Crawcrook
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Crawcrook is a large village close to the western border of the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear in England. Traditionally an independent village in County Durham it has since been incorporated into the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead.
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[edit] Location
Crawcrook lies midway between Prudhoe in Northumberland and Ryton, also in Tyne and Wear.
[edit] History
At the turn of the twentieth century, and in common with the nearby areas of Greenside, Clara Vale and Stargate, Crawcrook was a village with a vibrant coal industry. With major pits such as Emma and Clara, as well as several smaller pits, Crawcrook became a major coal mining centre. However the coal industry collapsed in the village during the second half of the twentieth century. As has happened to a number of other northern English villages employment in tertiary industries has replaced the coal industry. However, Crawcrook's coal mining heritage is still evident; a number of the old miners' homes still exist in the surrounding area, as do the old wagonways used to transport coal, now maintained as footpaths.
During the 1970s and 1980s, with the creation of the Kepier Chare and Westburn private housing estates, Crawcrook grew significantly in size and became largely suburbanised and is being used increasingly as a commuter village for the conurbation of Tyneside.
[edit] Amenities and Transport links
Unlike many villages of a similar semi-rural character, Crawcrook has maintained its broad range of amenities. There are several shops in the area, a library, a greengrocer's, a butcher's, two gentlemen's barbers, a hairdressing salon, a post office, a number of pubs, a chiropodist, a doctor's surgery, two veterinary practices and a restaurant. There are also several churches in the village from a number of denominations including Catholic, Pentecostal, Church of the Holy Spirit and Methodist. The village also has three primary schools; St Agnes Roman Catholic school, Kepier Chare and Emmaville. However, Kepier Chare school is scheduled to close, and will be merged with Emmaville by 2008.
The area is also well served by public transport, with regular bus links to Hexham, the MetroCentre, Gateshead and Newcastle Upon Tyne as well as nearby towns and villages such as Ryton, Prudhoe, Chopwell, High Spen and Clara Vale.
Crawcrook has its own village park, located in the Garden House Estate area of the village. Created in the 1950s it consists of toddler play equipment, a tennis court/five a side football area, and a bowling green. However, much of the play equipment was removed during the 1990s due to age, with very little of it replaced therefore leaving the park in desperate need of rennovation. Local councillors (all Liberal Democrats) and 'The Streetlights Detached Youth Programme', a local charity, have pushed for funding of the park. Recent work has been made on the flora of the park, with bulbs planted, flower beds created, conifers and trees planted, giving a pleasent, green, feel to the entrance of the park. However, no progress has been made with regard to installing play equipment at the rear of the park.[1]
Other recreational facilities nearby include two golf courses, Tyneside golf club at Ryton and Ryton golf club at Clara Vale.
[edit] Surrounding Area
Within less than a mile of Crawcrook's main street and its residential areas, lies farmland and rich countryside, particularly to the west and north of the village. To the west of the village these include farmland and Sled Lane, with its woodland and ponds; Bradley Gardens, a Victorian era walled garden and, to the north, more farmland as well as the meadows between Crawcrook and Wylam.
Other notable features of Crawcrook's environment include its landed estates, in particular Bradley Hall, and its sand quarries, that have partly encroached on some of its countryside to the north-west of the village.
Further down the Tyne valley there are picturesque villages and towns such as Prudhoe, Stocksfield and Corbridge.
[edit] References
- ^ "Crawcrook Park: Rennovation Update in Gateshead News", Jonathan Wallace, 2006-03-29. Retrieved on 2007-02-10.
