High Spen is an old mining village in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, historically part of County Durham and the birth place of The Magician. There is an entrance to

Chopwell Chopwell is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, west of Rowlands Gill and north of Hamsterley. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 9,395. In 1150, Bishop Pudsey granted the Manor of Chopwell ...

Wood, whose

Christmas Trees A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...

sales attract many visitors to the village every year. High Spen has one pub, called The Bute Arms, and one

Working Men's Club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class ...

. There is also a micro pub called Wigs. There is also a

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 ...

, called High Spen Primary School. High Spen also is home to St Patrick's

C of E The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

Transport

High Spen used to have a bus depot (located off Strothers Road) that was home to the Venture Bus Company. Venture used to run services around Derwent Valley, mainly between Shotley Bridge and Newcastle. Venture, and the bus depot at High Spen, eventually passed into the hands of

Northern General Transport Company The Northern General Transport Company was a bus company in North East England. History It originated in the early 1900s when Gateshead and District Tramways asked Parliament's permission to extend their Tramway, which finished at Low Fell ...

, where it stayed operational until the late 1980s when it was eventually closed down.

Notable people

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, two soldiers from High Spen were awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

: Lance Corporal Frederick William Dobson of the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

, and Private Thomas Young of the

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...

. Other members of the village during World War Two were taken as Prisoner of War during the events of

Saint-Valery-en-Caux Saint-Valery-en-Caux (, literally ''Saint-Valery in Caux'') is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. The addition of an acute accent on the "e" (Valéry) is incorrect. Geography The town is locat ...

where they were originally used to keep German soldiers back from Dunkirk to evacuate other members of the British forces.

Category D village

High Spen was categorised as a "Category D village" by Durham County Council, one of many scheduled for destruction and demolition following the decline of mining in the west of the county in the 1950s and 1960s.

Later development

The D-village policy was cancelled in 1977, since when the village has gradually grown and developed, serving as a commuter village accessible to the centres of Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and Durham City.

Education

High Spen used to have a coeducational comprehensive school,

Hookergate School Hookergate School was a secondary school and sixth form located in High Spen in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, England. The school was formally merged with Ryton Comprehensive School in 2011, and was renamed Charles Thorp Comprehensi ...

, located in the village. The school was closed down in 2011 and pupils from the village moved to neighbouring villages for their secondary education. Most pupils in High Spen attend

Thorp Academy Thorp Academy is a large 11–18 secondary Academy in Ryton Tyne & Wear, England. The academy was established in the 19th century by Charles Thorp who went on to found Durham University. The site that Thorp Academy now stands on is the site of ...

in Ryton.

References

External links

HIGH SPEN A HUNDRED YEARS

High Spen Traditional Rapper Sword Dancers
Villages in Tyne and Wear {{TyneandWear-geo-stub