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Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of
Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...
. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne.


History


Roman Wallsend

In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fort protected the eastern end of
Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...
, which did not terminate at the western wall of the fort, but continued from its south-eastern corner down to the shore of the
River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wate ...
. As David Breeze writes, "In the early nineteenth century, as recorded by
Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...
,
John Buddle John Buddle (15 September 1773 – 10 October 1843) was a prominent self-made mining engineer and entrepreneur in North East England. He had a major influence on the development of the Northern Coalfield in the first half of the 19th century, co ...
the Younger had often seen the Wall foundations extending far into the river when swimming there as a boy."


Pre-Conquest

The withdrawal of the Romans from the Wall immediately brought the Picts from the north and shortly afterwards the Angles, sailing from near the mouth of the River Elbe with frequent raids both from sea and from land.
Ida Ida or IDA may refer to: Astronomy * Ida Facula, a mountain on Amalthea, a moon of Jupiter *243 Ida, an asteroid *International Docking Adapter, a docking adapter for the International Space Station Computing *Intel Dynamic Acceleration, a techn ...
the Saxon laid waste to the whole of the north in 547 and Wallsend doubtless suffered in the general devastation. It was not until the golden age of Northumberland under Edwin of Northumbria, and the subsequent introduction of the Christian faith by King
Oswald of Northumbria Oswald (; c 604 – 5 August 641/642Bede gives the year of Oswald's death as 642, however there is some question as to whether what Bede considered 642 is the same as what would now be considered 642. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology an ...
(635-642) and
St Aidan Aidan of Lindisfarne ( ga, Naomh Aodhán; died 31 August 651) was an Irish monk and Christian missionary, missionary credited with converting the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity in Northumbria. He founded a monastic cathedral on the island of Lindis ...
, that Wallsend enjoyed a time of peace and progress. This time of peace came to an abrupt end in 794 when the Danes (or Vikings) swarmed up the Tyne in great numbers. In the years before the Norman conquest there was a struggle for mastery between Danes and Angles


19th century to present

Several urban
sanitary districts Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures: *Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies *Rural sanitary dis ...
were formed in the parish in the late 19th century: Willington Quay,
Howdon Howdon is a largely residential area in the eastern part of Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. It consists of High Howdon and the smaller settlement of East Howdon. Much of the High Howdon area was formerly called Willington prior to post-World W ...
and Wallsend itself. The first two joined to form the Willington Quay
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 ...
under the Local Government Act 1894, with the portion of the parish outside any urban sanitary district forming the parish of Willington in
Tynemouth Rural District {{coord, 55, 4, 30, N, 1, 33, 0, W, scale:100000_region:GB, display=title Tynemouth was a rural district in the English county of Northumberland. It was created by the Local Government Act 1894 based on the Tynemouth rural sanitary district. ...
. Wallsend was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1901, and in 1910 took over Willington Quay and Willington, and also part of the parish of Longbenton. St Peter's church ( Church of England) has four fine stained glass windows by Michael Healy of
An Túr Gloine An Túr Gloine (; Irish for "The Glass Tower") was a cooperative studio for stained glass and ''opus sectile'' artists from 1903 until 1944, based in Dublin, Ireland. History An Túr Gloine was conceived of in late 1901 and established January 19 ...
: ''St Patrick, St Peter and St Luke'' (1913); ''Our Lord with the Nativity and the Shepherds'' (1919); ''Angel of the Resurrection with St George and St Christopher'' (1921); ''Our Lord walking on water'' (1921); and a window by
Ethel Rhind Ethel Rhind (1 December 1877 – 6 March 1952) was an Irish stained-glass and mosaic artist, who was associated with An Túr Gloine. Life and education Rhind was born 1 December 1877 in Arrah, Bihar, India. Her father was Robert Hunter Rhind, a ...
, also of An Túr Gloine, depicting ''The Good Shepherd, Mary of Bethany, David'' (1921).


Shipbuilding

Wallsend has a history of shipbuilding and was the home of the
Wigham Richardson The Wigham Richardson shipbuilding company was named after its founder, John Wigham Richardson (1837-1908), the son of Edward Richardson, a tanner from Newcastle upon Tyne, and Jane Wigham from Edinburgh. History The Company was set up with le ...
shipyard, which later amalgamated to form
Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three powe ...
, probably best known for building the RMS ''Mauretania''. This express liner held the
Blue Riband The Blue Riband () is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest average speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. T ...
, for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic, for 22 years. Other famous ships included the RMS ''Carpathia'' which rescued the survivors from the ''Titanic'' in 1912, and the icebreaker '' Krasin'' (launched as ''Sviatogor'') which rescued the Umberto Nobile expedition on
Spitzbergen Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
in 1928, when Roald Amundsen perished. The story is retold in the movie '' The Red Tent'', starring
Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...
and
Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...
. Charles Parsons launched his revolutionary '' Turbinia'' here in 1894, thus not only revolutionising the navies of the world, but also, through the large-scale production of affordable electricity, making a significant contribution to the modern age. He features in a BBC film called ''The Inventor of the Twentieth Century''. Russian novelist Yevgeny Zamyatin worked at Swan Hunter in 1916–17, and used it as background for his great anti-utopian work ''We'' which was a major influence on
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
's '' Nineteen Eighty-Four''. World War II ships built here include and which took part in the sinking of the '' Bismarck''. Other ships built there include the new HMS ''Ark Royal'' in the 1980s. The shipyard closed in 2007. The musical '' The Last Ship'' by
Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...
is set in the shipyard. The former
Wallsend Slipway & Engineering Company Wallsend Slipway & Engineering Company Ltd was formerly an independent company, located on the River Tyne at Point Pleasant, near Wallsend, Tyne & Wear, around a mile downstream from the Swan Hunter shipyard, with which it later merged. Histor ...
Shipyard continues to operate, constructing offshore oil rigs and as a TV studio: productions from there include the hit ITV drama ''Vera'' starring
Brenda Blethyn Brenda Blethyn (''née'' Bottle; 20 February 1946) is an English actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and two Academy Award nominations. Blethyn ...
and '' Inspector George Gently'' starring Martin Shaw.


Coal mining

Much of Wallsend's early industry was driven by coal mining. The Wallsend Colliery consisted of seven pits which were active between 1778 and 1935. In the 1820s the pits became incorporated as Russell's Colliery, which then became the Wallsend and Hebburn Coal Company Ltd. By 1924 the colliery employed 2,183 people. Its most prominent manager was mining and railway engineer
John Buddle John Buddle (15 September 1773 – 10 October 1843) was a prominent self-made mining engineer and entrepreneur in North East England. He had a major influence on the development of the Northern Coalfield in the first half of the 19th century, co ...
who helped develop the
Davy Lamp The Davy lamp is a safety lamp for use in flammable atmospheres, invented in 1815 by Sir Humphry Davy. On 18 June 1835 a gas explosion in one of the tunnels killed 102 miners, the youngest of whom was aged eight and the oldest 75. Many of the dead were found with their cloth caps in their mouths. This is believed to have been an attempt to prevent inhalation of the gas which eventually killed them. The bodies were extracted and buried in St Peter's churchyard at the top of the bank overlooking the Wallsend Burn. A plaque has been erected within the churchyard to commemorate this tragedy.


Twentieth century

The town has expanded greatly in terms of housing since the end of World War II, and since the 1960s. Wallsend Town Centre—including the main shopping area known as the "Wallsend Forum"—is in fact to the west of the land covered by the town. To the north of this area lies the older estate of High Farm and the new estate of Hadrian Lodge. The town centre of Wallsend is separated from the eastern areas of the town by the Wallsend Burn, a stream running through a small glacial valley from north-west to south-east and through the Willington Gut into the River Tyne. To the east of the Burn is the old area of Holy Cross, which contains the ruins of a medieval church, the pre-war estate of Rosehill and the mainly post-war estate of Howdon. To the south of Howdon lies Willington Quay which, as its name suggests, once served shipping but which is now dominated by industry and housing. East Howdon forms a small enclave between Willington Quay and North Shields. The town's principal thoroughfare and shopping street is the High Street. To the north of this street is Wallsend Green, the town's most picturesque area, consisting of large houses as well as the
Sir G B Hunter Memorial Hospital The Sir G B Hunter Memorial Hospital is a health facility at Wallsend Green, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. It is managed by Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust. History The facility has its origins in a private house, ...
, surrounding a green square. Behind the Green, where the Burn runs through the parkland of the Hall Grounds lies Wallsend Park, a traditional British municipal park, whose restoration has frequently been demanded by local residents and is planned with many improvements such as a skate and BMX park, better pathways, and a rebuilding of the Duffy Memorial Fountain. On Rheydt Avenue in Wallsend is Centurion Park Golf Club, previously named Wallsend Golf Club. It has 18 holes and a driving range. The town is home to
Wallsend Boys Club Wallsend Boys Club is an English youth football club based in Wallsend, North Tyneside. The club is well known for producing professional footballers; more than 65 players from the club have gone on to play professionally, some of them even ...
, which has produced many famous
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
players such as
Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premie ...
, Lee Clark,
Steve Watson Steven Craig Watson (born 1 April 1974) is an English football manager and former professional player. He was formerly the manager of club Chester. As a player, he was a right-back or midfielder. He played in the Premier League and Football ...
,
Peter Beardsley Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE (born 18 January 1961) is an English football coach and former footballer who played as a forward or midfielder between 1979 and 1999. In 1987, he set a record transfer fee in the English game and represented his coun ...
,
Robbie Elliott Robert James Elliott (born 25 December 1973) is an English football coach and former professional player, who is the strength coach for the United States U20 men's football team. As a player, he was a left-back and centre-half who notably p ...
,
Mick Tait Michael Paul Tait (born 30 September 1956) is an English former footballer and later a manager at the end of his playing career. His 760 league games puts him 13th in the list of English footballers. His clubs were Oxford United, Carlisle Unite ...
and Michael Carrick. It is also hometown and birthplace to internationally successful musician
Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...
, whose song ''
All This Time All This Time may refer to: * ''All This Time'' (Heartless Bastards album), 2006 * ''All This Time'' (Sting album), a 2001 live album and concert film by Sting * "All This Time" (Drax Project song), 2019 * "All This Time" (Michelle McManus song ...
'' refers to the Roman wall and fort. The musical '' The Last Ship'', composed and written by Sting, is set in Wallsend.
Wallsend Town Hall Wallsend Town Hall is a municipal building on High Street East in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of North Tyneside Council from 1974 to 2008, is a Grade II listed building. History After Wallsend bec ...
, a large Edwardian Baroque style building in High Street East, was completed in 1908.


Commemorating Roman history

In dedication to its Roman heritage, Wallsend's historic name ''Segedunum'' is shown in many places in the town, and signs with Latin wordings can also be found. Wallsend Metro Station has some signs in English and Latin. Such translations tend to amuse, with contrasts between today's and ancient times. Segedunum Roman Fort Museum has displays on Roman history as well as reconstructions of a bath house and a section of the Roman Wall which once stood on the site. Image:Hadrian's Wall map, Wallsend Metro station - geograph.org.uk - 725591.jpg, A Hadrian's Wall map imitating the style of a Metro map Image:Wallsend platfom 2 02.jpg, Bilingual, English–Latin station platform and no smoking sign Image:Latin_spoken_here_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1052519.jpg, No trespassing signs with penalty, in English and Latin


Demography

In 2011 Wallsend had a population of 43,826 compared with 42,842 in the previous census. In Wallsend, 4.9% of the population is non-white British, which is the same as the surrounding borough. It also has the same percentage of Asian people, but has slightly more black people. Wallsend is the second least ethnically diverse major urban subdivision in Tyneside and has a larger percentage of white British people compared with
Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, North East England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, hence its name. It is 8 mi (13 km) east-northeast of Newcastle upon T ...
which is also slightly larger in population. However it has more ethnic minorities than
Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyne ...
, which is south of the river Tyne.


Notable people

* Paul W. S. Anderson - filmmaker *
Andrea Riseborough Andrea Louise Riseborough (born 20 November 1981) is an English actress and producer. She made her film debut with a small part in ''Venus'' (2006), and has since appeared in more prominent roles in '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008), '' Never Let Me Go ...
- actress * Dr. Sheldon Hall - film historian * Peter Higgs - theoretical physicist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics * Paul Kennedy - historian * Andrew Leslie - shipbuilder *
John Anthony McGuckin John Anthony McGuckin (born 1952) is a British theologian, church historian, Orthodox Christian priest and poet. Education McGuckin attended Heythrop College from 1970 to 1972, graduated from the University of London with a divinity degree in 197 ...
- theologian, Orthodox Archpriest * Vicky Pattison - reality TV star *
Charlie Hardwick Claire Elizabeth Hardwick (born 3 November 1960)
''
Danny Murphy - actor


Politics

* John McKay - MP for Wallsend 1945–1964 *
Chi Onwurah Chinyelu Susan Onwurah (born 12 April 1965) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Newcastle upon Tyne Central since 2010. She was shadow minister for Industrial Strategy, Science and Innovation u ...
- MP for
Newcastle Upon Tyne Central Newcastle upon Tyne Central is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Chi Onwurah of the Labour Party. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the f ...
2010 to present *
T. Dan Smith Thomas Daniel Smith (11 May 1915 – 27 July 1993), also known by his nickname “Mr Newcastle”,"Southern Discomfort" (leading article), ''The Times'', 3 August 1993. was a high-profile British Labour Party politician who served as chairman of ...
- regional politician


Music

* Richard Gaddes - opera administrator * Ray Jackson - musician *
Ochre Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...
- musician * Venom - band *
Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...
- musician


Football - players, managers, coaches

*
Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premie ...
*
Steve Bruce Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Br ...
* Brian Laws * Michael Carrick *
George Reay George Thompson Reay (2 February 1900 – 29 May 1970) was an English professional footballer who played for several British football clubs during the 1920s and 1930s. He was the eldest brother of Ted Reay, who himself played for Sheffield ...
* Lee Clark * Neil McDonald *
Tony Lowery Anthony William Lowery (born 6 July 1961) is an English retired footballer who spent most of his professional career as a midfielder at Mansfield Town. Lowery, a native of Wallsend, Northumberland, began his professional career in March 1981, ...
*
Steve Watson Steven Craig Watson (born 1 April 1974) is an English football manager and former professional player. He was formerly the manager of club Chester. As a player, he was a right-back or midfielder. He played in the Premier League and Football ...
* Paul Stephenson * Michael Smith * Barry Richardson


Other sports players

*
Billy Bolt Billy Bolt (born 17 August 1997 in Wallsend, United Kingdom) is an English motorcycle rider who has won professional titles in trial, enduro and endurocross. He has won the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship three times. and was the first to win th ...
- motorcycle rider,
FIM SuperEnduro World Championship The FIM SuperEnduro World Championship is an endurocross series held primarily in Europe since 2007. It is held from October to March, during the Northern Hemisphere winter and the Enduro World Championship off-season. Circuits are built inside stad ...
winner * Kevin McDine - darts player *
Chris Thorman Christopher Thorman (born 26 September 1980) is an English rugby league coach is head coach of Newcastle Thunder and a former player. An England international goal-kicking , he previously played in the Engage Super League for Hull F.C. ( Heri ...
- Rugby league player *
Jocky Wilson John Thomas "Jocky" Wilson (22 March 1950 – 24 March 2012) was a Scottish professional darts player. After turning pro in 1979, he quickly rose to the top of the game, winning the World Professional Darts Championship in 1982, then again ...
- darts player * Gary Wilson - snooker player


See also

* Point Pleasant *
North East 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 authorit ...


References


External links


Tyne and Wear Archives Service: historical information on Wallsend

Read a detailed historic record about Wallsend Roman Fort
{{Authority control Towns in Tyne and Wear Unparished areas in Tyne and Wear Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside