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For the village, see Gosforth, Cumbria.
"South Gosforth" redirects here. For the Metro station, see South Gosforth Metro station.
Gosforth is an area of Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England to the north of the city centre. Gosforth constituted an urban district from 1895 to 1974, when it was merged with the county borough of Newcastle, the urban district of Newburn and parts of Castle Ward Rural District into the Metropolitan Borough of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne. There are two electoral wards in Gosforth, East Gosforth and West Gosforth.
HistoryThe origin of the area's name is thought to have come from the title Gese Ford meaning “the ford over the Ouse”, referring to a crossing over the local River Ouse, however others think that it comes from the Old English Gosaford meaning a ford where the geese dwell, and it is first recorded as Goseford in 1166.[2] Richard Welford notes that the names of North and South Gosforth come from the north and south of the River Ouse.[3] Gosforth is first mentioned in 1166, and thus some think the settlement developed at this time [4] and South Gosforth dates back past 1319, when it has been noted that the English Army retreated there from a siege on Berwick.[5] According to the 19th century publication, A Topographical Dictionary of England, the township of Gosforth was held of the crown by the Surtees family from 1100 to 1509, when it passed by marriage to Robert Brandling.[6] Parishes and urban districtsIn 1777 Gosforth contained 7 townships of North Gosforth, South Gosforth, Coxlodge, Kenton, Fawdon, East Brunton and West Brunton.[3] By order of the Local Government Board on 20 September 1872, the parishes of South Gosforth and Coxlodge were constituted into an urban district, the South Gosforth Local Board. After the 1894 Local Government Act, it became the South Gosforth Urban District Council. A year later, by a Northumberland County Council order dated 14 March 1895, the title was changed again to Gosforth Urban District Council.[7] On 15 July 1903 the District Council applied for an order from Northumberland County Council, to extend its boundaries to include the parishes of North Gosforth, East Brunton, West Brunton, Fawdon and the greater part of Kenton. On 9 September 1903 an enquiry was held into the Gosforth Scheme, but the proposal was refused. The parishes of Coxlodge and South Gosforth were amalgamated into the parish of Gosforth in 1908. Gosforth then extended its boundaries after the County of Northumberland Review Order 1935, to include part of Castle Ward Rural District. This comprised parts of East Brunton, Fawdon and North Gosforth civil parishes. The Gosforth Urban District Council was finally abolished on 1 April 1974 to become part of Newcastle Metropolitan Borough Council.[7] St. Nicholas's ChurchThe existing parish church, St. Nicholas's Church was built in 1799, after the previous one had been pulled down. The 1799 architect was John Dodds. Between 1818 and 1920, John Dobson was the architect for some alterations to the church. The eastern half was added later in 1913, this was the biggest alteration to the church, and the architect was Hicks and Charlewood. A new vestry was added in 1959, partly as a war memorial, architected by F.W. Harvey. The church's predecessor was mentioned in 1170, when the advowson changed hands. In 1220 Gosforth was also mentioned Brand's History of Newcastle. The earliest parish register is dated 1697.[8] MiningIn the 19th century, Gosforth was the location of a number of collieries, including Gosforth[9] and Coxlodge Collieries.[10] The area of land which Coxlodge Colliery occupied is around the Regent Centre area, and the Gosforth Colliery was nearer to modern day South Gosforth. PopulationAs of the 2001 census there were 18,281 people living in Gosforth. In the nineteenth century Gosforth's population was largely deemed by the coal trade. In 1801 there were 1,385 inhabitants, most of which lived in Kenton, and were employed in the colliery there. In 1831 the population had risen to 3,546, partly due to the opening of the Fawdon and Coxlodge collieries. Between 1831 and 1871 the population only grew by a very small amount to 3,723, due to the pits at Fawdon and Kenton having ceased to function.[3] LandmarksIt has a large business complex called the Regent Centre, which houses many notable organisations including the Newcastle regional centre for the Open University and HM Revenue & Customs. Gosforth High Street is part of the Great North Road. Gosforth's main High School is Gosforth High School, and some of the private schools in Gosforth are Westfield School and Newcastle School for Boys. St Nicholas Hospital is also located in Gosforth, which houses the Jubilee Theatre, a Victorian Theatre built in 1899.[11] Areas of GosforthApart from South Gosforth, many districts of Gosforth are suffixed "Park". There is Grange Park, Brunton Park, Melton Park, Grove Park, Bridge Park, Gosforth Park (including its racecourse), Newcastle Great Park and Whitebridge Park. East of the Great North Road, Garden Village was developed on 'garden suburb' lines in the 1920s to house workers at the nearby LNER electric train depot (now the Metro depot). Gosforth has a range of suburban style housing and executive apartments and a mix of local pubs, restaurants and the famous Three Mile Inn which is exceptionally busy at 5pm partly because of its close proximity to the Regent Centre office development. Gosforth's newest pub is Wetherspoons The Job Bulman, named after the founder of Bulman Village (now central Gosforth). The Job Bulman is located in the former 1920s post office building on St Nicholas Avenue and was Gosforth's first non smoking pub. In the mid-nineteenth century Bulman Village developed in the area which is now Gosforth High Street. Newcastle Great ParkThe latest expansion of Gosforth is in the north-west corner of the suburb called "Newcastle Great Park" which is three years into a ten year building project. The Warkworth Woods and Melbury sectors are almost complete and it will eventually extend into Kingston Park at the end of its development. Great Park, Brunton Park & Melton ParkGosforth holds many estates such as Great Park, Brunton Park & Melton Park. These house several amenities and local businesses such as a bakers, ceramic studio, newsagents, estate agent and hair & beauty salons. Brunton Park has a pub, The Royal George, which is being closed. Another pub is The Three Mile Inn which is on the same complex as Scalini's (Italian restaurant), just a short walk from the area. Melton Park has a chapel which dates back to early medieval or late Norman times. It may have been built on the site of a Roman fort.[12] Sports and entertainment
Gosforth has sports facilities such as Gosforth Swimming Pool among others. Famous sportsmen from Gosforth include footballer Alan Shearer and athlete Jonathan Edwards. Gosforth has had a long connection with local rugby football, currently being home to the Northern Rugby Club (founded 1875)[13] and namesake of the nearby current incarnation of the Gosforth Rugby Club (originally formed in 1877). The city's rugby club, the Newcastle Falcons, was also originally based in Gosforth, also originally being called Gosforth Rugby Club, and later Newcastle Gosforth.[14] Gosforth Central Park has two bowling greens with a women's and a men's club, two tennis courts, a basketball court and a fenced play area.[15] Gosforth has a 90 acre Golf course which opened in 1906.[16] Gosforth has been home to the South Northumberland Cricket Club since 1892,[17] which is home itself to the South North Bulls team. Gosforth formerly had two cinemas located on the high street, the Royalty Cinema and the Globe Cinema. The Royalty Cinema opened on 17 October 1934 and closed on 30 December 1981.[18] A video documentary, Last Reel at the Royalty, viewable online was produced about the cinema's history. The Globe Cinema later became a bingo hall and is now Poon's Gosforth Palace Chinese restaurant. The ground on which the ASDA store stands was formerly the Gosforth Greyhound Stadium until the late 1980s. The stadium had also previously been a Speedway Track from 1929–30.[19] BusinessMany businesses have offices in the Regent Centre, near the High Street. Gosforth also houses the headquarters of the troubled bank, Northern Rock. In 2008 the bank was nationalised due to the problems it has experienced during the credit crunch. The bank has recently built a new headquarters building, which the bank is seeking to let out or sell. Greggs, the largest national retail bakery chain, started with John Gregg's single shop on Gosforth High Street in the 1930s; initially Greggs was known as Greggs of Gosforth. Shopping
Gosforth has its own High Street, which has been home to local shops for over a hundred years.[20] Shops on the high street include a branch of Boots, Thorpes, (a well established local hardware store), estate agents and banks, among many others. In the 1980s the Gosforth Shopping Centre was built on the High street and connects to Gosforth Central Park; shops here include a new Sainsbury's and WHSmith. The park was built in 1932 for £10,000 and opened on 6 August 1932.[21] The High Street had a Woolworths store, which closed on 3 January 2009, due to the company being in administration. The Brandling Arms pub on the high street has its own local edition of My Monopoly, using Gosforth locations. Supermarkets
Gosforth shopping centre has a new Sainsbury's, which was formerly a Kwik Save/Somerfield store. Opposite Regent Centre is a 24 hour Asda. The ASDA supermarket had an extension built in 2007. The extension houses a photographic service centre and restaurant, along with a partial refurbishment of the store. Kingston Park houses one of the country's largest superstores, a Tesco store. The Regent Farm estate currently has a Cooperative Food store. It also used to have a Kwik Save/FreshXpress store, which may become the premises of a Netto store. Newcastle City Council reported to Great Park residents in a meeting that it has outline planning permission in 2007/8 for a new supermarket. However no such location has yet been confirmed. Transport, communication and amenitiesGosforth is served by five Tyne and Wear Metro stations: Ilford Road, South Gosforth, Regent Centre, Wansbeck Road and Fawdon. The control centre for the Metro system is located at South Gosforth station, and the main depot and car sheds are nearby. NE3 is the postcode area for Gosforth and BT Landlines start with (0191) 213, 217, 223, 236, 284 and 285. Cable, provided by Virgin Media, does not fully cover Gosforth. It is not available to homes covered by the Wideopen Telephone Exchange in the north of the suburb. In 1902 Gosforth was linked by tramway to Wallsend, then Newcastle a year later; this tramway has long since been removed as other travel links evolved.[20] In the late 1850s, prior to horse trams, a resident by the name of Mark Frater established a omnibus service connecting Gosforth and Newcastle.[8] In the late 19th century a volunteer fire brigade was started in Gosforth,[8] later in 1894 a fire station was built on Gosforth High Street, and since 1990 Gosforth has been served by Gosforth Community Fire Station, located on Jubilee Road.[22] Gosforth's first Police station opened in 1857, with 4 policemen, due to the County Constabulary Act of 1856.[3] Gosforth has a number of Post Offices, however on 1 July 2008 the Post Office announced the next set of Post Offices which will close; the Gosforth Garden Village branch and a nearby branch in Kenton will close.[23] A public meeting was held about the closure the Garden Village post office on the evening of 28 July. Postal facilities had first been introduced in Gosforth in around 1840.[3] Education
Gosforth Library
Gosforth has a public library which was re-built in 2007. In November 2006, the old Gosforth Library was closed and moved to a nearby temporary location. The single storey building was subsequently demolished and has been replaced by a new two storey building. The new Library and Customer Service Centre, costing £2.8 million opened on 17 December 2007. The Gosforth Customer Service Centre includes a PayPoint and the library has a self service facility.[24] The new building will also incorporate 'public art' to give the Centre an identity and a connection with the local area. The Library was officially opened on 8 February 2008 by John Grundy; music students from Gosforth High School also performed at the opening. Famous natives and residentsNotable natives and residents of Gosforth include:
Photo galleryGosforth High Street
References
External links
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