Birtley is a town in the

Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It includes Gateshead, Rowlands Gill, Whickham, Blaydon, Ryton, Tyne and Wear, Ryton, Felling (UK), Felling, Birtley, Tyne and ...

, in

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The county is ...

, England. It is situated to the south of

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

and is conjoined to Chester-le-Street across the county boundary in

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

. Until 1974, Birtley and the adjoining areas of Barley Mow, Vigo and Portobello were part of Chester-le-Street Rural District under

until being moved into Tyne and Wear under the Borough of Gateshead. It forms an urban area with nearby Chester-le-Street, Washington, Houghton le Spring, Hetton le Hole and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

as part of Wearside. Birtley was a

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

with a parish council (which also covered the adjoining neighbourhoods) until 1 April 2006, after a local referendum agreed to abolish it. The former parish had a population of 11,377 in 2001. The ward of Birtley in the Gateshead MBC had a population of 8,367 in the 2011 Census. In September 2024, Prince William visited Birtley as a visit to Birtley Swimming Centre for its reopening.

Elisabethville

Elisabethville was a sovereign Belgian area of Birtley housing Belgian refugees, who worked at the Royal Ordnance Factory during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It was a community of 6000 residents who were accommodated in a mixture of hostels and cottages. When the war ended and the inhabitants were largely repatriated, it was occupied by people of British and other nationalities before its demolition and replacement with more permanent housing. Its history is told in the book '' The Birtley Belgians''.

Angel of the North

Antony Gormley's famous ''

Angel of the North The ''Angel of the North'' is a contemporary sculpture by Antony Gormley, located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Completed in 1998, it is seen by an estimated 33 million people every year due to its proximity to the A1 road (Great Bri ...

'' sculpture, completed in February 1998, is on high ground at the site of the baths of the old 'Betty Ann Pit' at Eighton Lodge, Gateshead, to the north of Birtley.

Religion

There are altogether three mainstream churches in Birtley, which also has a large cemetery with a chapel and

crematorium A crematorium, crematory or cremation center is a venue for the cremation of the Death, dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a ...

: Birtley is also home to three Jehovah's Witness congregations. #St Joseph's (Roman Catholic) (Built in 1843 after the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 and designed by John Dobson in early Gothic style, it is currently served by Fr Martin Wheaton and Deacon Peter Lavery.) #St John the Evangelist (Church of England) #Birtley Methodist Church. #Kingdom hall of Jehovahs witnesses shared by three congregations. Birtley, Washington and Chester Le Street.

Transport links

Birtley 2 Station geograph-2228937-by-Ben-Brooksbank

The main road through Birtley is the non-primary A167, which runs from Topcliffe, North Yorkshire through to the north of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

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 (which was upgraded to motorway standard in the 1960s). The main East Coast railway line runs to the west of the town. Mainline trains used to stop at the town's long dismantled station. Birtley railway station was closed on 5 December 1955. The Station Hotel was closed in 1971, having been opened in 1868 or earlier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birtley, Tyne And Wear Towns in Tyne and Wear Unparished areas in Tyne and Wear Former civil parishes in Tyne and Wear Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead Populated places disestablished in 2006