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Essential Hotels > England > Tyne and Wear
Situated in the north-eastern pocket of England is Tyne and Wear, a relatively recently established entity on the North Sea coast between Northumberland and County Durham. Despite its small size the metropolitan county is home to the well known giant Newcastle-upon-Tyne, or Newcastle for short, while other major settlements in the area are Sunderland, Gateshead and Washington. The county lies on two rivers, namely the River Tyne and the River Wear, hence its name. The waterways and ports have provided plenty of impetus for the economy, both locally and nationally, over the years.
The staunchly Labour-supporting Tyne and Wear is full of a series of Labour MPs while in the county’s football there is a rivalry which is perhaps a little more competitive these days than that of politics or the recent footballing past; Sunderland and Newcastle United fans have something of an antagonism that has lasted for many years. The teams play their home matches at the Stadium of Light and St James’ Park respectively.
Tyne and Wear came into existence as a county in 1974 with the Local Government Act that had been passed two years previously. This created five boroughs, namely Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North Tyneside, Sunderland, South Tyneside and Gateshead. The first two of these had formerly been in the county of Northumberland while the latter three were part of County Durham previously, with the River Tyne forming the boundary. Each of these sub-sections had been county boroughs since at least 1888 with Tynemouth joining the party in 1904. It was, however, recognised as early as the 1930s that something wasn’t right and that alterations to the area’s structure were required. Despite proposed changes nothing was revised until 1974. Initially the name Tyneside was to be used although this proved unpopular with those further south on the Wear, and so the name Tyne and Wear was put into use instead.
Perhaps the most recognisable, or famous, feature of this northern corner of England is the Angel of the North which stands in Gateshead overlooking the A1 and has done so since 1998. There are a number of museums and art galleries dotted around the region too as well as a couple of Roman forts, castles and railway exhibits, offering plenty to do for various kinds of visitor to this part of the country.
The staunchly Labour-supporting Tyne and Wear is full of a series of Labour MPs while in the county’s football there is a rivalry which is perhaps a little more competitive these days than that of politics or the recent footballing past; Sunderland and Newcastle United fans have something of an antagonism that has lasted for many years. The teams play their home matches at the Stadium of Light and St James’ Park respectively.
Tyne and Wear came into existence as a county in 1974 with the Local Government Act that had been passed two years previously. This created five boroughs, namely Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North Tyneside, Sunderland, South Tyneside and Gateshead. The first two of these had formerly been in the county of Northumberland while the latter three were part of County Durham previously, with the River Tyne forming the boundary. Each of these sub-sections had been county boroughs since at least 1888 with Tynemouth joining the party in 1904. It was, however, recognised as early as the 1930s that something wasn’t right and that alterations to the area’s structure were required. Despite proposed changes nothing was revised until 1974. Initially the name Tyneside was to be used although this proved unpopular with those further south on the Wear, and so the name Tyne and Wear was put into use instead.
Perhaps the most recognisable, or famous, feature of this northern corner of England is the Angel of the North which stands in Gateshead overlooking the A1 and has done so since 1998. There are a number of museums and art galleries dotted around the region too as well as a couple of Roman forts, castles and railway exhibits, offering plenty to do for various kinds of visitor to this part of the country.