Fenham
Encyclopedia
Fenham is an area of the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne
, England
. It lies to the west of the city centre, and is bounded on the north and east by a large area of open land known as the Town Moor
. To the south lies Benwell
, whilst West Denton lies to the west, Blakelaw
and Cowgate
to the north, and Arthur's Hill
and Spital Tongues
to the east. The area has an ethnically mixed population, and is also home to a large number of students.
The area covers two wards of Newcastle: Wingrove Ward, and Fenham Ward. At the 2001 Census
the overall population was found to be 22,376 of whom 14.4 per cent belonged to an ethnic minority, more than twice the average for Newcastle as a whole. Of persons age 16-74, 52.3 per cent were defined as economically active, compared with 58.5 per cent for the city as a whole.
The BBC
Broadcasting Centre on Barrack Road houses Radio Newcastle
and Look North
.
on Fenham Hall Drive. Fenham has an active residents group called Fenham Association of Residents FAR that launched the FAR Community Centre in 2001. The FAR Community Centre offers activities for all age groups offering activities aimed at helping residents improve their self esteem and skills. There is also a public swimming pool
, since August 2005 run as a community organisation. The pool was shut in 2003, but in 2004 the Liberal Democrats took control of Newcastle City Council
from Labour
; one of their pledges was to re-open Fenham pool, which was achieved with substantial financial backing from residents of the local community.
The main local schools include Westgate Community College on West Road, Saint Cuthberts RC High School on Gretna Road and Sacred Heart RC High School . There are also some private schools situated in Fenham, one is Dame Allan's
on Fowberry Crescent.
butchers and Asian jewellery and clothing stores. There are many ethnic minority groups living side by side in Fenham with a significant number of people being of either Pakistani or Bangladeshi
origin.
These are PJ Morrissey, Colin Daglish. Terence Cooney, who was the third councillor died on the 19th of September 2008.
Cooney was the longest serving councillor, having been elected in 1971. Morrisey and Daglish are representatives of the Liberal Democrat party and Cooney was a member of the Labour party.
The British National Party have seen some electoral advance in recent elections, most notably in a by-election which saw the party's North East organiser, Ken Booth, poll 836 (27%) votes.
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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies to the west of the city centre, and is bounded on the north and east by a large area of open land known as the Town Moor
Town Moor, Newcastle upon Tyne
The Town Moor is a large area of common land in Newcastle upon Tyne. It covers an area of around 400ha, and is larger than Hyde Park and Hampstead Heath combined, stretching from the city centre and Spital Tongues in the south out to Cowgate/Kenton Bar to the west, Gosforth to the north and...
. To the south lies Benwell
Benwell
Benwell is an area in the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.-History:Benwell village was recorded in A.D. 1050 known as Bynnewalle which roughly translates as "behind the wall" or "by the wall". Referring to its position relative to Hadrian's Wall...
, whilst West Denton lies to the west, Blakelaw
Blakelaw
Blakelaw is an electoral ward situated in the West End of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England. The population of the ward is 11,186, which is 4.6% of the city's population. Car ownership in the area is 50.6%: this is lower than the city average of 54.7%...
and Cowgate
Cowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne
Cowgate is a locality in the north-west of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It lies mainly between the Kenton ward, and the Blakelaw ward. The name is believed to come from the gate the local farmers would use from the Nuns Moor area to herd their livestock to the Newcastle cattle market....
to the north, and Arthur's Hill
Arthur's Hill
Arthur's Hill is an area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.The area is situated one mile west of the city centre, in the Wingrove electoral ward. As the name suggests, the area is atop a large hill overlooking the city...
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...
to the east. The area has an ethnically mixed population, and is also home to a large number of students.
The area covers two wards of Newcastle: Wingrove Ward, and Fenham Ward. At the 2001 Census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
the overall population was found to be 22,376 of whom 14.4 per cent belonged to an ethnic minority, more than twice the average for Newcastle as a whole. Of persons age 16-74, 52.3 per cent were defined as economically active, compared with 58.5 per cent for the city as a whole.
History
Fenham grew up as a separate township from Newcastle, lying on the western outskirts of the city. Much of the land originally belonged to religious charitable institutions, and there are covenant restrictions on the building of any licensed premises. In 1895 Benwell and Fenham Urban District was created; in 1904 the area was incorporated into Newcastle upon Tyne.The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Broadcasting Centre on Barrack Road houses Radio Newcastle
BBC Radio Newcastle
BBC Newcastle is the BBC Local Radio service English metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, broadcasting from studios on Barrack Road in Newcastle upon Tyne.- Technical :...
and Look North
BBC Look North (North East and Cumbria)
BBC Look North is the BBC's regional television news service for the BBC North East and Cumbria region. The programmes are produced and broadcast from the BBC Broadcasting Centre on Barrack Road in Newcastle upon Tyne with journalists also based at newsrooms in Middlesbrough, Durham, York and...
.
Local Amenities
Fenham possesses a public libraryPublic library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
on Fenham Hall Drive. Fenham has an active residents group called Fenham Association of Residents FAR that launched the FAR Community Centre in 2001. The FAR Community Centre offers activities for all age groups offering activities aimed at helping residents improve their self esteem and skills. There is also a public swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
, since August 2005 run as a community organisation. The pool was shut in 2003, but in 2004 the Liberal Democrats took control of Newcastle City Council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
from Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
; one of their pledges was to re-open Fenham pool, which was achieved with substantial financial backing from residents of the local community.
The main local schools include Westgate Community College on West Road, Saint Cuthberts RC High School on Gretna Road and Sacred Heart RC High School . There are also some private schools situated in Fenham, one is Dame Allan's
Dame Allan's School, Newcastle
Dame Allan's Schools were founded in Newcastle upon Tyne in England in 1705, and are two of the oldest schools in the city.-History:They were founded by Dame Eleanor Allan, the daughter of a local goldsmith and the widow of a tobacco merchant, to provide a proper education for "40 poor boys and 20...
on Fowberry Crescent.
Popularity in Local Region
The town is also becoming increasingly popular with students and young professionals however unlike other parts of the city experiencing a growth of student numbers relations between locals and the seasonal influx of students are kept civil in large part thanks to the local council.Ethnic minority
Today Fenham is most well known in the local area for its large Asian community with many of the businesses in the area being Asian-owned and including many speciality stores such as a halalHalal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
butchers and Asian jewellery and clothing stores. There are many ethnic minority groups living side by side in Fenham with a significant number of people being of either Pakistani or Bangladeshi
British Bangladeshi
A British Bangladeshi is a person of Bangladeshi origin who resides in the United Kingdom having emigrated to the UK and attained citizenship through naturalisation or whose parents did so; they are also known as British Bengalis...
origin.
Councillors
There are three councillors for the Fenham electoral ward.These are PJ Morrissey, Colin Daglish. Terence Cooney, who was the third councillor died on the 19th of September 2008.
Cooney was the longest serving councillor, having been elected in 1971. Morrisey and Daglish are representatives of the Liberal Democrat party and Cooney was a member of the Labour party.
The British National Party have seen some electoral advance in recent elections, most notably in a by-election which saw the party's North East organiser, Ken Booth, poll 836 (27%) votes.