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Washington, Tyne and Wear
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Washington is a suburb of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear in North East England. Washington is located 10 miles (16 km) South of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders the West of Sunderland City Centre. At the 2001 census, the town had a population of 60,000. Washington was designated a new town in 1964 and expanded dramatically by the creation of new villages and the absorption of areas of Chester-le-Street to house overspill population from surrounding cities.
| Washington | |
  Washington shown within Tyne and Wear |
|
| Population | 60,001 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| Metropolitan borough | Sunderland |
| Metropolitan county | Tyne and Wear |
| Region | North East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WASHINGTON |
| Postcode district | NE37,38 |
| Dialling code | 0191 |
| Police | Northumbria |
| Fire | Tyne and Wear |
| Ambulance | North East |
| UK Parliament | Houghton and Washington East |
| Gateshead East and Washington West | |
| European Parliament | North East England |
| List of places: UK • England • Tyne and Wear | |
Contents |
The origin of the name Washington is not fully known; it is likely (though not definite) that Washington is derived from Hwæsingatūn, meaning "estate of the descendants of Hwæsa" (Hwæsa is often rendered as Wassa in modern English). The name Hwæsingatūn is made up of the Germanic lingual components of Hwæsinga-, the plural genitive form of Hwæsing meaning "a descendant of Hwæs" (-ing means roughly "derived of" and has the same function is the names Eorling and halfling, "-ung" is the Norse equivalent). -Tūn is cognate with the German word Zaun (and modern English town, Dutch tuin etc.)). It meant a "fenced off estate", or an estate with defined boundaries.
A second potential Anglo-Saxon origin, could be from Old English wæsc "to wash" + -inga 'people of' + dūn "hill" (i.e. people of the hill by the stream). This theory originates from its proximity to the Wear. This origin could possible be shown in an apparent record of the name as Wasindone from 1096.
Another suggested origin is that the name might have originated in the Irish and Scottish Gaelic word for "water", uisce/uisge, in which case an earlier Uisgedun (meaning "water fort") or some such might have been replaced by an Anglo-Saxon Wæscingtun. This Gaelic origin theory is unlikely, however, because in Gaelic grammar the name would have been rendered Dun Uisge and not "Uisgedun". Furthermore, the pre-Anglo-Saxon language spoken in northeastern England, would've been a Brythonic language and not Gaelic.
The Old Hall may have been built by William de Hertburn, who moved to the area in 1183. As was the custom he took the name of his new estates, and became William de Wessyngton. By 1539 when the family moved to Sulgrave Manor in Northamptonshire the spelling "Washington" had been adopted. It was from Washington Village that the ancestors of George Washington, the first President of the United States, emigrated to Virginia in 1657. Ironically they emigrated because of their Royalist sympathies.
The present Hall is an early 17th century small English manor house of sandstone. Only the foundations and the arches between the Kitchen and the Great Hall remain of the original house.
Washington's curious design was incorporated from many towns in the United States. The new town is divided into small self-sufficient "villages". It was originally also divided into 15 numbered districts, a fate which confused many visitors to the area. These numbered districts have gradually been removed, and now road signs indicate the villages' names instead of district number. Washington's villages are called Donwell, Usworth (originally Great Usworth), Concord, Sulgrave, Albany, Glebe, Barmston, Biddick, Washington Village (the original village and location of the Old Hall), Columbia, Blackfell, Oxclose, Ayton, Lambton, Fatfield, Harraton and Rickleton. Built on industry, the town itself has several industrial estates, named after famous local people, such as Parsons, Armstrong, Stephenson, Crowther, Pattinson, Swan and Emerson.
In 1970, Washington hosted the English Schools Athletic Association (ESAA) annual National Championships, attended by the then Lord Lieutenant of County Durham.
Historically, Washington was heavily involved in the coal industry with a number of pits. One of these in the Albany district of Washington is preserved as the 'F' Pit Museum (pits in Washington were named alphabetically e.g. the 'F' Pit). A number of the old communities of Washington grew up around the pits (e.g. the modern area of Usworth partly grew up around the Usworth mine and the area was known as Usworth Colliery (and still is to some of the older generation). In support of the mines there was a series of wagonways and later railway lines to transport the coal. The wagonways took coal to staithes on the River Wear where it could be loaded onto barges to be taken to the ocean going vessels at Sunderland.
Washington was also involved in the chemical industry and the Washington Chemical Works was a major employer in the 19th Century. This later became the Cape/Newalls Works producing insulation. The Pattinson Town area of Washington grew up around the chemical works. This area is now Pattinson industrial estate and Teal Farm housing estate.
Currently, Washington's main industries include textiles, electronics, car assembly, chemicals and electrical goods. The Nissan automotive plant is a major employer. Nissan is the largest private-sector employer in the City of Sunderland.
The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust nature reserve and the Washington 'F' Pit mining museum are within the town, and Beamish Open-Air Museum is located nearby.
The Washington Arts Centre is a converted farm building. The Centre includes an exhibition gallery, community theatre, artist studios and a recording studio.
The North of England Aircraft Museum occupies part of the old RAF Usworth base. The Nissan plant takes up much of the rest. An attempt to run a municipal airport from the site failed.
There are several primary, secondary schools and colleges in the villages of Washington.
- Primary schools
- Albany Village Primary
- St.Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School
- John F. Kennedy Primary School
- Biddick Primary School
- Lambton Primary School
- Holley Park Primary School
- George Washington School
- Usworth Colliery
- Usworth Grange
- Oxclose Primary
- Barmston Primary
- Wessington Primary - (formerly Glebe Primary)
- Rickleton Primary School
- St John Boste RC Primary School
- Secondary schools
- Usworth School opened in Washington in the 1960s has been confirmed for closure at the end of the 2006-07 school year. 2004 OFSTED report in (pdf).
- Biddick Sports College
- Washington School (formerly Washington Grammar School)
- St.Robert of Newminster (Roman Catholic Secondary School)
- Oxclose Community Secondary School
- Colleges
- Usworth Sixth Form
- St.Robert of Newminster Sixth Form
Washington has no railway station, making it one of the largest towns in Britain without an operational railway station (see Dudley, Gosport and Corby). Proposals to extend the Tyne and Wear Metro to Washington have failed to attract support. There is a bus station next to The Galleries. Major roads run through Washington, with connections to the A1. Washington services is situated between junctions 64 and 65 of the A1(M) motorway.
- George Washington's ancestors came from this English town. The U.S. capital city Washington D.C. and the state were named after the president.
- Gertrude Bell was born at Washington Hall.
- The musician Bryan Ferry (of Roxy Music fame) comes from Washington and attended Washington Grammar School (now Washington School (Comprehensive)).
- Heather Mills attended Usworth School.
- Freddie Bell, former owner of local store 'Freddie's' and now millionaire entrepreneur.
- The musician Toni Halliday from the band Curve went to Washington School (Comprehensive).
The Arts Centre Washington in Fatfield is the home to many artistic activities and exhibitions. Several artistic groups and societies are based there including the Washington Theatre Group, an amateur theatre society and the Davy Lamp Folk Club.