Washington, Tyne and Wear

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Washington

Statistics

Population:

55,454

Ordnance Survey

Administration

Other

Services

Post office and telephone

Post town:

WASHINGTON

Postal district:

NE37,38

Dialling code:

0191

Politics

UK Parliament:

Houghton and Washington East
Gateshead East and Washington West

European Parliament:

North East England

Washington Old Hall

Washington is a suburb in Sunderland, England. Washington is located 10 miles (16 km) west of Sunderland City Centre itself, and roughly the same distance south of Newcastle upon Tyne. At the 2001 census, the town had a population of 55,454.

Washington was designated a new town in 1964 and expanded dramatically by the creation of new villages and the absorption of areas of Chester-le-Street to house overspill population from surrounding cities.

The main shopping centre is 'The Galleries', an indoor complex housing local shops and services, and the ASDA and Sainsbury's (previously known as SavaCentre, a Sainsbury's subsidiary) supermarkets. 'The Galleries' is known by all in Washington, it acts as the town centre, a meeting place, and it has a bus station that connects Washington to the bigger towns (Newcastle, Sunderland, Gateshead etc). It was officially opened in 1974 by Princess Anne. A large area of parkland extends south from 'The Galleries' and is known as Princess Anne Park.

1 History
2 Industry
3 Visitor attractions
4 Education
5 Transportation
6 Famous people
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] History

The origin of the name Washington is not fully known; it may be from Old English wæsc "to wash" + -inga 'people of' + dun "hill" (i.e. people of the hill by the stream). Due to its proximity to the Wear, this origin seems likely. This origin is shown in a record of the name as Wasindone from 1096.

(A problem with this etymology is that it would appear to mix Germanic with Celtic words. Dun would indicate a Celtic origin, the cognate Anglo-Saxon word being tun. Tun, like dun, also commonly refers to a fortified hill town, typically enclosed by a wall. Cf. Dutch tuin "garden" and High German Zaun "fence", both from earlier Germanic *tu:n. Resolution of this tension might be found in the Irish and Scottish Gaelic word for "water", uisce/uisge, in which case an earlier Uisgedun or some such might have been replaced by an Anglo-Saxon Wæscingtun; but this, as is much etymology in particular of proper names, is all highly speculative.)

Another origin, equally likely is 'estate associated with a man called Wassa', from the Old English personal name Wassa + ing- + tun, -ing- meaning '(place) of' and tun (farm, estate, town). This origin is shown in a record of the name as Wassyngtona from 1183.
However, this is not a conclusive toponymy origin of the name; it is still not ascertained.

The Old Hall may have been built by William de Hertburn, who moved to the area in 1183. As was the custom he took the name of his new estates, and became William de Wessyngton. By 1539 when the family moved to Sulgrave Manor in Northamptonshire the spelling "Washington" had been adopted. It was from Washington Village that the ancestors of George Washington, the first President of the United States, emigrated to Virginia in 1657. Ironically they emigrated because of their Royalist sympathies.

The present Hall is an early 17th century small English manor house of sandstone. Only the foundations and the arches between the Kitchen and the Great Hall remain of the original house.

Washington's curious design was incorporated from many towns in the United States. The new town is divided into small self-sufficient "villages". It was originally also divided into 15 numbered districts, a fate which confused many visitors to the area. Washington's villages are called Donwell, Usworth (originally Great Usworth), Concord, Sulgrave, Albany, Glebe, Barmston, Biddick, Washington Village (the original village and location of the Old Hall), Columbia, Blackfell, Oxclose, Ayton, Lambton, Fatfield, Harraton and Rickleton. Built on industry, the town itself has several industrial estates, named after famous local people, such as Parsons, Armstrong, Stephenson, Crowther, Pattinson, Swan and Emmerson.

[edit] Industry

Historically, Washington was heavily involved in the coal industry with a number of pits. One of these in the Albany district of Washington is preserved as the 'F' Pit Museum (pits in Washington were named alphabetically e.g. the 'F' Pit). A number of the old communities of Washington grew up around the pits (e.g. the modern area of Usworth partly grew up around the Usworth mine and the area was known as Usworth Colliery (and still is to some of the older generation). In support of the mines there was a series of wagonways and later railway lines to transport the coal. The wagonways took coal to staithes on the River Wear where it could be loaded onto barges to be taken to the ocean going vessels at Sunderland.

Washington was also involved in the chemical industry and the Washington Chemical Works was a major employer in the 19th Century. This later became the Cape/Newalls works producing insulation. The Pattinson Town area of Washington grew up around the chemical works. This area is now Pattinson industrial estate and Teal Farm housing estate.

Currently, Washington's main industries include textiles, electronics, car assembly, chemicals and electrical goods. The Nissan automotive plant is a major employer in the town, although the factory itself is just outside the town boundary and lies in Sunderland itself. Nissan is the largest private-sector employer in the City of Sunderland.

[edit] Visitor attractions

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust nature reserve and the Washington 'F' Pit mining museum are within the town, and Beamish Open-Air Museum is located nearby.

The Washington Arts Centre is a converted farm building. The Centre includes an exhibition gallery, community theatre, artist studios and a recording studio.

The North of England Aircraft Museum occupies part of the old RAF Usworth base. The Nissan plant takes up much of the rest. An attempt to run a municipal airport from the site failed.

[edit] Education

There are several schools in the villages of Washington.

Primary schools in the area
- Albany Village Primary
- St.Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School
- John F. Kennedy Primary School
- Biddick Primary School
- Lambton Primary School
- Holley Park Primary School
- George Washington School
- Usworth Colliery
- Usworth Grange
- Oxclose Primary
- Barmston Primary
- Wessington Primary - (formerly Glebe Primary)
- St.Bedes Roman Catholic Primary School
- Rickleton Primary School

Secondary schools in Washington.
- Usworth School opened in Washington in the 1960s has been confirmed for closure at the end of the 2006-07 school year. 2004 OFSTED report in (pdf).
- Biddick Sports College
- Washington School (formerly Washington Grammar School)
- St.Robert of Newminster (Roman Catholic Secondary School)
- Oxclose Community Secondary School

Colleges in Washington
- Usworth Sixth Form
- St.Robert of Newminster Sixth Form

[edit] Transportation

Washington has no railway station, making it one of the largest towns in Britain without an operational railway station (see Corby and Gosport). Proposals to extend the Tyne and Wear Metro to Washington have failed to attract government support. There is a bus station next to The Galleries. Major roads run through Washington, with connections to the A1. Washington services is situated between junctions 64 and 65 of the A1(M) motorway

[edit] Famous people

Gertrude Bell was born at Washington Hall. The musician Bryan Ferry (of Roxy Music fame) comes from Washington and attended Washington Grammar School (now Washington School (Comprehensive)) and Heather Mills attended Usworth School.