By the 2000s, the majority of sales were in the United States, although it still sells 100 million bottles annually in the UK. Brewing moved in 2005 from Newcastle to Dunston, Tyne and Wear, and in 2010 to Tadcaster. In 2017, the Heineken Brewery in Zoeterwoude, the Netherlands, also began production. As of 2019, it is brewed as well by Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California, and Chicago, Illinois, for the American market.
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle, is a cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the River Tyne's northern bank, opposite Gateshead to the south. It is the most populous settlement in the Tyneside conurbation and North East England.
Gateshead is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. The town shares the Millennium Bridge, Tyne Bridge and multiple other bridges with Newcastle upon Tyne.
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term is used in the United Kingdom in two senses. It may be used narrowly and specifically to refer to the "official" scheme administered by English Heritage, and restricted to sites within Greater London; or it may be used less formally to encompass a number of similar schemes administered by organisations throughout the UK. The plaques erected are made in a variety of designs, shapes, materials and colours: some are blue, others are not. However, the term "blue plaque" is often used informally to encompass all such schemes.
The Tyne Bridge is a through arch bridge over the River Tyne in North East England, linking Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. The bridge was designed by the engineering firm Mott, Hay and Anderson, who later designed the Forth Road Bridge, and was built by Dorman Long and Co. of Middlesbrough. The bridge was officially opened on 10 October 1928 by King George V and has since become a defining symbol of Tyneside. It is ranked as the tenth tallest structure in Newcastle.
The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge spanning the River Tyne between Gateshead arts quarter on the south bank and Newcastle upon Tyne's Quayside area on the north bank. It was the first tilting bridge ever to be constructed. Opened for public use in 2001, the award-winning structure was conceived and designed by architectural practice WilkinsonEyre and structural engineering firm Gifford. The bridge is sometimes called the 'Blinking Eye Bridge' or the 'Winking Eye Bridge' due to its shape and its tilting method. The Millennium Bridge stands as the twentieth tallest structure in the city, and is shorter in stature than the neighbouring Tyne Bridge.
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.
Gateshead International Stadium (GIS) is a multi-purpose, all-seater venue in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Originally known as the Gateshead Youth Stadium, the venue was built in 1955 at a cost of £30,000. It has since been extensively re-developed on three occasions. Its capacity of around 11,800 is the greatest in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, the third-largest in Tyne and Wear, and the sixth-largest in North East England.
Felling is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. Historically part of County Durham, the town became part of the metropolitan borough of Gateshead in 1974. It lies on the B1426 Sunderland Road and the A184 Felling bypass, than 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Gateshead, 1 mile (1.6 km) south east of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 10 miles north west of the City of Sunderland. In 2011, Felling had a population of 8,908.
"Blaydon Races" is a Geordie folk song of 1862, with lyrics by George Ridley written in a style deriving from music hall. It celebrates the horse races held at Blaydon in North East England that year, although mostly composed in advance of the event. The words were inspired by the American ballad "On the Road to Brighton", to the tune of which they are set. The song has become a local anthem, and is frequently sung by supporters of Newcastle United Football Club, Newcastle Falcons rugby club, and Durham County Cricket Club.
Deckham is a residential suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. It is bordered by Gateshead town centre to the north, Sheriff Hill to the south, Felling and Carr Hill to the east and Shipcote to the west. It lies on the B1296, the route of the old Great North Road, 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Gateshead town centre, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 13 miles (21 km) north of the city of Durham. In 2011, Deckham had a population of 9,938.
Saltwell Park is a Victorian park in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Opened in 1876, the park was designed by Edward Kemp and incorporates the mansion and associated grounds of the Saltwellgate estate owner, William Wailes, who sold his estate to Gateshead Council for £35,000. Upon opening, it became known as "The People's Park". The park was expanded in 1920 when the council purchased the adjacent gardens to the Saltwell Grove estate and added these to the park. This extended the park's total size to 55 acres (22 ha). Towards the end of the 20th century, the park had fallen into disrepair, but between 1999 and 2005, it was subject to a £9.6 million restoration project, funded collaboratively by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Gateshead Council and is now host to around 2 million visitors per year.
Sheriff Hill is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. It lies on the B1296 road 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Gateshead, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of Newcastle upon Tyne and 12 miles (19 km) north of the historic city of Durham. According to the 2001 UK census it had a population of 5,051.
Ralph Hedley was a realist painter, woodcarver and illustrator, best known for his paintings portraying scenes of everyday life in the North East of England.
Low Fell is a suburb of Gateshead situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. Built predominantly on sandstone, grindstone and clay, it is bordered by Sheriff Hill/Deckham to the east, Saltwell/Bensham to the west, Harlow Green to the south and Shipcote to the north. Low Fell is 3 miles south of Gateshead, 3 miles south of Newcastle upon Tyne and 12 miles north of Durham.
Leam Lane Estate is a housing estate in Gateshead, built in the 1950s and early 60's. Originally made up solely of council-built accommodation and housing association houses. Most of the properties are now privately owned. The estate is located around 4 miles (6.4 km) from Newcastle upon Tyne, 10.5 miles (16.9 km) from Sunderland, and 15.5 miles (24.9 km) from Durham. In 2011, Census data for the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council ward of Wardley and Leam Lane recorded a total population of 8,327.
Lee Paul Novak is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker.
George "Geordie" Ridley was a Tyneside concert hall songwriter and performer in the middle of the 19th century. His most famous song is "Blaydon Races". He was a contemporary of Edward Corvan. He has been described by a council source as a candidate for Tyneside's most famous songwriter.
Windy Nook is an area in Tyne and Wear, England, bordered by Carr Hill to the west, Whitehills Estate and Leam Lane Estate to the east, Felling to the north and Sheriff Hill to the south. It lies on steep, sloping land 2.25 miles (3.62 km) south of Gateshead, 2.75 miles (4.43 km) south of Newcastle upon Tyne and 12 miles (19 km) north of Durham. In 2011, the Windy Nook and Whitehills ward had a population of 9,781. Formerly part of Heworth, it was incorporated into the newly formed Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead on 1 April 1974.
Carr Hill is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. It is bordered by Felling to the north, Sheriff Hill to the south, Windy Nook to the east and Deckham to the west. It lies 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Gateshead, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and 13 miles (21 km) north of the historic City of Durham. Once a village in County Durham, it was incorporated into the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead by the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974.