| Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne | |
Entrance to Walker Park, Walker |
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Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne
Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne shown within Tyne and Wear |
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| OS grid reference | NZ289648 |
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| List of places: UK • England • Tyne and Wear | |
Walker is a residential suburb and electoral ward just east of the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Walker's name is a hybrid of Old English and Viking Norse, "Wall-kjerr", where "kjerr" is Norse for "marshy woodland". The name therefore means "marshy woodland by the wall", where the wall in question is Hadrian's Wall.
Generally speaking Walker is an area between Welbeck Road and the banks of the River Tyne, although the modern city ward of Walker incorporates Pottery Bank and St Anthony's. When most Geordies refer to Walker they also incorporate the areas of Daisy Hill and Eastfield. Walkergate, Walkerdene and Walkerville, which are located between Welbeck Road and the Network rail line are sometimes considered parts of Walker. These two areas, along with Daisy Hill and Eastfield make up the city Ward of Walkergate.
The residents of Walker are type 51 on the ACORN classification and tend to be low income families, single parents and pensioners.
Walker used to have a large shipbuilding industry, particularly the yard of Armstrong Whitworth at High Walker, but this has declined over the past 50 years and the area has suffered as a result, with many jobs being taken away from the community.
Newcastle City Council's Walker Riverside regeneration scheme aims to revitalise the area with new houses, schools, jobs and community facilities, environmental improvements, and a new neighbourhood centre to be known as the Heart of Walker. The scheme has its own website and newsletter known as the Walker Eye, which goes to almost 7,000 homes and businesses locally.
Much of the older and run-down housing stock along Walker Road is in the process of being demolished and replaced with new homes which are a mixture of council and private housing.
The area is notable for Walker Park, the Walker Riverside Park, and the Lady Stephenson Library (now known unimaginatively as 'Walker Library') as well as the Lightfoot Sports Centre, which is set to undergo a £2.5m refurbishment.
Walker is the birthplace of Eric Burdon, lead singer of The Animals who later recorded with War at the beginning of that band's career. The Animals recorded a song called Gonna Send You Back To Walker, a repurposed version of a song by American R&B singer Timmy Shaw, "Gonna Send You Back to Georgia (A CIty Slick)."
Another Walkerite, the author, journalist and broadcaster Keith Topping, titled one of the chapters in his novel The Hollow Men, The St. Anthony's Chinese Takeaway Massacre.
The Newcastle United striker Shola Ameobi grew up in Walker where he played for the famous Walker Central F.C, launched in 1988 by the Wallsend-born former Newcastle United midfielder Lee Clark, and ex-club scout Brian Clark (no relation). Lee Clark has since gone on to manage League One side Huddersfield Town.
Walker is served by the Tyne and Wear Metro, with a station at Walkergate, and has a main bus terminus on Walker Road, although this is quite dilapidated and badly serviced.
Most children attend six local primary schools, (St Anthony's CE, St Vincent's RC, Tyneview, Welbeck, West Walker, and Wharrier Street) in Walker before transferring to Benfield School, a specialist Sports College, or to Walker Technology College[4], a high performing specialist technology and visual arts school for 11-18 year olds.
As part of the new Heart of Walker development, plans have recently been unveiled to open a new state-of-the-art primary school on a site next door to the redeveloped Lightfoot Centre. The £7m project will merge Wharrier Street and St Anthony's primary schools when it opens in Autumn 2012.
Plans for the area's regeneration were approved by the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Ruth Kelly.
Cheryl Cole - singer, was born on the Heaton Estate[1]on 30 June 1983[2], then moved to Cresswell Street in Walker in her early teens and attended Walker Technology College, living there until she was around 20 years old and had found fame with Girls Aloud.[3]
Eric Burdon - famous singer was born In Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne