Bensham is a suburban area in the

Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, North East England. It includes Gateshead, Rowlands Gill, Whickham, Blaydon, Ryton, Felling, Pelaw, Dunston and Low Fell. The boroug ...

. The area consists mainly of residential properties, with a range of predominantly terraced housing, built between the late 1890s and the 1980s.

Community

Like nearby

Saltwell Saltwell Park is a Victorian park in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Opened in 1876, the park was designed by Edward Kemp and incorporates the mansion and associated grounds of the Saltwellgate estate owner, William Wailes, who sold his es ...

, the area is home to a sizeable community of Orthodox

Haredi Jews Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

. The

Gateshead Talmudical College Gateshead Talmudical College ( he, ישיבת בית יוסף גייטסהעד), popularly known as Gateshead Yeshiva, is located in the Bensham area of Gateshead in North East England. It is the largest yeshiva in Europe and considered to be one ...

, founded in 1929, is one of the largest

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

for Jewish education in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. The area has affectionately earned the nickname "Little Jerusalem" by locals. The most recent chief rabbi,

Shraga Feivel Zimmerman Shraga Feivel Halevy Zimmerman is the ''av beis din'' of the Federation of Synagogues in London. He accepted the position on the 30th of June 2019, but took office in January 2020. Rabbi Zimmerman succeeded Dayan Lichtenstein as head of the organi ...

, served between 2008 and 2020. The roof of a flat in Bensham was torn off by extreme winds during storm Malik as it battered the North East of England in January 2022.

Demography

The data below shows that 51.0% of the population in the Lobley Hill and Bensham

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

are male, and 49.0% are female. This compares similarly with both the average in the

, as well as the national average. A total of 6.1% of the population were from a black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) group in Lobley Hill and Bensham. This figure is higher than that of the average in Gateshead , but lower than the national average . Data from the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for th ...

found that the average life expectancy in the Lobley Hill and Bensham electoral ward is 75.0 years for men, and 80.3 years for women. These statistics compare less than favourably for both men and women, when compared to the average life expectancy in the

North East of England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authority ...

, of 77.4 and 81.4 years, for men and women respectively. A total of 55.9% of households in Lobley Hill and Bensham have access to at least one car. This figure is significantly lower than both the average in Gateshead , as well as the national average .

Governance

Lobley Hill and Bensham is a local council

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

in the

. This ward covers an area of around , and has a population of 10,638. , the ward is served by three councillors: Catherine Donovan, Eileen McMaster and Kevin Dodds. The village is located within the

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

, and is served by Labour Party

Member of Parliament (MP) A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often ...

Ian Mearns James Ian Mearns (born 21 April 1957) is a British Labour Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gateshead since the 2010 general election. He is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus. Early l ...

Transport

Air

The nearest airport is

Newcastle International Airport Newcastle International Airport is an international airport in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK. Located approximately from Newcastle City Centre, it is the primary and busiest airport in North East England, and the second busiest in Norther ...

, which is located around away.

Teesside International Airport Teesside International Airport , previously Durham Tees Valley Airport, is an international airport located between Darlington and Stockton-on-Tees, Northern England. It is about south-west of Middlesbrough. The airport serves the North East ...

and

Carlisle Lake District Airport Carlisle Lake District Airport is a regional airport located east north-east of Carlisle, England. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the passenger terminal has been closed as from the 1st of April 2020 "until further notice". Carlisle has a CAA ...

are located around away.

Bus

Bensham Road is a well-served bus corridor, providing a regular service to Gateshead and Newcastle upon Tyne.

Rail

The nearest

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the p ...

station is

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 ...

, which is located on the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...

. A former station on the East Coast Main Line served the area between 1868 and 1954.

Road

Bensham is located near to the A1 and

A167 The A167 and A167(M) is a road in North East England. It is partially a trunk road and partially a motorway, where it is commonly referred to as Newcastle Central Motorway. Most of the road’s route was formerly that of the A1, until it was ...

. By road, Gateshead can be reached in around 5 minutes, Newcastle upon Tyne in 10 minutes, and

in 20 minutes.

References

{{T&W places Gateshead Orthodox Jewish communities Populated places in Tyne and Wear