Rowlands Gill

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Rowlands Gill
Rowlands Gill shown within Tyne and Wear
OS grid reference	NZ165585
Metropolitan borough	Gateshead
Metropolitan county	Tyne and Wear
Region	North East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ROWLANDS GILL
Postcode district	NE39
Dialling code	01207
Police	Northumbria
Fire	Tyne and Wear
Ambulance	North East
European Parliament	North East England
UK Parliament	Blaydon
List of places: UK • England • Tyne and Wear

Coordinates: 54°55′15″N 1°44′39″W / 54.920926, -1.744103

Rowlands Gill is a former coal mining village on the north side of the River Derwent, Tyne and Wear, England. Originally an independent village in County Durham it became incorporated into Tyne and Wear in 1974 and then the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in 1986.

It is located in the greenbelt of Gateshead. The village has a picturesque setting with much open space and views across the valley to Gibside, the estate now owned by the National Trust. During the latter part of the twentieth century, Rowlands Gill became suburbanised and is increasingly used as a commuter village. One of the borough's wealthiest areas, such expansion was largely due to the development of detached houses of Dominies Close in the late 1980s.

1 Local politics
2 Retail and facilities
3 Recreation and education
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Local politics

In local government Rowlands Gill is located within the ward of 'Chopwell and Rowlands Gill. It is served by three councillors, all of whom are Labour councillors. Gateshead council is Labour controlled.

Rowlands Gill is also located within the parliamentary constituency of Blaydon. Its current MP is Labour's Dave Anderson.

[edit] Retail and facilities

It has two florists but no pub, after 'The Towneley Arms' was demolished in 2002 to make way for apartments. There is a social club, however. The village is served by a Tesco Metro supermarket, a Lloyds TSB Bank, and a Halifax Estate Agent. Other shops include a Newsagent, Moss Chemist, Off Licence and a group of smaller shops heading out of the village centre.

The Library is situated near the village centre, while the two local churches are both situated on the main road.

There is an Italian Restaurant and Oriental Restaurant near the Tesco store, while upstairs of these restaurants a is the local gym.

[edit] Recreation and education

The Derwent Park provides access to the river as well as tennis courts, sanity putting, recreational fields and playground facilities. The park also has a caravan park. The village has access to the Derwent Country Walk.

The village's 'In Bloom Committee' is very active and has entered the Britain in Bloom competition over the past 3 or 4 years in the 'Large Village' category. The participation is boasted by signs marking the village.

Formerly connected to the railway, the village is still busy with transport with a heavily used road running through. There are frequent bus services (Services 45/46/46A and 47) to Newcastle City Centre, the MetroCentre and, in the other direction, Blackhall Mill or Consett (via Medomsley or Shotley Bridge). Other minor bus routes also operate, such as Service 10 to and from Newcastle via Crawcrook, the local circle buses serving areas such as Sherburn Towers, and the UCall bus service.

Rowlands Gill has a very successful primary school. The Infant and Junior schools have now amalgamated but were originally based on two sites. This primary school is the feeder school for Hookergate School, just over 2 miles away, near High Spen.

Rowlands Gill, and the surrounding Derwent Valley, was chosen by the Northern Kites Project as the location for the re-introduction of Red Kites in semi-rural areas. This scheme has proven to be a big success, with birds being spotted across the west of the borough, from Crawcrook to Rowlands Gill itself.^[1]^[2]