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Gateshead lies on the
south side of the River Tyne facing Newcastle on the North
Bank. Although the two settlements are linked by six
bridges, Gateshead has remained a separate entity and has
never become a suburb of its larger, wealthier neighbour.
For most of its history Gateshead
was a rural district but in the 16th century coal mining began
to scar the countryside. Gateshead played an important
role in the Industrial Revolution, the local coal fuelled
many industries, in particular iron founding, locomotive manufacture
and chemicals. The influx of new workers caused the population
to spiral and between the beginning of the 19th century and
the outbreak of World War I the small riverside market town
became a sprawling industrial borough.
In 1854 a fire in a worsted
factory caused a vast explosion in an adjacent wharehouse
on the banks of the River Tyne. Most of Gateshead's medieval
heritage was destroyed , along with many buildings on the
Newcastle side of the river. The Gateshead Visitor
Centre is housed in St Mary's Church, Oakwellgate, one of
few ancient buildings in the town. The centre boasts
paroramic views over both the quaysides of both Gateshead
and Newcastle.
Gateshead has always been overshadowed
by Newcastle but in recent years it has taken steps to remedy
this.
The process began with the construction
of the MetroCentre, (see
www.metrocentre-gateshead.co.uk ) the largest shopping
and leisure complex in the UK and the most important tourist
attraction in the area. On the site of the former power
station at Dunston, the complex includes Metroland, Europe's
largest indoor amusement park.
Another important development
was the Gateshead International Stadium, which has become
a venue for top level International Athletics.
These were soon followed the
Gateshead Millennium Bridge. This feat of engineering,
with its unique 'blinking eye' opening system, won the James
Stirling prize for architecture in 2002.
It was the creation of the
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Arts in 2002 that started
the regeneration of Gateshead's quayside. Set in a 1950's
grain warehouse, part of the Baltic flour mills, the centre
is one of the largest contemporary art spaces in Europe.
A recent addition to the quayside
is The
Sage Gateshead, one of the borough's most stunning new
buildings. Created by Norman Foster in 2004, the Sage
Gateshead is an ultra-modern venue of music and the performing
arts. Its amazing shell-like glass roof towers over
the River Tyne beside the Millennium Bridge. The Gateshead
Quays Visitor Centre is located next door to The Sage Gateshead.
Gateshead is home to over 30
noted public works of art including the famous 'Angel of the
North'. Created by Antony Gormley in 1998, this dramatic
metal statue is 20m tall and has a 54m wing span. The
largest sculpture in the UK, it stands on hilltop site overlooking
the A1 south of Gateshead and is also visible from the East
Coast Main Line railway.
More monumental works of
art can be seen at the Riverside Sculpture Park, stretching
for half a mile along the south bank of the Tyne. The
Shipley
Art Gallery boasts the widest range of contemporary arts
and crafts outside London and also has a spectacular collection
of fine art.
Another attraction is Saltwell
Park, a public park opened in 1876 on land formerly owned
by the stained-glass entrepreneur William Wailes.
In the Derwent Valley, south-west
of Gateshead, stands Gibside
Hall, ancestral home of the Queen Mother's family, the
Bowes-Lyons. Now owned by the National Trust, the property
comprises a large wooded landscaped riverside garden. The
house, dating from 1620, lies in ruins. The peaceful
Derwent
Country Park, nearby, was created in 1986 on the site
of the former Derwenthaugh Coke Works.
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