| Cramlington | |
The parish church of St. Nicholas |
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Cramlington
Cramlington shown within Northumberland |
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| Population | 39,000 (2004 est.) |
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| OS grid reference | NZ270760 |
| Parish | Cramlington |
| Unitary authority | Northumberland |
| Ceremonial county | Northumberland |
| Region | North East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CRAMLINGTON |
| Postcode district | NE23 |
| Dialling code | 01670 |
| Police | Northumbria |
| Fire | Northumberland |
| Ambulance | North East |
| EU Parliament | North East England |
| UK Parliament | Blyth Valley |
| List of places: UK • England • Northumberland | |
Cramlington is a town and civil parish in the county of Northumberland, North East England, situated 9 miles (14 km) north of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The town's name suggests a probable founding by the Danes or an Anglo-Saxon origin, the word "ton" meaning town. The population was estimated as 39,000 in 2004. It sits on the border between Northumberland and North Tyneside with the traffic interchange at Moor Farm, Annitsford (in the latter) linking the two areas.
The village of East Cramlington lies east of the A189, on the B1326 road that connects Cramlington to Seaton Delaval.
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The first record of the Manor of Cramlington is from a mention in 1135 when the land was granted to Nicholas de Grenville. A register of early chaplains begins with John the Clerk of Cramlington (c.1163-1180). The register continues to the present day.
From the 12th century onwards, its history has been mostly rural incorporating several farms and the parish church of St. Nicholas (built at a cost of £3,000 during 1865-1868 in the Gothic style). During the early 19th century, coal mining with several mine shafts in the immediate vicinity (the first was sunk in 1824) began to change that. It remained small, however, until 1964 when it was proclaimed a New Town and developers such as William Leech and J.T. Bell developed large housing estates. Those estates have since been named Beaconhill, Collingwood, Eastfield, Mayfield, Shankhouse, Southfield, and Whitelea and the town has effectively become a dormitory town of the much larger city to its south.
During World War I, the North East of England was protected by the No. 36 Home Defence Squadron. The squadron was formed at Cramlington on 1 February 1916 by Capt. R. O. Abercromby, with Cramlington subsequently becoming an important base for military planes and airships.[1] The Airship Station was at Nelson Village. A reference to Cramlington airfield is made in W. E. Johns 1935 book The Black Peril from the extremely popular Biggles series.
During the BBC Domesday Project in 1986 it was recorded that Cramlington's population was around 30,000.
With the establishment of the new town, the area was arranged into estates, primarily with a designator of the part of the town in which the estate was to be found.
The estates are:
There are several large industrial zones in Cramlington, most to the town's north-west near the sewage treatment plant, housing major pharmaceutical companies including Merck Sharp and Dohme. Other growing chemical companies including Aesica Pharmaceuticals are also present. The Officers Club menswear firm has its headquarters and supply warehouse in Cramlington,[1][2] while other companies such as GE Oil & Gas also occupy large sites.[3]
The Manor Walks shopping centre was constructed in the centre of the town in the 1970s, and was subsequently expanded in the mid-1990s and in 2003/4. The centre now includes retailers such as Argos, Asda, Boots, Next and Sainsbury's.
Provisional permissions were recently given to an open cast mining operation to the north-west of the town, however the fine detail of how much coal is to be extracted has yet to be agreed.[4] As of July 2006, it now appears mining will not go ahead.[5]
Plessey Woods Country Park lies just to the north of Cramlington, with the River Blyth flowing through the country park.
The town is served by Cramlington railway station, with services to the MetroCentre, Morpeth and Newcastle upon Tyne provided by Northern Rail. Cramlington has an extensive bus service which is provided by Arriva Northumbria, including a number of express services to Newcastle upon Tyne.
Cramlington also has good road transport links, being situated between the A1, A19 and A189 roads.
In line with many of the UK's post-war New Towns, Cramlington has an extensive bicycle network. With a grid spacing of approximately 500m, segregated cycle routes are provided free of motorised traffic.
Until September 2008, all schools in Northumberland operated under a three tier system, however, following a decision to convert the county to a two tier system, Cramlington was chosen as one of the first towns to complete this.
Prior to the closure of the area's many middle schools, some primary schools relocated to the former middle school sites. This will allow disused sites and land to be sold to housing developers and other parties.
There had been concern from local residents over traffic and parking arrangements at the new sites.[6]
In September 2008 Cramlington Community High School was renamed Cramlington Learning Village in line with the transfer from three to two tiers. The village has three sections: a Junior Learning Village (for Years 7 and 8), a Senior Learning Village (for Years 9 to 11) and an Advanced Learning Village (for Years 12 and 13).
Cramlington has a number of Christian churches of various denominations:
Others
Cramlington's main leisure centre, Concordia, is situated in the town centre adjacent to the shopping mall and was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1977. It consists of a leisure pool, originally designed as an indoor tropical paradise, indoor football pitches, tennis, badminton and squash courts, as well as a climbing wall. It also features a gymnasium, sauna, bowling green, and bar. 2008 sees a number of improvements to the centre to bring it in line with the current Disability Discrimination laws in England.
As part of the new town design, the town has a large cycle path network. A cycle route also connects the town to the nearest beach, in Blyth. As of late March 2007, Blyth Valley council have announced that the cycle network is to be extended to allow access to the neighbouring town of Bedlington.
The village square is home to four public houses, including the Grade II listed Blagdon Arms.[7]
Cramlington participates in a town twinning scheme with three other towns - two in Germany and one in the Russian Federation.
| Country | Place | County / District / Region / State | Date | |||
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| Germany | Solingen | North Rhine-Westphalia | 1974 | |||
| Germany | Ratingen | North Rhine-Westphalia | 1974 | |||
| Russian Federation | Gelendzhik | Krasnodar Krai | 1991 |
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