Rowlands Gill | |
---|---|
View from Gibside Estate | |
Location within Tyne and Wear | |
Population | 6,096 (2011) |
OS grid reference | NZ165585 |
Metropolitan borough | |
Metropolitan county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | ROWLANDS GILL |
Postcode district | NE39 |
Dialling code | 01207 |
Police | Northumbria |
Fire | Tyne and Wear |
Ambulance | North East |
UK Parliament | |
Rowlands Gill is a village on the north bank of the River Derwent, in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. [1] The Gibside Estate is near the town.
With the coming of the Derwent Valley Railway in 1867, Rowlands Gill became a coal mining village and was under Blaydon Urban District, in County Durham, until it was incorporated into the County of Tyne and Wear and the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in 1974.
In local government Rowlands Gill is located mainly within the ward of Chopwell and Rowlands Gill. It is served by three councillors, all of whom are Labour councillors, except for the north end at Lockhaugh, which falls within the ward of Winlaton and High Spen, and is served by two Liberal Democrat councillors. Gateshead Council is Labour-controlled.
Rowlands Gill is in the parliamentary constituency of Blaydon and Consett. The MP is Labour's Liz Twist.
Rowlands Gill is situated within Gateshead's Greenbelt, 6 miles southwest of Newcastle just outside of the Tyneside urban sprawl. [2] Transport in the area is mainly focused on Buses as the nearest railway station is Blaydon railway station, 3 miles to the north, and is further away from any Tyne and Wear Metro stations. The village lies on the A694, known as 'Station Road' in the village centre. Another nearby major road is the A692 that passes through the nearby areas of Byermoor and Hobson, County Durham.
The village has two licensed premises, the Vale of Derwent Working Mens Club and a "micro pub", The Railway Tavern. The Towneley Arms Public House pre-dated the village, being built in 1835 to serve travellers and their horses on the turnpike road through the valley.[ citation needed ] It was rebuilt in 1961,[ citation needed ] but due to low business, demolished in 2002 and replaced with dwellings.[ citation needed ] There are plentiful dining/alehouse facilities in the surrounding villages of Winlaton Mill, Burnopfield & Winlaton.
The village has a GP with four medical doctors, a dental surgery and a chemist shop. There is a barber, two other hairdressers, two art shops, a gym, a post office, a grocer, a florist, an ice cream shop, a garage, and an appliance shop. It also has an estate agent, an accountant, a bookmaker and a mortician.
There is an Italian restaurant, a Chinese restaurant/take-away, a tea-shop, a sandwich shop, and a fish and chip shop.
A public library is near the village centre. Strathmore Road Methodist Church and St. Barnabas Church of England Church are near the centre.
The war memorial is a Grade II listed building. [3]
Derwent Park provides access to the river, where permit holders can fish. It also has tennis courts, a putting green, recreational fields and playground facilities. The Derwent Country Walk runs through the village along the route of the disused railway line.
The A694 runs through the town. There are frequent bus services to Newcastle City Centre, the MetroCentre and, in the other direction, Blackhall Mill and Consett. Other minor bus routes such as UCall bus service operate.
Rowlands Gill has a primary school, which was rebuilt in 2007 after the previously separate infant and junior schools had merged. The school is a feeder to Thorp Academy. Some parents send their children to St Thomas More Catholic School, Blaydon.
Rowlands Gill and the surrounding Derwent Valley were chosen by the Northern Kites Project as the location for re-introducing red kites in semi-rural areas. [4] The scheme has proved to be a success, with birds being spotted across the west of the borough, from Crawcrook through Rowlands Gill, to Burnopfield and Whickham.
These notable people were born in Rowlands Gill or lived there for a significant period:
The River Derwent is a river which flows between the historic county boundaries of Durham and Northumberland in the north east of England. It broadens into the Derwent Reservoir, west of Consett. The Derwent is a tributary of the River Tyne, which it joins at Derwenthaugh near Gateshead.
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.
Burnopfield is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated north of Stanley and Annfield Plain, close to the River Derwent and is 564 feet above sea level. There are around 4,553 inhabitants in Burnopfield. It is located 7 miles from Newcastle upon Tyne and 15 miles from Durham.
Low Westwood is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated immediately to the west of Hamsterley. Low Westwood is probably best known for Hamsterley Christ Church and Derwent care home.
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.
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 was 9,058, increasing from 8,841 in 2011. The village was historically part of County Durham until 1974.
Dunston is a western area of the town of Gateshead on the south bank of the River Tyne, in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, North East England. Dunston had a population of 18,326 at the 2011 Census.
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.
Chopwell is a village in the Gateshead district, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Rowlands Gill and 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Hamsterley. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 9,395.
Winlaton is a village situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Historically in County Durham, it was incorporated into the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear and Borough of Gateshead in 1974. In 2011 the village was absorbed into the Gateshead MBC ward of Winlaton and High Spen. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 8,342.
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.
Derwenthaugh Coke Works was a coking plant on the River Derwent near Swalwell in Gateshead. The works were built in 1928 on the site of the Crowley's Iron Works, which had at one time been the largest iron works in Europe. The coke works was closed and demolished in the late 1980s, and replaced by Derwenthaugh Park.
The Derwent Valley Railway was a branch railway in County Durham, England. Built by the North Eastern Railway, it ran from Swalwell to Blackhill via five intermediate stations, and onwards to Consett.
Byermoor is a village near Burnopfield and Sunniside in the Gateshead district, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. The village has a population of around 100 and contains a school and a church. The village sits on the South side of the A692 on a ridge overlooking the Derwent Valley and the nearby village of Burnopfield. It is the last village on the old turnpike road to Wolsingham before it reaches the border with County Durham.
Marley Hill is a former colliery village about six miles to the south west of Gateshead, near the border between Tyne and Wear and County Durham. It has been part of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead since 1974. Prior to this it was part of Whickham Urban District. It lies within the Whickham South & Sunniside electoral ward of the Blaydon parliamentary constituency.
Winlaton Mill is a village in Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is not to be confused with Winlaton to the northwest which now comprises the southern part of Blaydon. The village is halfway between Gateshead to the northeast and Rowlands Gill to the southwest. Statistically Winlaton Mill is part of the ward of Winlaton and High Spen which contains part of Blaydon, High Spen and other outlying villages. The village is on the A694 which joins the A1 at Swalwell and contains the Red Kite Pub and Restaurant. Winlaton Mill is near the River Derwent which may suggest its name.
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.