Bill Quay - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Bill Quay is an area in the east of Gateshead

Gateshead

Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...

in North East England

North East England

North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...

, situated between Hebburn

Hebburn

Hebburn is a small town situated on the south bank of the River Tyne in North East England, sandwiched between the towns of Jarrow and Bill Quay...

to the east and Pelaw

Pelaw

Pelaw is a district that forms part of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, in north-east England.It lies in between the older settlements of Heworth to the West and Bill Quay to the East with Wardley to the south and the southern bank of the river Tyne forming the northern...

to the west. It lies on the south bank of the River Tyne

River Tyne

The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...

, facing Walker-on-Tyne.

History

During the 19th century it was an industrial area catering for chemical works, bottle works, Robson's Paint and shipbuilding. The area saw an economic upturn at the end of the 19th century when the CWS (Co-Operative Wholesale Society

Co-operative wholesale society

A Co-operative Wholesale Society, or CWS, is a form of Co-operative Federation , in this case, the members are usually Consumers' Co-operatives...

) opened its vast and extensive string of factories along its main thoroughfare, Shields Road. Boutlands, Harrisons and Wood-Skinner were shipbuilders at Bill Quay with Harrisons remaining the last shipbuilders on the Tyne's south bank until its closure recently.

Notable establishments

Bill Quay Community Farm

An important urban farm and one of only 16 farm parks nationally recognised by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust

Rare Breeds Survival Trust

The Rare Breeds Survival Trust is a conservation charity, whose purpose is to secure the continued existence and viability of the United Kingdom’s native farm animal genetic resources...

in the UK. Breeds include Tamworth pigs

Tamworth Pig

The Tamworth is a breed of domestic pig originating in the United Kingdom, with input from Irish pigs. It is among the oldest of pig breeds but as with many older breeds of livestock it is not well suited to modern production methods and is listed as "Threatened" in the United States and...

, Jacob sheep

Jacob (sheep)

The Jacob sheep is a rare breed of small, piebald , polycerate sheep. Jacobs may have from two to six horns, but most commonly have four. The most common color is black and white, but they may also be blue and white or lilac and white in coloring. Jacobs are usually raised for their wool, meat,...

, Hebridean sheep

Hebridean (sheep)

The Hebridean is a breed of small black sheep from Scotland, similar to other members of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group, having a short, triangular tail. They often have two pairs of horns...

, Scots Grey hens and Bagot goat

Bagot goat

The Bagot goat is a breed of goat which for several hundred years has lived semi-wild at Blithfield Hall, Staffordshire, England. It is a small goat, with a black head and neck and the remainder of the body white...

s. It plays host to Chickenstock, a showcase festival for local Gateshead based bands that happens yearly.

Bill Quay Albion Cricket Club

Bill Quay Albion Cricket Club compete in the Durham Coast league.

Bill Quay in fiction

The novel Schoolfrenz by Ray Crowther (ISBN 0-9541110-3-6) is set mainly on Tyneside. Bill Quay is mentioned several times and is the location for a murder scene in the book.
The author's website (Ray Crowther) contains an extract from Schoolfrenz about Bill Quay, and has photographs of Bill Quay and the surrounding area.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.