Benwell and Scotswood is an

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 t ...

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 ...

North East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The ward encompasses the

Benwell Benwell is an area in the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Until 1974 it was in Northumberland. History The place-name 'Benwell' is first attested in the '' Historia de Sancto Cuthberto'' circa 1050 ...

and Scotswood housing areas, as well as the Newcastle Business Park, which is located on the banks 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, Northumberland, Warden near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The ...

and houses offices of companies such as

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

and

the Automobile Association AA Limited, trading as The AA, is a British motoring association. Founded in 1905, it provides vehicle insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans, motoring advice, road maps and other services. The association demutualised in 1999 ...

. The population of the ward is 13,759, which is 5.3% of the total population of Newcastle upon Tyne. Car ownership in the area is 45.1%, lower than the city average of 54.7%. The 2011 Census gave a population of 12,694. Scotswood Bridge eastward09

History

Scotswood grew during the industrial revolution and provided labour for the huge

Vickers Armstrong Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, wi ...

military engineering group formerly

Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Tyne and Wear, Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomot ...

. Scotswood Road, which Vickers Armstrong used to dominate, is a main route along the Tyne and is mentioned in the song "Blaydon Races". The Scotswood Bridge, which was known as the Chain Bridge, was the first bridge to be built over the Tyne in the industrial era. It opened in 1831 and was in use until 1967 when it had been superseded by a more modern structure, and was hence demolished. Benwell and Scotswood were both sites of a number of coalmines. On 30 March 1925 the Montague Main Colliery Disaster occurred, caused by an inrush of water from the nearby disused Paradise Pit and resulting in the loss of 38 lives.

Scotswood railway station Scotswood railway station served Scotswood-on-Tyne, Scotswood in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The railway station was located on the former route of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway from Newcastle upon Tyne to Carlisle railway station, Carli ...

was served by the

Newcastle and Carlisle Railway The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway (N&CR) (formally, the ''Newcastle upon Tyne and Carlisle Railway'') was an English railway company formed in 1825 that built a line from Newcastle upon Tyne on Britain's east coast, to Carlisle, on the west co ...

between 1839 and 1967. The Fenham and Benwell district formed an independent urban district, which was incorporated into the City of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1904. The site came to attention in the summer of 1968 for being the scene where two male toddlers Martin Brown, aged 4, and Brian Howe, aged 3, were found dead, after being strangled to death by

Mary Bell Mary Flora Bell (born 26 May 1957) is an English woman who, as a juvenile, killed two preschool-age boys in Benwell and Scotswood, Scotswood, an inner suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, in 1968. Bell committed her first killing when she was ten ye ...

Boundaries

The boundary of the Benwell and Scotswood ward starts at the West Road/A1 roundabout southbound along the A1 to the

, then east to the Scotswood Road and William Armstrong Drive junction. Northbound, the boundary joins Buddle Road and continues along St Johns Road to Elswick Road. The boundary then heads west onto Adelaide Terrace to the Hodgkin Park Road junction and continues north to the rear of the allotment gardens and Lismore Place. The boundary moves to the west behind Denhill Park properties to Pendower Hall School and follows the school's eastern perimeter north to the West Road to the A1.

Education

The ward has two

nursery school A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin c ...

s, six primary schools, one comprehensive secondary school and a school for children with specific needs.

Recreation and leisure

The ward has both the West End Library and Denton Burn Library, which have computers with free

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

access. The West End library holds the West Newcastle Picture History Collection of around 17,000 images of the West End, some taken by Jimmy Forsyth.

Benwell Nature Park Benwell Nature Park is a Local Nature Reserve in Benwell, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Many natural habitats have been established including a pond and marsh, meadows and hedgerows, woodlands and stone outcrops. A picnic area near the pond an ...

and Denton Dene South are located within the ward. Scotswood Leisure Centre hosts various sports clubs and fitness classes. The ward contains three pieces of Play Provision, provided by Newcastle Play Service. These are the Lillia Play Sessions, held at the Lillia Youth Centre and two playcentres: Scotswood Playcentre and Benwell Playcentre. These provide free open access sessions five days a week to children 5–12 (older children with disabilities and additional needs are also welcome). Scotswood Natural Community garden was awarded a Green Flag Community Award. In 2012 a Sculpture Trail was created which involved the creation of four sculptures by artists working with local community groups. West End RFC is a local amateur rugby club which plays its home matches at All Saints Sports Centre.

Charts

The ward has 6,411 housing spaces, 6.4% being vacant, higher than the city average of 5.3%. Owner-occupied properties stand at 46.9%, also lower than the city average of 53.3%. The properties are as follows:

References

External links

Newcastle Council Ward Info: Benwell and Scotswood

Newcastle Council 2001 census
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benwell And Scotswood Districts of Newcastle upon Tyne Wards of Newcastle upon Tyne