Ashington is a town and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
in
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land ...
, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the
coal mining industry. The town is north of
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
, west of the A189 and bordered to the south by the
River Wansbeck
The River Wansbeck runs through the county of Northumberland, England. It rises above Sweethope Lough on the edge of Fourlaws Forest in the area known locally as The Wanneys (Great Wanney Crag, Little Wanney Crag; thus the "Wanneys Beck"); runs ...
. The
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
coast at
Newbiggin-by-the-Sea
Newbiggin-by-the-Sea is a quaint seaside town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located on the North Sea coast. The town owes its proud heritage to having once flourished as an important trade route for shipping grain trade, grain fr ...
is away.
Many inhabitants have a distinctive
accent and
dialect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
known as
Pitmatic
__NOTOC__
Pitmatic (originally: "Pitmatical", colloquially known as "Yakka") is a group of traditional Northern English dialects spoken in rural areas of the Northumberland and Durham Coalfield in England.
The separating dialectal development ...
. This varies from the regional dialect known as
Geordie.
History
Toponymy
The name Ashington comes from the earlier form Essendene, which has been referenced since 1170. This may have originated from a given name ''Æsc'', not unknown among
Saxon invaders who sailed from
Northern Germany. If so he came to the Wansbeck and would have settled in this deep wooded valley near
Sheepwash. The "de" in the early orthographies more strongly suggests
dene
The Dene people () are an indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages. ''Dene'' is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term "Dene" ha ...
, so
ash
Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
dene - these trees would have lined it.
In the 1700s all that existed of Ashington was a small farm with a few dwellings around it.
Coal mining
The first evidence of mining is from bell-shaped pits and monastic mine workings discovered in the 20th Century during tunnelling. Ashington developed from a small hamlet in the 1840s when the
Duke of Portland
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...
built housing to encourage people escaping the
Great Famine of Ireland to come and work at his nearby
collieries
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...
. As in many other parts of Britain, "deep pit" coal mining in the area declined during the 1980s and 1990s leaving just one colliery,
Ellington, which closed in January 2005. In 2006 plans for an opencast mine on the outskirts of the town were put forward, although many people objected to it. During the heyday of coal-mining, Ashington was considered to be the "world's largest coal-mining village". There is now a debate about whether Ashington should be referred to as a town or a village; if considered as a village it would be one of the
largest villages in England.
Growth of the town
![Ashington Town hall - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Ashington_Town_hall_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1508355.jpg)
As coal mining expanded, more people left the countryside and settled in Ashington. This led the Ashington Coal Company to build parallel rows of colliery houses. Some newcomers came from as far as
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
to make use of their
tin-mining skills.
Ashington railway station opened in 1878, and services to
Newbiggin and
Tynemouth were operated by the
Blyth and Tyne Railway. The nearest station to Ashington on the
East Coast Main Line was Longhirst to the north west of the town, which opened in 1847 and had services to both
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
and
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
. By 1896, the town had grown sufficiently to warrant the creation of Ashington
Urban District
Urban district may refer to:
* District
* Urban area
* Quarter (urban subdivision)
* Neighbourhood
Specific subdivisions in some countries:
* Urban districts of Denmark
* Urban districts of Germany
* Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...
.
In 1913
the original Ashington Hospital was built. It was about 1/4 mile from the town centre. The hospital was expanded in the 1950s and 60s with large new wings.
Traditionally the area to the east of the railway was called Hirst and that to the west was Ashington proper. Although collectively called Ashington, both halves had their own park: Hirst Park (opened in 1915) in the east and the People's Park in the west.
The colliery-built houses followed a grid plan. The streets in the Hirst End running north to south were named after British trees, such as
Hawthorn
Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to:
Plants
* '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae
* ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
Road,
Beech Terrace, and Chestnut Street. The east-west running streets were numbered avenues, starting with First Avenue near the town centre, finishing at Seventh Avenue towards the southern end. After the 1920s houses in Ashington were built by the council and were most often semi-detached houses, such as Garden City Villas. These occupied much of the fields in the Hirst area. New estates were built in different areas. The biggest building programme was in the late 1960s
[Kirkup Mike, 2003 ''Hirst-Recollections of an Ashington Community''] and saw Ashington extend south from Seventh Avenue opposite the Technical College
towards North Seaton and south eastwards towards the A189. Some of the houses at the north end of Alexandra Road were private homes. During this building programme several new schools were built, for example Coulson Park, Seaton Hirst Middle. Community shops and a social club (the Northern) were built off Fairfield Drive. The late 1970s and early 1980s saw construction of Nursery Park opposite the North Seaton Hotel. The late 1980s and 1990s saw the building of the Wansbeck Estate between the River Wansbeck and Green Lane as well as the large Fallowfield Estate.
Decline of the Coal Industry
In 1964, as part of the
Beeching Axe, Ashington railway station was closed. The site of the station was developed in the late 1960s into Wansbeck Square, housing a supermarket, council offices and a public library, built partly over the railway line.
In 1981 the
Woodhorn
Woodhorn is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Newbiggin by the Sea, in Northumberland, England, about east of Ashington. In 1931 the parish had a population of 219. The village is sometimes identified with Wucestre, giv ...
Pit closed and its chimney was demolished. In the late 1980s this became a museum. In 1988 Ashington Pit was closed and is now occupied by a business park. In the early 2000s
maisonette
An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ...
flats in various parts of Hirst were demolished and parts of the Moorhouse and Woodbridge estate opposite Woodhorn Pit were demolished.
The railway was used until recently by the Alcan Aluminium plant, to transport coal to its adjacent power station in the nearby town of Lynemouth. The plant closed in late 2015. The line was put in use again from mid-2017 to transport materials to Lynemouth, for the conversion of the coal-fired power station to produce power from biomass.
In October 2008, plans to opencast 2m tonnes of coal in Ashington were approved.
UK Coal
UK Coal Production Ltd, formerly UK Coal plc, was the largest coal mining business in the United Kingdom. The company was based in Harworth, in Nottinghamshire. The company was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The successor company that co ...
's plans which were first submitted in 2005, would create 60+ jobs.
Geography
Ashington is in south east
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land ...
, which is a largely urban area adjacent to Newcastle. Most of the area is of flat ground formed during the
Carboniferous period when ancient tropical swamp forests were buried and formed the coal seams that have given this area its significance. The local geology is of yellow
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
. The land to the north west of the town is slightly undulating due to mining
subsidence, which sometimes causes farmland to be flooded. The south east part of the town is slightly raised giving views to the north. From certain parts of town the
Cheviot Hills
The Cheviot Hills (), or sometimes The Cheviots, are a range of uplands straddling the Anglo-Scottish border between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. The English section is within the Northumberland National Park. The range includes T ...
are visible about to the north.
The town is roughly square in shape, lying north to south. The town centre is in the north of the town. South of this are residential areas. Farmland is on both east and west flanks. The south part is residential bordered by the River Wansbeck to the south. To the east of the town is the small coastal town of
Newbiggin and to the west is the small village of
Bothal, also on the River Wansbeck. South of the town is the small village of
North Seaton
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' i ...
which once had its own pit. North of the town about 2 miles is the village of Linton and north east of the town is
Lynemouth
Lynemouth is a village in Northumberland, England, northeast of Ashington, close to the village of Ellington to the north west. It was built close to coal mines, including Lynemouth Colliery.
Lynemouth and the surrounding industrial area feat ...
.
To the north of the town is Queen Elizabeth II Country Park which contains a lake surrounded by pine woodland plantation. The original Ashington Colliery was on the north west of the town and the smaller Woodhorn Pit was on the north east.
Climate and soil
The climate is cool temperate. Summers are drier than on the west coast of Britain, but cooler than southerly areas. Winters are cold at times, sometimes with snow. The soil is of a dark brown colour, free draining and gritty. It is very good for growing vegetables. Tender perennials are rare; some palms will grow, but need winter protection. Although Phormiums (New Zealand flax) grow in displays in Newbiggin, salt-laden winds may afford them some protection. The most exposed part of the town is to the east. High trees in Hirst Park give considerable shelter. The west part is much more sheltered, especially the wooded valley of the River Wansbeck. Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
subtype for this climate is "
Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/
Oceanic climate).
Environs and villages surrounding Ashington
Working in a clockwise direction from the north west of Ashington are the following places.
*
Linton Linton may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Linton, Victoria
Canada
* Linton, Ontario
* Linton, Quebec
United Kingdom England
* Linton, Cambridgeshire
* Linton, Derbyshire
* Linton (near Bromyard), Herefordshire
* Linton (near Ross-on-Wye), Her ...
, a small village, originally developed for mineworkers at the Linton
Colliery
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
. This village looks unusual from the air: it is almost square and its streets are in a parallel grid-plan.
*
Ellington, a newer village which was located next to Ellington Colliery.
*
Lynemouth
Lynemouth is a village in Northumberland, England, northeast of Ashington, close to the village of Ellington to the north west. It was built close to coal mines, including Lynemouth Colliery.
Lynemouth and the surrounding industrial area feat ...
, close to the coast; this village is next to the
Alcan Lynemouth Aluminium Smelter
The Alcan Lynemouth Aluminium Smelter is a mothballed industrial facility near Ashington, Northumberland, on the coast of North East England, south of the village of Lynemouth. The smelter is owned by the Canadian aluminium company Alcan, whic ...
, now closed and a wind farm site and
Lynemouth Power Station.
*
Woodhorn
Woodhorn is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Newbiggin by the Sea, in Northumberland, England, about east of Ashington. In 1931 the parish had a population of 219. The village is sometimes identified with Wucestre, giv ...
, a tiny hamlet with a church on the road to Newbiggin. Some of the area of Ashington adjacent to Woodhorn pit museum is also called Woodhorn.
*
Newbiggin-by-the-Sea
Newbiggin-by-the-Sea is a quaint seaside town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located on the North Sea coast. The town owes its proud heritage to having once flourished as an important trade route for shipping grain trade, grain fr ...
, a small town or village, this is a former seaside resort, visited by locals. It has a beach and, following coastal erosion, a large sea wall was built in the late 1980s. Newbiggin offers bed and breakfasts, cafes and some shops.
*
Cambois (pronounced Cammus) is a small village south of the
River Wansbeck
The River Wansbeck runs through the county of Northumberland, England. It rises above Sweethope Lough on the edge of Fourlaws Forest in the area known locally as The Wanneys (Great Wanney Crag, Little Wanney Crag; thus the "Wanneys Beck"); runs ...
. It is quite spread out. Cambois has some fishing cottages at the mouth of the river. It has a beach and views along the coast towards north Blyth and
Blyth.
*
North Seaton
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' i ...
, a village on the north banks of the River Wansbeck. It was formerly a mining village, but most of its population moved to Ashington. North Seaton had its own small colliery.
*
Stakeford, originally a small village south of the River Wansbeck, this is mainly an area of residential estates.
*
Guide Post
Guide Post is a village in South East Northumberland, England, about 17 miles (27 km) north of Newcastle upon Tyne. It lies south of the River Wansbeck along with Stakeford
Stakeford is a large village in south east Northumberland, E ...
, a residential village on the road towards
Morpeth
Morpeth may refer to:
*Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia
** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales
* Morpeth, Ontario, Canada
* Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK
** Morpeth (UK ...
, it has a school and some shops.
* Sheepwash, a crossing point on the River Wansbeck before it flows west towards Bothal.
*
Bothal, a quaint, historic village on the wooded banks of the River Wansbeck. Bothal has cottages and a 14th Century castle,
Bothal Castle
Bothal Castle is a castle and stately home in the village of the same name near the River Wansbeck, between Morpeth and Ashington in the English county of Northumberland. Botl is Old English for a dwelling. Bothal could refer to a particular ...
. Riverside walks can be taken along the wooded riverbank.
*
Pegswood
Pegswood is a historic Pit village, mining village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, and the site of the former Pegswood Colliery. Pegswood is two miles (3 km) east of Morpeth, Northumberland, Morpeth and three miles (5 km) ...
, village on the main
East Coast Main Line. The village has a train station served by local trains.
*
Longhirst
Longhirst is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located approximately northeast of the town of Morpeth. It originally developed as an estate village serving Longhirst Hall, a Grade II* listed building built in 1824 by archit ...
, a small hamlet on the East Coast Main Line.
Transport
![The railway yards at Ashington colliery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/The_railway_yards_at_Ashington_colliery._-_geograph.org.uk_-_292486.jpg)
Construction is currently underway on the construction of the
Northumberland Line, which will reinstate passenger railway services from Ashington to
Bedlington
Bedlington is a town and former civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 18,470 measured at the 2011 Census. Bedlington is an ancient market town, with a rich history of industry and innovative residents. Located roughly 1 ...
,
Blyth,
Seaton Delaval
Seaton Delaval is a village in Northumberland, England, with a population of 4,371. The largest of the five villages in Seaton Valley, it is the site of Seaton Delaval Hall, completed by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1727.
In 2010 the armed robbery of ...
,
Shiremoor
Shiremoor is a village in Tyne and Wear, Northern England. It is in the Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside and formerly governed under Northumberland. In the 2011 census, it was included in the Tynemouth area of Tyneside. It is near the No ...
and
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
. Passenger services are currently scheduled to begin operation in December 2023.
In the meantime, the nearest mainline railway station is
Pegswood
Pegswood is a historic Pit village, mining village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, and the site of the former Pegswood Colliery. Pegswood is two miles (3 km) east of Morpeth, Northumberland, Morpeth and three miles (5 km) ...
on the East Coast Main Line, about 3 miles from Ashington town centre. However, Pegswood is served by only three trains per day.
Morpeth station is the nearest station with a regular service, with trains to
Cramlington
Cramlington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England,
6 miles (9 kilometres) north of Newcastle upon Tyne, and 10 miles (16 kilometres) north of its city centre. The name suggests a probable founding by the Danes or Anglo-Saxons. T ...
, Newcastle and
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
.
At the east end of the main shopping street is the bus station, with local
Arriva North East and
Go North East
Go North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It was previously known as the Northern General Transport Company and Go-Ahead Northern. The comp ...
buses linking to the rest of Northumberland and to Newcastle.
Ashington is well served by roads. The
A189 (Spine Road) to the east of Ashington runs south via
Blyth and North Tyneside to Newcastle, and via the
A19 Tyne Tunnel to South Tyneside and the
A1(M)
A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate motorway sections in England. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1, a major north–south road which connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the capit ...
. The A1068 runs north along the coast to
Alnwick. The A196 and A197 runs west towards Morpeth and the
A1 which goes north to Scotland and Edinburgh or south to the A1(M) near Newcastle on towards Durham and Yorkshire and the South.
The nearest airport is
Newcastle Airport Newcastle or New Castle Airport may refer to:
* Newcastle International Airport, an airport in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK
** Newcastle Airport metro station, the Tyne and Wear metro station serving the airport
* Newcastle Airport (Nevis), no ...
, which provides scheduled domestic flights, flights covering many major cities in Europe, long haul international flights and holiday charter flights. There is a port in nearby
North Shields
North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth.
Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...
with passenger services to
IJmuiden in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
Town's facilities
Museums and libraries
A reasonable-sized
public library is based in the Leisure Centre on Lintonville Terrace at the northern fringes of the town. The local museum is at
Woodhorn
Woodhorn is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Newbiggin by the Sea, in Northumberland, England, about east of Ashington. In 1931 the parish had a population of 219. The village is sometimes identified with Wucestre, giv ...
pit. It is mainly a museum of the town's mining history with pictures and models. There are also various arts exhibits in the museum, including a permanent exhibition of the Pitmen Painters' paintings, and information on local history.
Sports
Ashington has several sports facilities and numerous sports clubs. A new leisure centre was erected on the former Asda site in the town centre, it opened in December 2015.
Hirst Park provides two good quality bowling greens as well as tennis and basketball courts.
Ashington A.F.C.
Ashington Association Football Club is a football club based in Ashington, Northumberland, England. They are currently members of the and play at Woodhorn Lane.
Formed in 1883, the club have played in a number of local and regional leagues, i ...
now play at Woodhorn Lane having moved from
Portland Park to make way for the new Asda superstore in 2008.
Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
is played at a ground on the north west edge of the town and
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
is played off Kenilworth Road not far from the town centre.
In recent years a new community facility has been created from the former Miners Welfare centre on Alexandra Road. Th
Hirst Welfare Centreis a multi-use community facility with training facilities, office space, a cafe, community hall, gym and dance studio. The Centre also has an external all-weather, floodlight synthetic football pitch with additional grass pitches.
Accommodation
There are some bed and breakfasts in Ashington. To the north side of Queen Elizabeth lake is a motel with pub and restaurant and located on the site of the QE2 is a Premier Inn hotel/restaurant. There is also a holiday centre/caravan site near Sandy Bay off the A189 about 3 miles to the south east of the town centre.
Parks walks and green spaces
Riverside Park provides a peaceful riverside setting in which to relax or take walks. The park runs along the Wansbeck River. There are public footpaths and
bridleways from here towards the quaint village of Bothal with its photogenic castle above the river.
The People's Park near the leisure centre off Institute Road is a large green field suitable for recreation. Hirst Park is located off Hawthorn Road; locally, it has traditionally been known as The Flower Park, due to its summer floral displays. It has bowling greens, basketball and tennis courts, play areas and is sheltered by tall trees. To the north of the park is a large sports field, where historically, the town hosted fun fairs.
At
Woodhorn
Woodhorn is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Newbiggin by the Sea, in Northumberland, England, about east of Ashington. In 1931 the parish had a population of 219. The village is sometimes identified with Wucestre, giv ...
is the Queen Elizabeth II Park. This is surrounded by pine wood, including the Ashington Community Woods, connecting the park to Ashington, and has a large lake with a narrow-gauge railway connecting the main car park to the Woodhorn Museum. Walks from here head out towards
Linton Linton may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Linton, Victoria
Canada
* Linton, Ontario
* Linton, Quebec
United Kingdom England
* Linton, Cambridgeshire
* Linton, Derbyshire
* Linton (near Bromyard), Herefordshire
* Linton (near Ross-on-Wye), Her ...
and eastwards towards the seaside town of Newbiggin following the old railway line.
Ashington enjoys a good location within Northumberland allowing good access to the countryside. The town is situated near the coast, enabling short journey times to beaches such as
Druridge Bay
Druridge Bay is a long bay on the North Sea in Northumberland, England, stretching from Amble in the north to Cresswell in the south.
Druridge Bay Country Park is situated on the bay, and part of the bay (the section near the farmstead of Dru ...
and
Cresswell. Northumberland National Park is close by.
Education
The previous system of
first school
Three-tier education refers to those structures of schooling, which exist in some parts of England, where pupils are taught in three distinct school types as they progress through the education system.
Terminology
In a three-tier local educ ...
,
middle school
A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
and
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
used in Ashington was phased out in September 2015, with Bothal Middle School and Hirst Park Middle School closing. First schools became
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
s while Ashington High School (now
Ashington Academy
Ashington Academy is a secondary school and sixth form located in Ashington in the English county of Northumberland.
History
It was established in 1960 as Ashington County Grammar School. It became a comprehensive school in the mid 1970s and w ...
) became a full
secondary school. Schools were first built by the Ashington coal company, but many have since been replaced.
Northumberland College
Northumberland College is a further education college based in Ashington, Northumberland, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Iri ...
(formerly, Ashington Technical College) is the main
further education provider in the town, and offers
A level
The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...
s,
NVQ
National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are practical work-based awards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that are achieved through assessment and training. The regulatory framework supporting NVQs was withdrawn in 2015 and replaced by the ...
s, vocational courses and various evening classes.
Healthcare
![Wansbeck General Hospital Ashington](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Wansbeck_General_Hospital_Ashington.jpg)
There are many
General Practitioner (GP) surgeries in Ashington. The main
Wansbeck General Hospital
Wansbeck General Hospital is a district general hospital based in Ashington, Northumberland, England. It is managed by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
History
The first phase of the hospital, which was designed for low energy consum ...
in Ashington is located at the north east of the town near Woodhorn. Major treatments are provided at hospitals in Newcastle.
A&E services are provided at the
Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital
The Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital is a hospital specialising in emergency care for sick and injured patients, opened in 2015 in Cramlington, Northumberland, England by the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Hospital
Th ...
in nearby
Cramlington
Cramlington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England,
6 miles (9 kilometres) north of Newcastle upon Tyne, and 10 miles (16 kilometres) north of its city centre. The name suggests a probable founding by the Danes or Anglo-Saxons. T ...
.
Local media
The local newspapers are: the ''
Evening Chronicle'', ''
The Journal''. These papers cover Tyneside and south east Northumberland. The ''News Post Leader'' covers mostly
Wansbeck.
There are several radio regional stations providing local broadcasts.
Local news on television is provided by
ITV Tyne Tees
ITV Tyne Tees, previously known as Tyne Tees, Channel 3 North East and Tyne Tees Television, is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire.
Tyne Tees launched on 15 January 1959 from studios at a converte ...
and
BBC Look North
''BBC Look North'' is a name used by the BBC for its regional news programmes in three regions in the North of England:
*'' BBC Look North'' for the BBC North East and Cumbria region
*'' BBC Look North'' for the BBC Yorkshire region
*'' BBC Look ...
. These TV stations cover most of the north east,
County Durham,
Teesside
Teesside () is a built-up area around the River Tees in the north of England, split between County Durham and North Yorkshire. The name was initially used as a county borough in the North Riding of Yorkshire.
Historically a hub for heavy manu ...
,
Tyneside
Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt.
The population of Tyneside as publishe ...
and Northumberland.
Politics
the local member of parliament is
Ian Lavery
Ian Lavery (born 6 January 1963) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wansbeck since 2010. He served as the Chair of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn from 2017 to 2020 and was President ...
of the
Labour Party, with Ashington forming part of the
Wansbeck constituency. This is traditionally a Labour
safe seat, but in recent years the constituency has become more marginal thanks to the town's strong Leave vote at the
2016 European Union membership referendum, and Labour won by just 814 votes in the
2019 general election.
Ashington elects six County Councillors (One with part of West Newbiggin) to
Northumberland County Council as of 2014, these seats are held by Labour Party candidates. Ashington Town Council is made up of six wards each electing three councillors, as of 2014 seventeen of these are held by the Labour Party.
Industry and employment
![Ashwood Industrial Estate, Ashington - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Ashwood_Industrial_Estate%2C_Ashington_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1574724.jpg)
Until 1988 the majority of the town's male population was employed in the mining industry. The closure of the pits led to large scale unemployment. However limited coal mining was carried out until recently at
Ellington Colliery
Ellington Colliery (also known as The Big E), was a coal mine situated to the south of the village of Ellington in Northumberland, England. The colliery was the last deep coal mine in the north east of England (also known as the Great Northern C ...
and
opencast
Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock (geology), rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a Borrow pit, b ...
coal extraction is carried out at
Butterwell Opencast.
The former site of Ashington Colliery became part of a regeneration project and saw the development of Wansbeck Business Park. This park now houses a number of companies with local, national and international profiles. These include Polar Krush NICC Ltd, Thermacore Ltd and Sugarfayre Ltd. The park includes a variety of wildlife with a large pond at its centre.
Ashington's close proximity to Newcastle upon Tyne makes it an ideal commuter town for people working in the city.
Arts and culture
In 1934 some of the Ashington miners enrolled in painting classes as an alternative pastime and then began to produce paintings to sell at local markets to supplement their poor wages. They achieved unexpected success and approval from the art community and were given prestigious gallery exhibitions during the 1930s and 1940s under the name "The Pitmen Painters", although the group had called themselves the "
Ashington Group
The Ashington Group was a small society of artists from Ashington, Northumberland, composed largely of mine workers. They met regularly between 1934 and 1983 to encourage their progress. Although most of the men had no formal artistic training, the ...
". In the 1970s the group's work was "rediscovered" and popularised as "workers' art" and given international exhibitions. On 26 October 2006 a new £16m museum housing the work was opened in Ashington by
The Princess Royal
Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been sev ...
.
The book ''The Pitmen Painters'' by
William Feaver
William Feaver (born 1 December 1942) is a British art critic, curator, artist and lecturer. From 1975–1998 he was the chief art critic of the Observer, and from 1994 a visiting professor at Nottingham Trent University. His book ''The Pitmen P ...
, recording the development of the Ashington Group, 1934 to 1984, has been made into a
stage play by
Lee Hall, well known for ''
Billy Elliot
''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy w ...
''.
The play premiered at the Live Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne, in 2007 and subsequently was produced at the Royal National Theatre, London in 2008 and 2009. A German translation by Michael Raab premiered at the Volkstheater in Vienna, Austria, in April 2009. In 2011 Oscar/BAFTA award-winning Film Director Jon Blair made a film for ITV1's ''Perspectives'' Arts series, entitled ''Robson Green and The Pitmen Painters'' giving an insight into the lives and work of the Ashington Group including rare film footage of the group in their Hut including interviews with Oliver Kilbourn and Harry Wilson.
Ashington has appeared in various films and TV programmes, such as ''
Spender
''Spender'' is a British television police procedural drama, created by Ian La Frenais and Jimmy Nail, that first broadcast on 8 January 1991 on BBC1. The series, which also starred Nail as the titular character, ran for three series between 1 ...
'' starring
Jimmy Nail
James Michael Aloysius Bradford (born 16 March 1954), known as Jimmy Nail, is an English singer-songwriter, actor, film producer, and television writer. He played the role of Leonard "Oz" Osborne in the television show '' Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' ...
, ''
Our Friends in the North
''Our Friends in the North'' is a British television drama serial produced by the BBC. It was originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC2 in early 1996. Written by Peter Flannery, it tells the story of four friends from Newcastle upon Tyne ...
'' in 1996, ''
The Fast Show
''The Fast Show'', known as ''Brilliant'' in the US, is a BBC comedy sketch show that ran from 1994 to 1997, with specials in 2000 and 2014. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, John T ...
''
on BBC2 and the Alcan chimneys were seen in the movie, ''Billy Elliot.''
The mining workers of Ashington gave a 'Hooky mat' to their friends in
Ashington, West Sussex
Ashington is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the A24 road 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Storrington.
The parish has a land area of 805 hectares (1989 acres). In the 2001 cen ...
, where it is now displayed in the village hall.
Notable residents
*
Ian Lavery
Ian Lavery (born 6 January 1963) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wansbeck since 2010. He served as the Chair of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn from 2017 to 2020 and was President ...
, President of the National Union of Mineworkers
*
William Timlin, author and architect
Sporting personalities
Ashington has produced a number of professional footballers, notably
Jack Milburn,
Jackie Milburn
John Edward Thompson "Jackie" Milburn (11 May 1924 – 9 October 1988) was a football player principally associated with Newcastle United and England, though he also spent four seasons at Linfield. He was also known as Wor Jackie (particularly ...
,
Mark Cullen,
Jimmy Adamson
James Adamson (4 April 1929 – 8 November 2011) was an English professional footballer and football manager. He was born in Ashington, Northumberland. He made 486 appearances for Burnley ranking him sixth in their all-time appearance lis ...
,
Jack Charlton
John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 199 ...
,
Bobby Charlton
Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World ...
,
Cecil Irwin,
Colin Ayre
Colin Ayre (born 14 March 1956, in Ashington, Northumberland) was an English professional association football, footballer, playing as a winger in the English, Dutch and Austrian football leagues.
Colin Ayre began his career as an apprentice at ...
,
David Thompson,
Chris Adamson
Christopher Adamson (born 4 November 1978) is an English former football goalkeeper who played for 13 clubs in a 13-year career. Adamson is currently goalkeeping coach at Mansfield Town, as well as a coach at non-league side Bustleholme.
Ca ...
,
Martin Taylor,
Peter Ramage
Peter Iain Ramage (born 22 November 1983) is an English football coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach for the Newcastle United U23 team.
Ramage began his career with Newcastle United as an academy player before progre ...
,
Brian Carolin
Brian Carolin (born 6 December 1939) was an English footballer who played as a wing half.
Carolin started his career with Ashington Welfare Juniors before joining Gateshead
Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the R ...
and
Ethan Ross. Premier League referee
Michael Oliver, the youngest in the league's history, was born in the town. Property developer
Sir John Hall, former Chairman and Life President of
Newcastle United Football Club
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
, was born in North Seaton village on the outskirts of the town in 1933.
Cricketing brothers
Steve Harmison
Stephen James Harmison, (born 23 October 1978) is an English former first-class cricketer, who played all formats of the game. Primarily a fast bowler, he represented England in 63 Tests, 58 ODIs, and 2 T20s. He also played county cricket for ...
and
Ben Harmison are from the town,
as are fellow cricketers
Mark Wood and
Simon Smith. The first-class cricketer
Jack Clark was born in Ashington.
Golfer
Kenneth Ferrie, who has played on the
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...
, is from Ashington.
See also
*
List of towns in England
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Ashington Community website(Accessed: 5 November 2008)
{{authority control
Towns in Northumberland
Civil parishes in Northumberland