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Whitley Bay

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Template:Infobox England place with map Template:GBthumb Whitley Bay is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the North Sea coast and boasts a fine stretch of beach of golden sand forming a Bay stretching from St Mary's Island in the north to Cullercoats in the south. The town, which has a population of about 35,000, became a holiday destination for the people of North East England and Scotland and remained popular in this regard until the 1980s. The town is now widely seen as a dormitory town for Newcastle upon Tyne.

Districts of Whitley Bay

History

The area is rich in history. Whitley was first mentioned about the year 1100 when Henry I conferred it with other possessions on the Priory of Tynemouth being referred to in ancient documents and maps before that date as Witelei, Wyteley, Hwyteleg, Witelithe, Wheteley, Wytheleye, Whitlaw, Whitlathe and Whitlag. Whitley is also referred to in the Charters of Henry II, Richard I and John, confirming to the priors their possessions and liberties.

Whitley was connected with the Crusades when Pope Nicholas IV had granted to Edward I the first-fruits and tenths of all eccliastical possessions for six years to defray the expenses of an expedition to the Holy Land and so a valuation was made of the spiritual and temporal goods of the Priory on March 26th. 1292, when the yearly rents from Whitley were returned as 20s., and the tithes as 9 marks.

About the beginning of the fourteenth century, the manor of Whitley was held from the Prior of Tynemouth by a singular feudal service called the Conveyes which seems to have originated from John de Whitley. Richard de Emeldon, eighteen times Mayor of Newcastle and seven times its representative in Parliament, was the Lord of the manor of Whitley in 1333.

On 9th. April 1345, Edward III granted to Gilbert de Whitley a licence to crenellate his manor-house at Whitley. To crenallate a house was to place battlements upon it and before this could be done, the sanction of the Crown was necessary. The need was an indication of the insecurity felt even this far south during the Edwardian wars with Scotland.

After the suppression of the monasteries, Whitley was held under the Crown for a time. By a grant of Edward VI dated 8th December 1551, it came into the hands of Dudley, Earl of Warwick who was created Duke of Northumberland. It remained in the Percy family until 1632. After this time the area appeared to be let at a yearly rental to various holders until it came into the possession of the Duke of Somerset on his marriage in 1682 with Elizabeth, the heiress of Joscelyn, the eleventh Earl of Northumberland. Whitley subsequently passed by inheritance to her granddaughter Elizabeth Seymour who had married Sir Hugh Smithson, a Yorkshire baronet, afterwards created Duke of Northumberland. Whitley has since been retained by descendants and the present Duke of Northumberland is the Lord of the manor and principal landowner.

Monkseaton, which forms the greater part of the North-west of the district is also very old and its industries were common with those of Whitley being chiefly coal mining and limestone quarrying.

1873 saw an event of importance in the Town's history by the establishment of the Whitley and Monkseaton Local Board. The district of the Local Board became the Urban District of Whitley and Monkseaton. From the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century the adverse effects of the decline of local coal mining and dependent industries in the area were ameliorated by the emergence of Whitley Bay as a sea-side holiday resort. On the 1st. January 1944 the Whitley and Monkseaton Urban District became the Whitley Bay Urban District and on 5th. March, 1954 it was granted its Royal Charter of Incorporation as the Borough of Whitley Bay. The Charter was presented by H.R.H. The Princess Royal at a ceremony in the town held on 14th. April 1954.

REFERENCES: * All of the above is an extract from material compiled and edited for the Borough of Whitley Bay by the Charter Town Clerk, Arthur S. Ruddock M.B.E. and published in the official Charter Publication.

The Whitley Bay Parish Church is St Paul's.

The Local Government Act 1972 abolished the Borough, with Hartley in the north of the borough going to Blyth Valley district in Northumberland, and the main part including Whitley and Monkseaton forming part of the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear. The town is in the constituency of Tynemouth and its MP is Alan Campbell for the Labour Party. Councillors of the Whitley Bay ward of North Tyneside Council are Alison Austin, Michael McIntyre and Margaret Marshall.

The loss of government of the town by its local borough council seems to have robbed it of the civic pride which was once evident in its heyday as a sea-side resort, the result being apparent in its declined appearance and lack of continuing development.

There are several schools in the area, however the largest is Whitley Bay High School.

Attractions

Whitley Bay was famous for its permanent seaside fairground called The Spanish City, which has been demolished. The Fairground returns to the town on Bank Holiday weekends, the Easter and Summer holidays, but is now located on 'the Links', an expansive seafront park adjacent to the former Spanish City site. The fabulous Spanish City Dome is to become the centre piece of a multimillion pound "regeneration" of the sea front, which will include hotel and leisure developments. Also in the town is St. Mary's Lighthouse. The Spanish City is the subject of the Dire Straits song Tunnel of Love, along with Whitley Bay and the nearby town Cullercoats.

The ice rink was also the region's premier concert venue until the Newcastle Arena (now Metro Radio Arena) opened in 1995. The venue played host to the top names in the music industry throughout the 1980s and 1990s, such as The Cure in 1985, Oasis in 1994 and the Stone Roses in 1995, as well as a one off night to the World Wrestling Federation.

The Park View Shopping Centre opened in 2004, which sought to address the balance between entertainment and retail in the town centre. However, many existing shops have closed and some existing retailers have moved into the new Shopping Centre, leaving their old premises derelict.

Whitley Bay remains a popular centre of evening entertainment, with many bars and restaurants, such as the Weatherspoon's bar The Fire Station, the The Bedroom and the nightclub Eden. It is especially popular for stag and hen nights, with people coming from all over Scotland and the north of England to revel in the amenities.

Whitley Bay is around nine miles from Newcastle upon Tyne and is connected to the Tyne & Wear Metro, with stations at Whitley Bay, Monkseaton, West Monkseaton and Cullercoats. Only about 25 minutes from Newcastle city centre on the Metro.

The local newspaper, The News Guardian is published once a week from its offices in the town. It is printed at The Journal in nearby Newcastle upon Tyne. The alternative free weekly paper is the Herald and Post.

The Regeneration

Abandoned Amusements on the Whitley Bay seafront

£60 million was earmarked by the government for a regeneration scheme in Whitley Bay. Unfortunately many years later these regeneration plans are still failing to get off the ground. Buildings around the seafront and promenade are falling into disrepair due to constant neglect. North Tyneside Council is seen by many residents to neglect buildings, including listed buildings, until they are beyond repair therefore requiring demolition.

The regeneration is currently subject to local controversy, with constant delays and continuously broken promises from North Tyneside Council. It has been revealed that over £400,000 has been wasted on consultancy and contractors fees alone, with work not beginning until after 2008.

At the heart of the scheme is the redevelopment of the Spanish City site. In the 1920’s when the dome was built, Spanish City has been a focal point for events and entertainment. For many years it was home to a theme park with rides and attractions servicing droves of holiday makers spending time in this lively coastal town. This is no longer the case as the area now nolonger attracts many tourists.

Football

Whitley Bay Football Club play at the town's Hillheads Stadium, which is adjacent to the Ice Rink. The Hillheads Stadium is in the east of town and holds approximately 4500 spectators with 250 seats in the main stand. Now playing in the Northern League Division One, the club hit the national sports headlines in 2002 after winning the FA Vase (amateur FA Cup), beating Tiptree United at Villa Park. The club had previously hit the headlines in 1990 after beating Preston North End on the way to reaching the 3rd round proper of the FA Cup.

The majority of the town's residents are supporters of Newcastle United Football Club, who play in the English Premier League.

Ice hockey

Whitley Bay Ice Rink is home of Whitley Warriors Ice Hockey Club. The team enjoyed great success together with local rivals Durham Wasps at a national level during the 1980s and early 1990s.

Rugby

Whitley Bay Rockcliff RFC play at the Lovaine Avenue ground in Hillheads. Founded in 1887 as Rockcliff RFC, and still generally known as "Rockcliff", they were originally based on the sea front in the Rockcliff area of the town, prior to moving along the sea front to the site later occupied by the Spanish City. In 1907 they moved to the present site in Lovaine Avenue. The years immediately after formation and up to the first world war were the most successful in the clubs history, when they were one of the strongest sides in England, beating the world famous Barbarians RFC in 1892, and producing a number of internationalist players including E.W "Little Billy" Taylor, who captained England in the 1890s. The introduction of the league structures in the late 1980s saw the club climb into the north east leagues in the early 1990s, and the best known player of this era is Paul van Zandvliet who went on to play for the premiership winning Newcastle Falcons. The club now plays in Durham and Northumberland Division 2. Rockcliff also hosts an annual end of season 10 a side rugby competition (the Super 10's), attracting touring sides from around the UK as well as local clubs.

Field Hockey

Whitley Bay Ladies Hockey Club was formed in 1950 and consisted of a 1st XI - played at Hillheads Grammar School (now Marden Bridge Middle School and the present base). Founder members included Joan Walker - Secretary, Marjorie Sutcliffe, Jean Stockdale and Beryl Privett ( who is still President of the Club). Club colours at that time were white tee shirt, navy shorts and the famous red and yellow hooped socks, all topped off with a red blazer.

After a few seasons, the Club moved its base to Churchill Playing Fields in Whitley Bay and stayed there until the mid 1980s until astro-turf took over and then the Club was forced to move with the times and left the Coast to play at Wallsend Sports Centre. During that time, the Club set up a second XI and played in the Northumberland League and various County Tournaments with great success. The Junior Section trained bright and early on a Sunday morning at Valley Gardens and through this development saw the rise of some of our present Senior players such as Sophie Berry, Katrina Barber, Angela Millen to name but a few.

Through the 1980s and '90s, Whitley Bay continued to develop as a Club and from the 1st XI winning the County League, they got promoted to the North Feeder League, then to North Division 2, Division 1 and in the 2005-2006 season to the National League Division 2. A first for any women's hockey club in Northumberland. Another notable success in the Club's history occurred in April 2000, when the 1st XI won there way through to the EHA Knockout Cup Final down in Milton Keynes and played Birmingham University.

The Club has continued to grow and has had to move home base again and for the last 6 years have gone a full circle and ended back up at the Hillheads site which is now Marden Bridge. They now run 3 Senior teams and an Under 19 team which competes in the Harper League at Westgate College.

The Club is keen to develop and expand further and plans are in place to merge with Tynemouth Men's Hockey Club - which currently boasts 5 teams and a Junior Section, to become the largest and most successful hockey club in the North East.This is due to happen at the end of this 2006/1007 season-all being well and should be the start of another chapter in the Club's long history.


Famous residents (past and present)

Famous Residents who only lived briefly in Whitley Bay

In Fiction

  • In the BBC childrens television series Byker Grove, Dave Richmond, the leader of the rival youth club at Denwell Burn, was a local drug dealer from Whitley Bay. His trademark act of violence was the "Whitley Smile".
  • In the movie Purely Belter, Gerry's drug-addicted-sister Gemma is hiding out from her family at The Spanish City funfair in one of the waltzer cars on the Whitley Bay seafront.
  • In the movie Goal!, Santiago can be seen entering a house in which he has been given to live on the seafront in the Marden area of Whitley Bay (either on the Front Street or Beverley Terrace). Later in the film you can see him running along the beach at Cullercoats Bay, and also along Whitley Bay Longsands.

References

  1. ^ http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/hes.nsf/a/accelhersnippets?opendocument

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See also

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