| Town Moor, Newcastle upon Tyne | |
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Town Moor, Newcastle upon Tyne
Town Moor, Newcastle upon Tyne shown within Tyne and Wear |
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| OS grid reference | NZ235664 |
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| List of places: UK • England • Tyne and Wear | |
The Town Moor is a large area of common land in Newcastle upon Tyne. It covers an area of around 400ha[1], and is larger than Hyde Park and Hampstead Heath combined, stretching from the city centre and Spital Tongues in the south out to Cowgate/Kenton Bar to the west, Gosforth to the north and Jesmond to the east.
At the south-eastern corner lies the Exhibition Park, but the rest of the Town Moor is not laid out as a park and is mostly treeless. Freemen of the city have the right to graze cattle on the moors, the rental income is distributed through the Town Moor Money Charity[2].
The ornithologist and landscape architect John Hancock, after whom the nearby Hancock Museum is named, produced a planned layout for the Town Moor in 1868, which was only partly realised.
The Hoppings, said to be Europe's largest travelling fun fair, is held on the Town Moor during the last week in June.
The area of common land is actually split up into two sections, of which the Town Moor is but the major part. The area is intersected by the A189 road and the section on the other side of the road is known as Nuns Moor, and includes the Newcastle United Golf Club.
The moor now has recently had a new pathway laid with more street lighting and CCTV.