Bill Quay

Bill Quay
Bill Quay
 Bill Quay shown within Tyne and Wear
OS grid referenceNZ297626
Metropolitan boroughGateshead
Metropolitan county Tyne and Wear
RegionNorth East
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town GATESHEAD
Postcode district NE10
Dialling code 0191
Police Northumbria
Fire Tyne and Wear
Ambulance North East
EU Parliament North East England
UK ParliamentGateshead East and Washington West
List of places
UK
England
Tyne and Wear

Coordinates: 54°57′25″N 1°32′13″W / 54.957°N 1.537°W / 54.957; -1.537

Bill Quay is a village in the east of Gateshead in North East England, situated between Hebburn to the east and Pelaw to the west. It lies on the south bank of the River Tyne, facing Walker-on-Tyne. Although it has been assimilated into the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead it has retained a lot of the unique features of a village, which it originated as, it remains an affluent and desirable location.

The River Tyne at Bill Quay

History

During the 19th century it was an industrial area catering for chemical works, bottle works, Robson's Paint and shipbuilding. The area saw an economic upturn at the end of the 19th century when the CWS (Co-Operative Wholesale Society) opened its vast and extensive string of factories along its main thoroughfare, Shields Road. Boutlands, Harrisons and Wood-Skinner were shipbuilders at Bill Quay with Harrisons remaining the last shipbuilders on the Tyne's south bank until its closure recently.

Notable establishments

Bill Quay Community Farm
An important urban farm and one of only 16 farm parks nationally recognised by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust in the UK. Breeds include Tamworth pigs, Jacob sheep, Hebridean sheep, Scots Grey hens and Bagot goats. It plays host to Chickenstock, a showcase festival for local Gateshead based bands that happens yearly.
Bill Quay Albion Cricket Club
Bill Quay Albion Cricket Club compete in the Durham Cricket League.
Bill Quay Fabric Workshop
Bill Quay Methodist Church
Bill Quay Book Shop
Small book shop, selling wide range of second hand books, also contributes to local events/information.

Bill Quay in fiction

The novel Schoolfrenz by Ray Crowther (ISBN 0-9541110-3-6) is set mainly on Tyneside. Bill Quay is mentioned several times and is the location for a murder scene in the book. The author's website (Ray Crowther) contains an extract from Schoolfrenz about Bill Quay, and has photographs of Bill Quay and the surrounding area.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 24, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.