Rowlands Gill
Encyclopedia
Rowlands Gill is a village situated along the A694, between Winlaton Mill and Blackhall Mill, on the north bank of the River Derwent
, Tyne and Wear
, England
. With the coming of the Derwent Valley Railway in 1867, Rowlands Gill became both a coal mining village
, and during the early part of the twentieth century a dormitory suburb of commercial & industrial Tyneside. An independent village within Blaydon Urban District Council, in County Durham
, it became incorporated into Tyne and Wear in 1974 and then the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead
in 1986.
It is in the greenbelt
of Gateshead. The village has a picturesque setting with much open space and views across the valley to Gibside
, the estate now owned by the National Trust.
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
, which is served by three Liberal Democrat
councillors. Gateshead council is Labour controlled.
Rowlands Gill is also located within the parliamentary constituency of Blaydon. Its current MP is Labour's Dave Anderson
.
are six. However, there is the Vale of Derwent CIU social club.The village is served by a Tesco Metro supermarket, a Lloyds TSB Bank, a GP surgery, a dentist, two hairdressers, two florists, and three estate agents. Other shops include a branch of Londis (containing the newsagent and post office), Boots, a barber, a pet shop, a picture framer, a computer store, a washing machine repair shop, a bookmakers, a pre-loved car sales establishment, a gym, and other shops.
The Library and two small churches are situated near the village centre. These are Strathmore Road Methodist Church and St. Barnabas Church of England.
There is an Italian restaurant, a Chinese restaurant/take-away, a tea-shop, and the award winning fish and chip shop Maguires.
The village's 'In Bloom Committee' is very active and has entered the Britain in Bloom competition over the past 3 or 4 years in the 'Large Village' category. The participation is boasted by signs marking the village.
Formerly connected to the railway, the village is still busy with transport with a heavily used road running through. There are frequent bus services (Services 45/46 and 47 provided by Go North East
) to Newcastle
City Centre, the MetroCentre and, in the other direction, Blackhall Mill or Consett
wia Ebchester and Shotley Bridge. Other minor bus routes also operate such as the local circle buses serving areas such as Sherburn Towers, and the UCall bus service.
Rowlands Gill has a very successful primary school. The Infant and Junior schools have recently amalgamated but were originally based on two sites. This primary school is the feeder school for Hookergate School, just over 2 miles away, near High Spen.
Rowlands Gill, and the surrounding Derwent Valley, was chosen by the Northern Kites Project as the location for the re-introduction of Red Kites in semi-rural areas. This scheme has proven to be a big success, with birds being spotted across the west of the borough, from Crawcrook
to Rowlands Gill itself.
River Derwent, North East England
The River Derwent is a river on the border between County 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 near the MetroCentre...
, Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
, 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...
. With the coming of the Derwent Valley Railway in 1867, Rowlands Gill became both a coal mining village
Pit village
A pit village is a term used in the UK for the village serving a deep coal mine.Many of the workers lived in houses that were provided by the colliery. Many villages have experienced depopulation after colliery closures forced people to move to other towns and cities where there are jobs for them...
, and during the early part of the twentieth century a dormitory suburb of commercial & industrial Tyneside. An independent village within Blaydon Urban District Council, in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, it became incorporated into Tyne and Wear in 1974 and then the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead
Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead
The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead is a metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. It is named after its largest town, Gateshead, but also spans the towns of Rowlands Gill, Whickham, Blaydon and Ryton; suburban areas include Felling, Pelaw, Dunston and Low Fell.It is bordered...
in 1986.
It is in the greenbelt
Green Belt (UK)
In United Kingdom town planning, the green belt is a policy for controlling urban growth. The idea is for a ring of countryside where urbanisation will be resisted for the foreseeable future, maintaining an area where agriculture, forestry and outdoor leisure can be expected to prevail...
of Gateshead. The village has a picturesque setting with much open space and views across the valley to Gibside
Gibside
Gibside is a country estate near Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear, North East England that was previously owned by the Bowes-Lyon family. It is now a National Trust property. The main house on the estate is now a shell, although the property is most famous for its chapel...
, the estate now owned by the National Trust.
Local politics
In local governmentLocal government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
Rowlands Gill is located mainly within the ward of 'Chopwell
Chopwell
Chopwell is a village in Tyne and Wear, located approximately three miles west of Rowlands Gill and one mile north of Hamsterley.Traditionally an area of coal mining, Chopwell was nicknamed "Little Moscow" because of the strong support for the Communist Party...
and Rowlands Gill. It is served by three councillors, all of whom are 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...
councillors, except for the north end at Lockhaugh, which falls within the ward of Winlaton
Winlaton
Winlaton is a village situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. Once an independent village in County Durham, it became incorporated into the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear and Borough of Gateshead in 1974....
and High Spen
High Spen
High Spen is an old mining village in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. There is an entrance to Chopwell Wood, whose forest festival and Christmas Trees attract many visitors to the village every year. High Spen has one pub, called The Bute Arms, and two Working Men's clubs...
, which is served by three Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
councillors. Gateshead council is Labour controlled.
Rowlands Gill is also located within the parliamentary constituency of Blaydon. Its current MP is Labour's Dave Anderson
David Anderson (UK politician)
David Anderson is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Blaydon since 2005.-Early life:...
.
Retail and facilities
An outstanding feature of the village is the absence of a pub. When the land owners sold off their land for house-building at the end of the 19th century, they stipulated that no public houses were to be built upon that land. The original Towneley Arms Public House predated the village. It was built in 1835, when the turnpike road (now the A694) came along the valley, to serve travellers and their horses. The original building was replaced in 1961, but sadly this was demolished in 2002 to make way for dwellings. NB. The adjoining hamlet of Winlaton Mill has two pubs, nearby Winlaton has ten, over the river at BurnopfieldBurnopfield
Burnopfield is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated north of Stanley, close to the River Derwent and is 564 feet above sea level.A village with local school, churches and newsagents...
are six. However, there is the Vale of Derwent CIU social club.The village is served by a Tesco Metro supermarket, a Lloyds TSB Bank, a GP surgery, a dentist, two hairdressers, two florists, and three estate agents. Other shops include a branch of Londis (containing the newsagent and post office), Boots, a barber, a pet shop, a picture framer, a computer store, a washing machine repair shop, a bookmakers, a pre-loved car sales establishment, a gym, and other shops.
The Library and two small churches are situated near the village centre. These are Strathmore Road Methodist Church and St. Barnabas Church of England.
There is an Italian restaurant, a Chinese restaurant/take-away, a tea-shop, and the award winning fish and chip shop Maguires.
Recreation and education
The Derwent Park provides access to the river where permit holders can fish as well as tennis courts, sanity putting, recreational fields and playground facilities. The park also has a caravan park. The Derwent Country Walk runs through the village along the route of the old rail tracks.The village's 'In Bloom Committee' is very active and has entered the Britain in Bloom competition over the past 3 or 4 years in the 'Large Village' category. The participation is boasted by signs marking the village.
Formerly connected to the railway, the village is still busy with transport with a heavily used road running through. There are frequent bus services (Services 45/46 and 47 provided by Go North East
Go North East
Go North East is the largest operator of bus services in North East England, United Kingdom. Go North East operates services in the counties of Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Northumberland...
) to Newcastle
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...
City Centre, the MetroCentre and, in the other direction, Blackhall Mill or Consett
Consett
Consett is a town in the northwest of County Durham, England, about southwest of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is home to 27,394 .Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. In 1841, it was a village community of only 145, but it was about to become a boom town: below the ground was coking coal and...
wia Ebchester and Shotley Bridge. Other minor bus routes also operate such as the local circle buses serving areas such as Sherburn Towers, and the UCall bus service.
Rowlands Gill has a very successful primary school. The Infant and Junior schools have recently amalgamated but were originally based on two sites. This primary school is the feeder school for Hookergate School, just over 2 miles away, near High Spen.
Rowlands Gill, and the surrounding Derwent Valley, was chosen by the Northern Kites Project as the location for the re-introduction of Red Kites in semi-rural areas. This scheme has proven to be a big success, with birds being spotted across the west of the borough, from Crawcrook
Crawcrook
Crawcrook is a semi-rural village close to the western border of the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear in England. Traditionally an independent village in County Durham it has since been incorporated into the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead.-Location:...
to Rowlands Gill itself.
Notable people
The following notable people were either born in Rowlands Gill or lived there for a significant period:- Kirsty WadeKirsty WadeKirsty Wade is a former middle distance runner, who was born as Kirsty McDermott.Wade competed for Wales in two Commonwealth Games winning a gold medal in the 800 metres at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia and gold medals in both the 800 and 1500 metres at the 1986 Commonwealth...
..athlete
External links
- Hookergate School
- Friends of Red Kites - Details about the reintroduced kites in the Derwent Valley, Gateshead
- Who was Rowland? http://www.bpears.org.uk/Misc/Local/Rowland.html