Birtley, Tyne and Wear

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Birtley
latitude= 54.900
longitude= -1.577
metropolitan_borough= Gateshead
region= North East England
metropolitan_county = Tyne and Wear
constituency_westminster= Blaydon
post_town= CHESTER LE STREET
postcode_district = DH3
postcode_area= DH
dial_code= 0191
os_grid_reference= NZ271563 Birtley is an area in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is situated to the south of Gateshead town and is physically linked to Chester-le-Street across the County boundary in County Durham. Until 1974, Birtley and the adjoining areas of Barley Mow, Vigo and Portobello were part of the old Chester-le-Street Rural District. Since 1974, these neighbouring areas have been considered part of 'greater' Birtley. Birtley was a civil parish with a parish council (which also covered the adjoining neighbourhoods) until April 1, 2006 after a local referendum agreed to abolish it. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/4638145.stm Referndum to abolish Civil Parish] ]

Birtley lies within the historic county boundaries of County Durham and uniquely among settlements in Gateshead, Birtley forms part of the Chester-le-Street post town, which is associated with Durham.

Antony Gormley's famous Angel of the North is situated on high ground on the site of the baths of the old 'Betty Ann Pit' to the north of Birtley and overlooks the area.

The main road through Birtley is the non-primary A167 which runs from Topcliffe, North Yorkshire through to the north of Newcastle upon Tyne, and is the same road which runs across the Tyne Bridge. This was an original route for the Great North Road and the A1 until a bypass was built in the 1980s.

Birtley is the home of the Royal Ordnance factory and the Komatsu Heavy Engineering Company which operates from the previous premises Birtley Iron Works (1827-, which became premises of the Caterpillar Company in the mid 20th century). A 'CarCraft Hypermarket' has been recently built on the site of an old factory in south west Birtley, reclaiming much wasted brown field site land.

The Royal Ordnance Factory was a major target of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. Thanks to its reputation as 'misty valley' Birtley and the factory survived any hits. The phrase 'misty valley' was coined by Tommy Lawton, a worker at the ROF in the 1970s.

The main East Coast railway line is used as a county border to the west of the town. Mainline trains did used to stop at the towns long dismantled station. Birtley Station was closed on December 5, 1955. Her sister, The Station Hotel was closed in 1971, having been opened in 1868 or earlier.

Just near to the site of the station, is where the well known Birtley Brick Works was located. Once employing most of the town's workforce, it is a shadow of its former self.

The town itself, has been host to major housing developments since the 1950s. Several council estates were created to replace the old squatters camps, taken over at the end of the second world war and also the village created to house Belgian refugees. In the 1960s and 70s - private housing was built on the Vigo Estate. Modern housing has continued in the North West of the Town until recently.

chools and Education

There are several primary schools in Birtley and one large Senior School, Lord Lawson of Beamish School, which is situated on a hill overlooking Birtley. This school has recently been replaced with a new building on the same site that opened in late 2007. There are several famous past students from Lord Lawson, including famous footballer Bryan Robson and the broadcaster and TV presenter Matthew Davies.

Religion and Churches

There are altogether three mainstream Churches in Birtley; these consist of:

#St Joseph's (RC) [ [http://www.stjosephs-birtley.co.uk index ] ]
Built in 1843 after the 1791 Catholic Relief Act and designed by John Dobson in early Gothic style. Currently serving in this parish are Fr Antony Duffy and Deacon Peter Lavery.
#St John the Evangelist (CofE) [ [http://www.birtley-stjohns.org.uk St. John the Evangelist church] ]
# A Methodist Church (name unknown) [ [http://www.clsmethodistcircuit.org.uk Unnamed methodist church - details] . ] [http://sine.ncl.ac.uk/site_map/image_list.asp?startdoc=4801&enddoc=4900 Station Hotel from SINE] [http://sine.ncl.ac.uk/view_image.asp?digital_doc_id=4341 Birtley Station 1969]

*Birtley also has a large Cemetery with a Chapel and Crematorium.

References