114-674: Go North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham , Cumbria , Northumberland , North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear , England. It was previously known as the Northern General Transport Company and Go-Ahead Northern. The company was the foundation of today's Go-Ahead Group , which now operates bus and rail services across the United Kingdom , as well as Germany , Ireland , Norway and Singapore . In October 1986, at
228-615: A 'Hooky mat' to their friends in Ashington, West Sussex , where it is now displayed in the village hall. Ashington has produced a number of professional footballers, notably Jack Milburn , Jackie Milburn , Mark Cullen , Jimmy Adamson , Jack Charlton , Bobby Charlton , Cecil Irwin , Colin Ayre , David Thompson , Chris Adamson , Martin Taylor , Peter Ramage , Brian Carolin and Mark Cullen . Premier League referee Michael Oliver ,
342-594: A Northumbrian assault force. The Northumbrians wiped out the entire Norman army, including Comines, all except for one survivor, who was allowed to take the news of this defeat back. Following the Norman slaughter at the hands of the Northumbrians, resistance to Norman rule spread throughout Northern England, including a similar uprising in York. William The Conqueror subsequently (and successfully) attempted to halt
456-444: A boundary review and first contested in the 2024 general election . The previous Wansbeck constituency was also held by Lavery from 2010 to 2024. Ashington elects six County Councillors (One with part of West Newbiggin) to Northumberland County Council as of 2014, these seats are held by Labour Party candidates. Ashington Town Council is made up of six wards each electing three councillors, as of 2014 seventeen of these are held by
570-517: A fortification was thenceforth built. Ida was able to forge, hold and consolidate the kingdom; although the native British tried to take back their land, the Angles triumphed and the kingdom endured. In AD 604, Ida's grandson Æthelfrith forcibly merged Bernicia (ruled from Bamburgh ) and Deira (ruled from York , which was known as Eforwic at the time) to create the Kingdom of Northumbria . In time,
684-587: A fourth, Stockton-on-Tees . The county historically included the part of Tyne and Wear south of the River Tyne , and excluded the area south of the River Tees . The west of the county contains part of the North Pennines uplands, a national landscape . The hills are the source of the rivers Tees and Wear , which flow east and form the valleys of Teesdale and Weardale respectively. The east of
798-712: A lake surrounded by pine woodland plantation. The original Ashington Colliery was on the north west of the town and the smaller Woodhorn Pit was on the north east. The climate is cool temperate. Summers are drier than on the west coast of Britain, but cooler than southerly areas. Winters are cold at times, sometimes with snow. The soil is of a dark brown colour, free draining and gritty. It is very good for growing vegetables. Tender perennials are rare; some palms will grow, but need winter protection. Although Phormiums (New Zealand flax) grow in displays in Newbiggin, salt-laden winds may afford them some protection. The most exposed part of
912-554: A non-Northumbrian as Bishop of Durham in 1042, the people of the region became increasingly rebellious. In response, in January 1069, William despatched a large Norman army, under the command of Robert de Comines , to Durham City . The army, believed to consist of 700 cavalry (about one-third of the number of Norman knights who had participated in the Battle of Hastings), entered the city, whereupon they were attacked, and defeated, by
1026-531: A number of the company's routes in Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside, which were subsequently rebranded as North Tyne Rockets. At the time of transfer, routes were operated by a fleet of single-deck Wright StreetLite buses, branded in a purple livery. In late 2023, operations suffered serious disruption, due to strike action by employees. Organised by Unite the Union , the first strikes each took place for
1140-617: A peaceful riverside setting in which to relax or take walks. The park runs along the Wansbeck River. There are public footpaths and bridleways from here towards the quaint village of Bothal with its photogenic castle above the river. The People's Park near the leisure centre off Institute Road is a large green field suitable for recreation. Hirst Park is located off Hawthorn Road; locally, it has traditionally been known as The Flower Park, due to its summer floral displays. It has bowling greens, basketball and tennis courts, play areas and
1254-506: A period of one week, beginning 30 September 2023 and 14 October 2023 respectively. Following this, union members began an indefinite strike on 28 October 2023 – during which no services across the region, with the exception of some school and works services, operated. A limited intra-peak hour service was introduced on certain routes from 14 November 2023. The strike was brought to an end on 1 December 2023, when union members voted in favour of an improved pay offer, with normal service resuming
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#17327811359061368-484: A population of 872,075. The latter is concentrated in the east; the south-east is part of the Teesside built-up area, which extends into North Yorkshire. After Darlington (92,363), the largest settlements are Hartlepool (88,855), Stockton-on-Tees (82,729), and Durham (48,069). For local government purposes the county comprises three unitary authority areas— County Durham , Darlington , and Hartlepool —and part of
1482-651: A shrine in the White Church, which was originally a wooden structure but was eventually fortified into a stone building. Once the City of Durham had been founded, the Bishops of Durham gradually acquired the lands that would become County Durham. Bishop Aldhun began this process by procuring land in the Tees and Wear valleys, including Norton, Stockton, Escomb and Aucklandshire in 1018. In 1031, King Canute gave Staindrop to
1596-607: A substantial territory to St Cuthbert on his election to the see of Lindisfarne in 684. In about 883 a cathedral housing the saint's remains was established at Chester-le-Street and Guthfrith, King of York granted the community of St Cuthbert the area between the Tyne and the Wear , before the community reached its final destination in 995, in Durham. Following the Norman invasion ,
1710-425: A three-weekly court corresponding to the hundred court. The diocese was divided into the archdeaconries of Durham and Northumberland. The former is mentioned in 1072, and in 1291 included the deaneries of Chester-le-Street, Auckland, Lanchester and Darlington. The term palatinus is applied to the bishop in 1293, and from the 13th century onwards the bishops frequently claimed the same rights in their lands as
1824-647: A town or a village; if considered as a village it would be one of the largest villages in England . As coal mining expanded, more people left the countryside and settled in Ashington. This led the Ashington Coal Company to build parallel rows of colliery houses. Some newcomers came from as far as Cornwall to make use of their tin-mining skills. Ashington railway station opened in 1878, and services to Newbiggin and Tynemouth were operated by
1938-648: Is currently underway on the construction of the Northumberland Line , which will reinstate passenger railway services from Ashington to Bedlington , Blyth , Seaton Delaval , Shiremoor and Newcastle . Passenger services are currently scheduled to begin operation in December 2024. In the meantime, the nearest mainline railway station is Pegswood on the East Coast Main Line, about 3 miles from Ashington town centre. However, Pegswood
2052-548: Is in south east Northumberland , which is a largely urban area adjacent to Newcastle. Most of the area is of flat ground formed during the Carboniferous period when ancient tropical swamp forests were buried and formed the coal seams that have given this area its significance. The local geology is of yellow sandstone . The land to the north west of the town is slightly undulating due to mining subsidence , which sometimes causes farmland to be flooded. The south east part of
2166-421: Is not generally recognised as the highest point in Durham. The two main dales of County Durham (Teesdale and Weardale) and the surrounding fells, many of which exceed 2,000 feet (610 m) in height, are excellent hillwalking country, although not nearly as popular as the nearby Yorkshire Dales and Lake District national parks. The scenery is rugged and remote, and the high fells have a landscape typical of
2280-488: Is partially parished . The city of Durham is the most populous settlement in the county to have a parish. Multiple parishes are styled as having town councils : Billingham (in Stockton Borough), Barnard Castle , Bishop Auckland , Chilton , Ferryhill , Great Aycliffe , Newton Aycliffe , Greater Willington , Peterlee , Seaham , Sedgefield , Shildon , Spennymoor , Stanley and Tow Law . The county
2394-431: Is served by only three trains per day. Morpeth station is the nearest station with a regular service, with trains to Cramlington , Newcastle, London and Edinburgh . At the east end of the main shopping street is the bus station, with local Arriva North East buses linking to the rest of Northumberland and to Newcastle. Arriva provides frequent services to Pegswood, Morpeth, Blyth, Bedlington and Newcastle. Ashington
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#17327811359062508-666: Is sheltered by tall trees. To the north of the park is a large sports field, where historically, the town hosted fun fairs. At Woodhorn is the Queen Elizabeth II Park. This is surrounded by pine wood, including the Ashington Community Woods, connecting the park to Ashington, and has a large lake with a narrow-gauge railway connecting the main car park to the Woodhorn Museum. Walks from here head out towards Linton and eastwards towards
2622-424: Is the trig point (not the summit) of Burnhope Seat , height 746 metres (2,448 ft), between Weardale and Teesdale on the border with historic Cumberland in the far west of the county. The local government reorganisation of 1974 placed the higher Mickle Fell south of Teesdale (the county top of Yorkshire ) within the administrative borders of Durham (where it remains within the ceremonial county). However, it
2736-715: Is well served by roads. The A189 (colloquially known as the Spine Road) to the east of Ashington runs south via Blyth and North Tyneside to Newcastle, and via the A19 Tyne Tunnel to South Tyneside and the A1(M) . The A1068 runs north along the coast to Alnwick . The A196 and A197 runs west towards Morpeth and the A1 which goes north to Scotland and Edinburgh or south to the A1(M) near Newcastle on towards Durham and Yorkshire and
2850-476: The Evening Chronicle , The Journal . These papers cover Tyneside and south east Northumberland. The News Post Leader covers mostly Wansbeck . Local radio stations are BBC Radio Newcastle on 95.4 FM, Capital North East on 105.3 FM, Heart North East on 101.8 FM, Smooth North East on 97.5 FM, Hits Radio North East on 97.1 FM, and Koast Radio, a community based station which broadcast from
2964-526: The Anglo-Saxon period the region was part of the Kingdom of Northumbria . In 995 the city of Durham was founded by monks seeking a place safe from Viking raids to house the relics of St Cuthbert . Durham Cathedral was rebuilt after the Norman Conquest , and together with Durham Castle is now a World Heritage Site . By the late Middle Ages the county was governed semi-independently by
3078-511: The Battle of Marston Moor (2 July 1644) fell entirely into the hands of Parliament. In 1614, a Bill was introduced in Parliament for securing representation to the county and city of Durham and the borough of Barnard Castle . The bishop strongly opposed the proposal as an infringement of his palatinate rights, and the county was first summoned to return members to Parliament in 1654. After
3192-536: The Bishops of Durham , who for centuries governed Durham as a county palatine (the County Palatine of Durham ) outside the usual structure of county administration in England. The situation regarding the formal name in modern local government is less clear: Around AD 547, an Angle named Ida founded the kingdom of Bernicia after spotting the defensive potential of a large rock at Bamburgh, upon which many
3306-546: The Blyth and Tyne Railway . The nearest station to Ashington on the East Coast Main Line was Longhirst , to the north west of the town, which opened in 1847 and had services to both Newcastle and Edinburgh . By 1896, the town had grown sufficiently to warrant the creation of Ashington Urban District . In 1913 the original Ashington Hospital was built. It was about 1/4 mile from the town centre. The hospital
3420-648: The Craikshire exclave within the North Riding of Yorkshire. In 1831 the county covered an area of 679,530 acres (2,750.0 km ) and had a population of 253,910. These exclaves were included as part of the county for parliamentary electoral purposes until 1832, and for judicial and local-government purposes until the coming into force of the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 , which merged most remaining exclaves with their surrounding county. The boundaries of
3534-907: The NHS . Northumbria Ambulance Service and County Durham Ambulance Service (following historic county borders) merged on 1 April 1999 to become the North East service. In 2005 the area was adapted to the modern North East England regional extent. Air ambulance services are provided by the Great North Air Ambulance . The charity operates three bases, including one in Eaglescliffe . Teesdale and Weardale Search and Mountain Rescue Team, are based at Sniperly Farm in Durham City and respond to search and rescue incidents in
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3648-547: The Pennines with extensive areas of tussock grass and blanket peat bog in the west, with heather moorland on the lower slopes descending to the east. The following climate figures were gathered at the Durham weather station between 1981 and 2010: County Durham, as considered a county for lieutenancy purposes by the Lieutenancies Act 1997, is administered as a part of the constituent country of England in
3762-579: The River Tees ) becoming a part of the ceremonial county. The non-metropolitan county was reconstituted on 1 April 2009: the strategic services-providing Durham County Council was re-organised into a single district of the same name, merging with the seven local facility-providing districts in the non-metropolitan county and became structured as a unitary authority . It has 126 councillors. The three pre-existing unitary authorities were unaffected. The county boundaries used for parliamentary constituencies are those used between 1974 and 1996, consisting of
3876-452: The bishops of Durham and was also a buffer zone between England and Scotland. County Durham became heavily industrialised in the nineteenth century, when many collieries opened on the Durham coalfield . The Stockton and Darlington Railway , the world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, opened in 1825. Most collieries closed during the last quarter of the twentieth century, but
3990-591: The 1700s all that existed of Ashington was a small farm with a few dwellings around it. The first evidence of mining is from bell-shaped pits and monastic mine workings discovered in the 20th Century during tunnelling. Ashington developed from a small hamlet in the 1840s when the Duke of Portland built housing to encourage people escaping the Great Famine of Ireland to come and work at his nearby collieries . As in many other parts of Britain, "deep pit" coal mining in
4104-508: The 1970s the group's work was "rediscovered" and popularised as "workers' art" and given international exhibitions. On 26 October 2006 a new £16m museum housing the work was opened in Ashington by The Princess Royal . The book The Pitmen Painters by William Feaver , recording the development of the Ashington Group, 1934 to 1984, has been made into a stage play by Lee Hall , well known for Billy Elliot . The play premiered at
4218-473: The 1974 until 1996, the ceremonial county was split into eight districts : A non-metropolitan county replaced the administrative county. The boundaries only deviated from the ceremonial boundaries after 1995 when the Darlington Borough became a unitary authority . On the 1 April 1996, the county of Cleveland was abolished with its boroughs of Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees (north of
4332-539: The Alcan Aluminium plant, to transport coal to its adjacent power station in the nearby town of Lynemouth. The plant closed in late 2015. The line was put in use again from mid-2017 to transport materials to Lynemouth, for the conversion of the coal-fired power station to produce power from biomass. In October 2008, plans to opencast 2m tonnes of coal in Ashington were approved. UK Coal 's plans which were first submitted in 2005, would create 60+ jobs. Ashington
4446-418: The Ashington miners enrolled in painting classes as an alternative pastime and then began to produce paintings to sell at local markets to supplement their poor wages. They achieved unexpected success and approval from the art community and were given prestigious gallery exhibitions during the 1930s and 1940s under the name "The Pitmen Painters", although the group had called themselves the " Ashington Group ". In
4560-851: The Bishops also had the authority to appoint judges and barons and to offer pardons. There were ten palatinate barons in the 12th century, most importantly the Hyltons of Hylton Castle , the Bulmers of Brancepeth , the Conyers of Sockburne, the Hansards of Evenwood, and the Lumleys of Lumley Castle . The Nevilles owned large estates in the county. John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby rebuilt Raby Castle , their principal seat, in 1377. Edward I 's quo warranto proceedings of 1293 showed twelve lords enjoying more or less extensive franchises under
4674-487: The Bishops. This territory continued to expand, and was eventually given the status of a liberty . Under the control of the Bishops of Durham, the land had various names: the "Liberty of Durham", "Liberty of St Cuthbert's Land" "the lands of St Cuthbert between Tyne and Tees" or "the Liberty of Haliwerfolc" (holy Wear folk). The bishops' special jurisdiction rested on claims that King Ecgfrith of Northumbria had granted
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4788-641: The County Durham district and the Darlington Borough. This area elects seven Members of Parliament. As of the 2019 General Election, four of these MPs are Conservatives and three MPs are Labour . The rest of the ceremonial county is included in the Cleveland parliamentary constituency area . The police and fire services operate according to the 1974-96 ceremonial county boundaries: The North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust cover North East England and are responsible for providing ambulance services for
4902-630: The Deiran part of the kingdom in AD 867 (which became Jórvík ). The land that would become County Durham now sat on the border with the Great Heathen Army , a border which today still forms the boundaries between the historic counties of Yorkshire and County Durham. Viking settlement petered out at the Tees and the lands north thereof lay outside of the Danelaw. The House of Bamburgh, successors of
5016-626: The English realm, thus Bamburgh and the Haliwerfolc went on to become contested buffer states between England and Scotland. In AD 995, St Cuthbert's community, who had been transporting Cuthbert's remains around, partly in an attempt to avoid them falling into the hands of Viking raiders, settled at Dunholm (Durham) on a site that was defensively favourable due to the horseshoe-like path of the River Wear. St Cuthbert's remains were placed in
5130-678: The Kings of Bernicia and Northumbria, retained control north of the Tyne; between the Tyne and the Tees emerged the Community of St. Cuthbert or Haliwerfolc , successors of the See of Lindisfarne. The House of Wessex absorbed the Kingdom of York into the unified English Kingdom in 954 and claimed overlordship over Northumbria. However, the lands north of the Tees remained outside the governmental frontiers of
5244-470: The Labour Party. Until 1988 the majority of the town's male population were employed in the mining industry. The closure of the pits led to large scale unemployment. However limited coal mining was carried out until recently at Ellington Colliery and opencast coal extraction is carried out at Butterwell Opencast . The former site of Ashington Colliery became part of a regeneration project and saw
5358-716: The Live Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne, in 2007 and subsequently was produced at the Royal National Theatre, London in 2008 and 2009. A German translation by Michael Raab premiered at the Volkstheater in Vienna, Austria, in April 2009. In 2011 Oscar/BAFTA award-winning Film Director Jon Blair made a film for ITV1's Perspectives Arts series, entitled Robson Green and The Pitmen Painters giving an insight into
5472-666: The North Seaton Hotel. The late 1980s and 1990s saw the building of the Wansbeck Estate between the River Wansbeck and Green Lane as well as the large Fallowfield Estate. In 1964, as part of the Beeching Axe , Ashington railway station was closed. The site of the station was developed in the late 1960s into Wansbeck Square, housing a supermarket, council offices and a public library, built partly over
5586-460: The Restoration of 1660 the county and city returned two members each. In the wake of the Reform Act of 1832 the county returned two members for two divisions, and the boroughs of Gateshead , South Shields and Sunderland acquired representation. The bishops lost their secular powers in 1836. The boroughs of Darlington, Stockton and Hartlepool returned one member each from 1868 until the Redistribution Act of 1885 . The historic county excludes
5700-409: The South. The nearest airport is Newcastle Airport , which provides scheduled domestic flights, flights covering many major cities in Europe, long haul international flights and holiday charter flights. There is a port in nearby North Shields with daily passenger services to IJmuiden in the Netherlands . A reasonable-sized public library is based in the Leisure Centre on Lintonville Terrace at
5814-419: The Technical College towards North Seaton and south eastwards towards the A189. Some of the houses at the north end of Alexandra Road were private homes. During this building programme several new schools were built, for example Coulson Park, Seaton Hirst Middle. Community shops and a social club (the Northern) were built off Fairfield Drive. The late 1970s and early 1980s saw construction of Nursery Park opposite
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#17327811359065928-437: The United Kingdom. The area is appointed a lord lieutenant and a high sheriff . The ceremonial county is divided into four administrative counties (see table below), one of which - Stockon-on-Tees - also extends into North Yorkshire. Technically, for administrative purposes, the County of Durham only consists of the area governed by Durham County Council . The three other areas are counties in their own right. The county
6042-423: The acquisition, many of OK's staff, including the general manager, Charles Marshall, became employees of Go-Ahead. OK initially became one of Go-Ahead's locally managed subsidiaries, with Marshall remaining in charge. Go-Ahead later took steps to streamline the business, with several of the group's earlier acquisitions transferred to OK. In August 1998, a new depot was opened on Deptford Terrace, Sunderland. This saw
6156-419: The administrative counties years of administrating; each remained in the ceremonial county while outside of the administrative county. The ceremonial county remained under the same borders as the historic county until 1968 when the County Borough of Teesside formed. Ceremonial duties of the borough (which were made up of areas from two counties) were in the North Riding of Yorkshire ceremonial county. From
6270-495: The administrative machinery of government extended only slowly into northern England. Northumberland's first recorded Sheriff was Gilebert from 1076 until 1080 and a 12th-century record records Durham regarded as within the shire. However the bishops disputed the authority of the sheriff of Northumberland and his officials, despite the second sheriff for example being the reputed slayer of Malcolm Canmore , King of Scots. The crown regarded Durham as falling within Northumberland until
6384-412: The area declined during the 1980s and 1990s leaving just one colliery, Ellington , which closed in January 2005. In 2006 plans for an opencast mine on the outskirts of the town were put forward, although many people objected to it. During the heyday of coal-mining, Ashington was considered to be the "world's largest coal-mining village". There is now a debate about whether Ashington should be referred to as
6498-447: The bishop. In 1596 restrictions were imposed on the powers of the chancery, and in 1646 the palatinate was formally abolished. It was revived, however, after the Restoration , and continued with much the same power until 5 July 1836, when the Durham (County Palatine) Act 1836 provided that the palatine jurisdiction should in future be vested in the Crown. During the 15th-century Wars of the Roses , Henry VI passed through Durham. On
6612-417: The bishop. The repeated efforts of the Crown to check the powers of the palatinate bishops culminated in 1536 in the Act of Resumption, which deprived the bishop of the power to pardon offences against the law or to appoint judicial officers. Moreover, indictments and legal processes were in future to run in the name of the king, and offences to be described as against the peace of the king, rather than that of
6726-459: The ceremonial county at 857,800. Ashington Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland , England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is 15 miles (24 km) north of Newcastle upon Tyne , west of the A189 and bordered to the south by the River Wansbeck . Many inhabitants have a distinctive accent and dialect known as Pitmatic . This varies from
6840-555: The ceremonial county, the city of Sunderland , the boroughs of Gateshead and South Tyneside , while the non-metropolitan county includes part of Yorkshire . County Durham contains a small area of the North East Green Belt in the county's north; surrounding the city of Durham, Chester-le-Street and other communities along the shared county border with Tyne and Wear, avoiding Wearside 's spread west. A smaller green belt separates Urpeth , Ouston , Pelton , and Perkinsville from Birtley in Tyne and Wear. A further small segment by
6954-457: The client's distinctive blue and red logo. County Durham County Durham , officially simply Durham ( /ˈdʌrəm/ ), is a ceremonial county in North East England . The county borders Northumberland and Tyne and Wear to the north, the North Sea to the east, North Yorkshire to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The largest settlement is Darlington . The county has an area of 2,676 square kilometres (1,033 sq mi) and
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#17327811359067068-404: The closure of the nearby Park Lane depot, which was demolished to allow the development of the current Park Lane Interchange , which opened in May 1999, ahead of the introduction of Tyne and Wear Metro services between Pelaw and South Hylton via Sunderland. Additionally, the company's depot at Philadelphia Lane, Houghton-le-Spring, was also closed at this time. The depot remained in situ until
7182-567: The coast separates Seaham from the Sunderland settlements of Beckwith Green and Ryhope . It was first drawn up in the 1990s. County Durham is underlain by Carboniferous rocks in the west. Permian and Triassic strata overlie these older rocks in the east. These sedimentary sequences have been cut by igneous dykes and sills . The county contains a sizeable area of the North Pennines , designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , primarily west of Tow Law and Barnard Castle . The highest point ( county top ) of historic County Durham
7296-426: The company intended to close Chester-le-Street depot. Following the departure of Martijn Gilbert in August 2022, the former Go North West Managing Director, Nigel Featham, assumed Gilbert's role at Go North East. At East Yorkshire, former Area Manager, Ben Gilligan, was promoted to Managing Director. In September 2023, following the closure of Arriva North East's Jesmond depot, Go North East took over operation of
7410-622: The company was awarded a five-year contract to operate the QuayLink network of services. Award of the contract saw the introduction of a fleet of nine Euro 5 diesel-powered single-deck Optare Versa . In January 2012, as a celebration of the company's centenary year, the OK Motor Services branding was briefly revived, following the introduction of two routes serving Bishop Auckland, Crook and Darlington . In February 2014, depots in Gateshead (Sunderland Road) and Winlaton were replaced by an £8.5 million "super depot", known as Riverside. The 5.75-acre (23,300 m) site, located in Dunston
7524-412: The company's depot in Peterlee , an outstation of Sunderland (Deptford) depot was closed, with operations transferred to nearby depots in Chester-le-Street and Sunderland (Deptford). In June 2022, just over four years after acquisition, it was announced that East Yorkshire would be split from Go North East, becoming a separate company within the Go-Ahead Group. In the same month, it was announced that
7638-469: The county is flatter, and the two rivers meander through it; the Tees forms the boundary with North Yorkshire in its lower reaches, and the Wear exits the county near Chester-le-Street in the north-east. The county's coast is a site of special scientific interest characterised by tall limestone and dolomite cliffs. What is now County Durham was on the border of Roman Britain , and contains survivals of this era at sites such as Binchester Roman Fort . In
7752-408: The county proper remained in use for administrative and ceremonial purposes until the 1972 Local Government Act . Following the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror appointed Copsig as Earl of Northumbria, thereby bringing what would become County Durham under Copsig's control. Copsig was, just a few weeks later, killed in Newburn. Having already being previously offended by the appointment of
7866-408: The county's coal mining heritage is remembered in the annual Durham Miners' Gala . The ceremonial county is officially named Durham , but the county has long been commonly known as County Durham and is the only English county name prefixed with "County" in common usage (a practice common in Ireland ). Its unusual naming (for an English shire) is explained to some extent by the relationship with
7980-420: The county. The Office for National Statistics estimated in 2016 that the Durham County Council area had a population of 522,100, the Borough of Darlington a population of 105,600, the Borough of Hartlepool a population of 92,800, and the part of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham (the other part being in North Yorkshire) a population of 137,300. This gives the total estimated population of
8094-413: The development of Wansbeck Business Park. This park now houses a number of companies with local, national and international profiles. These include Polar Krush NICC Ltd, Thermacore Ltd and Sugarfayre Ltd. The park includes a variety of wildlife with a large pond at its centre. Ashington's close proximity to Newcastle upon Tyne makes it an ideal commuter town for people working in the city. In 1934 some of
8208-429: The early 2010s, the standard fleet livery consisted of vehicles branded in a red, blue and yellow colour scheme. In 2006, the company introduced route branding – a practice which aimed to give each service, or group of services, a recognisable identity, colour scheme and logo. Route branding has since led to the company adopting a multi-coloured fleet of vehicles across the region. In 2013, an updated standard fleet livery
8322-565: The early 2020s, until it was demolished to allow for redevelopment of the area. In February 2005, the company's depot in South Shields was closed, with operations transferred to Sunderland (Deptford). The following year, in March 2006, Bishop Auckland depot and some operations were acquired by Arriva North East . Remaining operations transferred to Chester-le-Street , with the company retaining an, albeit smaller, presence in and around
8436-556: The eastern portion of the cathedral, the churches of Darlington, Hartlepool, and St Andrew, Auckland, Sedgefield, and portions of a few other churches. Until the 15th century, the most important administrative officer in the Palatinate was the steward . Other officers included the sheriff, the coroners, the Chamberlain and the chancellor . The palatine exchequer originated in the 12th century. The palatine assembly represented
8550-487: The first of a fleet of nine zero-emission single-deck Yutong E10 were introduced on routes 53 and 54, as part of a jointly-funded project between Go North East and the UK Government's Ultra-Low Emission Bus Fund – at a cost of £3.7 million. In February 2022, a further zero-emission vehicle trial took place on route 21 , with the evaluation of a Wright StreetDeck Electroliner double-deck vehicles. In March 2022,
8664-541: The first of which joined the fleet in March 2001. The fleet, including four articulated vehicles, grew to a total of 87 of the type – the last of which entered service in 2006. In July 2020, the company's first fully-electric zero-emission vehicle trial took place, with a single-deck Optare MetroCity serving a series of routes in Gateshead , Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside . Following this, in November 2020,
8778-475: The fleet consists of 599 buses and coaches. The fleet consists mainly of diesel-powered single and double-deck buses manufactured by Alexander Dennis , Optare , Volvo , Wrightbus and Yutong . The company also operate a fleet of eighteen fully-electric single-deck buses: nine Yutong E10 , introduced in November 2020, and a further nine Yutong E12 , introduced in September 2022. From the late 1990s until
8892-518: The fleet wore the standard fleet livery. The following year, a fleet of coaches used for private hire and contract services, were repainted into a range of retro-inspired heritage liveries, with a number of single and double-deck buses used on local and regional services, as well as private hire and contract services, following later. As well as local and regional bus services, the company also operate coach services under contract to National Express . Vehicles are painted in an all-white livery, featuring
9006-407: The following day. Following the strike, a special promotion was introduced whereby customers were able to travel on the network free-of-charge between 2–8 December 2023. As of January 2024, the company operates from seven bus depots across the region: Consett (Hownsgill), Gateshead (Riverside and Saltmeadows Road), Hexham , Percy Main , Sunderland (Deptford) and Washington . As of May 2023,
9120-413: The former Asda site in the town centre, it opened in December 2015. Hirst Park provides two good quality bowling greens as well as tennis and basketball courts. Ashington A.F.C. now play at Woodhorn Lane having moved from Portland Park to make way for the new Asda superstore in 2008. Rugby is played at a ground on the north west edge of the town and cricket is played off Kenilworth Road not far from
9234-660: The king enjoyed in his kingdom. The historic boundaries of County Durham included a main body covering the catchment of the Pennines in the west, the River Tees in the south, the North Sea in the east and the Rivers Tyne and Derwent in the north. The county palatinate also had a number of liberties : the Bedlingtonshire , Islandshire and Norhamshire exclaves within Northumberland, and
9348-422: The late thirteenth century. Matters regarding the bishopric of Durham came to a head in 1293 when the bishop and his steward failed to attend proceedings of quo warranto held by the justices of Northumberland. The bishop's case went before parliament, where he stated that Durham lay outside the bounds of any English shire and that "from time immemorial it had been widely known that the sheriff of Northumberland
9462-530: The lives and work of the Ashington Group including rare film footage of the group in their Hut including interviews with Oliver Kilbourn and Harry Wilson. Ashington has appeared in various films and TV programmes, such as Spender starring Jimmy Nail , Our Friends in the North in 1996, The Fast Show on BBC2 and the Alcan chimneys were seen in the movie, Billy Elliot. The mining workers of Ashington gave
9576-527: The loss-making depot at Jarrow, and High Spen, which was making a marginal profit, were closed. Following the closures, a total of 20 jobs were lost, with a further 150 staff redeployed. By January 1991, the parent company was split into five separate subsidiary companies: Coastline, Go-Ahead Gateshead, Go-Ahead Northern, VFM and Wear Buses. In March 1995, the Go-Ahead Group acquired Bishop Auckland -based OK Motor Services for £5.4 million. Following
9690-475: The northern fringes of the town. The local museum is at Woodhorn pit. It is mainly a museum of the town's mining history with pictures and models. There are also various arts exhibits in the museum, including a permanent exhibition of the Pitmen Painters' paintings, and information on local history. Ashington has several sports facilities and numerous sports clubs. A new leisure centre was erected on
9804-514: The northern rebellions by unleashing the notorious Harrying of the North (1069–1070). Because William's main focus during the harrying was on Yorkshire, County Durham was largely spared the Harrying. The best remains of the Norman period include Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle , and several parish churches, such as St Laurence Church in Pittington . The Early English period has left
9918-634: The outbreak of the Great Rebellion in 1642 Durham inclined to support the cause of Parliament , and in 1640 the high sheriff of the palatinate guaranteed to supply the Scottish army with provisions during their stay in the county. In 1642 the Earl of Newcastle formed the western counties into an association for the King's service, but in 1644 the palatinate was again overrun by a Scottish army, and after
10032-565: The purchase of the Northern General Transport Company in February 1987. Early expansion saw the acquisition of a number of smaller competing bus operators in the region, including Langley Park -based Gypsy Queen in January 1990. In February 1990, the company's Murton depot was closed, with the loss of 20 jobs. The remaining 109 staff were redeployed to other nearby depots in Houghton-le-Spring and Sunderland. In September 1990,
10146-524: The railway line. In 1981 the Woodhorn Pit closed and its chimney was demolished. In the late 1980s this became a museum. In 1988 Ashington Pit was closed and is now occupied by a business park. In the early 2000s maisonette flats in various parts of Hirst were demolished and parts of the Moorhouse and Woodbridge estate opposite Woodhorn Pit were demolished. The railway was used until recently by
10260-640: The realm was expanded, primarily through warfare and conquest; at its height, the kingdom stretched from the River Humber (from which the kingdom drew its name) to the Forth. Eventually, factional fighting and the rejuvenated strength of neighbouring kingdoms, most notably Mercia, led to Northumbria's decline. The arrival of the Vikings hastened this decline, and the Scandinavian raiders eventually claimed
10374-533: The regional dialect known as Geordie . The name Ashington comes from the earlier form Essendene, which has been referenced since 1170. This may have originated from a given name Æsc , not unknown among Saxon invaders who sailed from Northern Germany . If so he came to the Wansbeck and would have settled in this deep wooded valley near Sheepwash . The "de" in the early orthographies more strongly suggests dene , so ash dene - these trees would have lined it. In
10488-509: The role of the bishops in Durham, the "buffer state between England and Scotland": From 1075, the Bishop of Durham became a Prince-Bishop, with the right to raise an army, mint his own coins, and levy taxes. As long as he remained loyal to the king of England, he could govern as a virtually autonomous ruler, reaping the revenue from his territory, but also remaining mindful of his role of protecting England’s northern frontier. A report states that
10602-411: The seaside town of Newbiggin following the old railway line. Ashington enjoys a good location within Northumberland allowing good access to the countryside. The town is situated near the coast, enabling short journey times to beaches such as Druridge Bay and Cresswell . Northumberland National Park is close by. The previous system of first school , middle school and high school used in Ashington
10716-409: The south. To the east of the town is the coastal town of Newbiggin and to the west is the small village of Bothal , also on the River Wansbeck. South of the town is the small village of North Seaton which once had its own pit. North of the town about 2 miles is the village of Linton and north east of the town is Lynemouth . To the north of the town is Queen Elizabeth II Country Park which contains
10830-611: The time of bus deregulation in Great Britain , the company operated from fourteen depots: Chester-le-Street , Consett , Gateshead , High Spen , Houghton-le-Spring , Jarrow , Murton , Percy Main , South Shields , Stanley , Sunderland , Wallsend , Washington and Winlaton . As part of the privatisation of the National Bus Company , a management buyout led by Chris Moyes and Martin Ballinger saw
10944-464: The town centre, finishing at Seventh Avenue towards the southern end. After the 1920s houses in Ashington were built by the council and were most often semi-detached houses, such as Garden City Villas. These occupied much of the fields in the Hirst area. New estates were built in different areas. The biggest building programme was in the late 1960s and saw Ashington extend south from Seventh Avenue opposite
11058-418: The town centre. In recent years a new community facility has been created from the former Miners Welfare centre on Alexandra Road. The Hirst Welfare Centre is a multi-use community facility with training facilities, office space, a cafe, community hall, gym and dance studio. The Centre also has an external all-weather, floodlight synthetic football pitch with additional grass pitches. Riverside Park provides
11172-466: The town is slightly raised giving views to the north. From certain parts of town the Cheviot Hills are visible about 30 miles (48 km) to the north. The town is roughly square in shape, lying north to south. The town centre is in the north of the town. South of this are residential areas. Farmland is on both east and west flanks. The south part is residential bordered by the River Wansbeck to
11286-471: The town is to the east. High trees in Hirst Park give considerable shelter. The west part is much more sheltered, especially the wooded valley of the River Wansbeck. Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is " Cfb " (Marine West Coast Climate/ Oceanic climate ). Construction
11400-526: The town on 106.6 FM. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV Tyne Tees . Television signals are received from either the Pontop Pike or Chatton TV transmitters. As of 2024 , the local Member of Parliament is Ian Lavery of the Labour Party , with Ashington forming part of the Blyth and Ashington constituency, which was created following
11514-645: The town, and offers A levels , NVQs , vocational courses and various evening classes. There are many General Practitioner (GP) surgeries in Ashington. The main Wansbeck General Hospital in Ashington is located at the north east of the town near Woodhorn. Major treatments are provided at hospitals in Newcastle. A&E services are provided at the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in nearby Cramlington . The local newspapers are:
11628-501: The town. In October 2007, the company acquired Stanley -based operator Stanley Taxis, which operated both commercial and tendered local bus services in County Durham and Tyne and Wear. At the time of acquisition, operations consisted of a fleet of 13 vehicles and 16 staff. In March 2010, the company swapped around 50 staff and half-a-dozen routes, as well as depots in Ashington and Hexham , with Arriva North East , allowing both companies to consolidate their operations. In June 2010,
11742-403: The village of Startforth , the ceremonial county excludes the city of Sunderland and the non-metropolitan county excludes the town of Stockton-on-Tees . The ceremonial county includes the non-metropolitan county with the addition of the boroughs of Darlington , Hartlepool , and Stockton-on-Tees . The historic county's boundaries stretched from the rivers Tyne to Tees and it is covered by
11856-461: The whole county, and dealt chiefly with fiscal questions. The bishop's council, consisting of the clergy, the sheriff and the barons , regulated judicial affairs, and later produced the Chancery and the courts of Admiralty and Marshalsea . The prior of Durham ranked first among the bishop's barons. He had his own court, and almost exclusive jurisdiction over his men. A UNESCO site describes
11970-405: The windows on single-deck buses, or below the lower-deck windows on double-deck buses. In 2019, a number of minor adjustments were made to the, now standard, standard fleet livery – including the use of a lighter shade of blue at the rear and replacement of the curved white separation strip with a double white and yellow diagonal line. At the time of the refresh, only around one-third of vehicles in
12084-553: The youngest in the league's history, was born in the town. Property developer Sir John Hall , former Chairman and Life President of Newcastle United Football Club , was born in North Seaton village on the outskirts of the town in 1933. Mike Norris , current head coach of Portland Thorns FC , was born in Ashington. Cricketing brothers Steve Harmison and Ben Harmison are from the town, as are fellow cricketers Mark Wood and Simon Smith . The first-class cricketer Jack Clark
12198-495: Was a liberty, sometimes referred to as a county, within Northumberland. In 1189 it was purchased for the see but continued with a separate sheriff , coroner and court of pleas. In the 14th century Sadberge was included in Stockton ward and was itself divided into two wards. The division into the four wards of Chester-le-Street, Darlington , Easington and Stockton existed in the 13th century, each ward having its own coroner and
12312-499: Was aligned to other historic counties of England from 1836 until 1889; multiple acts were passed removing exclaves, splitting the county from the bishopric and reforming its structure. The ceremonial county and administrative county were created under the Local Government Act 1888 in 1889. Darlington, Gateshead, West Hartlepool (later known as Hartlepool), South Shields and Sunderland became county boroughs during
12426-482: Was closed. Following closure, operations were subsequently moved to a new 2.23-acre (9,000 m) depot at Hownsgill Industrial Estate in Consett , which is located on the site of the former Consett Steelworks . The £3.5 million depot was constructed with the capacity for 63 vehicles and 180 staff. In December 2019, a "farewell" event was held to mark the retirement of the final remaining Scania L94 vehicles –
12540-532: Was constructed with capacity for over 160 vehicles and 500 staff. In June 2018, Hull-based East Yorkshire Motor Services was acquired by the Go-Ahead Group , bringing an end to 30 years of family ownership. Following acquisition, the company was rebranded as East Yorkshire and operated as a standalone company within Go North East. In March 2019, after almost 100 years in service, Stanley depot
12654-708: Was expanded in the 1950s and 60s with large new wings. Traditionally, the area to the east of the railway was called Hirst and that to the west was Ashington proper. Although collectively called Ashington, both halves had their own park: Hirst Park (opened in 1915) in the east and the People's Park in the west. The colliery-built houses followed a grid plan. The streets in the Hirst End running north to south were named after British trees, such as Hawthorn Road, Beech Terrace, and Chestnut Street. The east-west running streets were numbered avenues, starting with First Avenue near
12768-400: Was introduced, which saw the red, blue and yellow colour scheme phased out. The rebranding exercise saw vehicles without route branding painted in an all-over red colour scheme. This proved to be short-lived, with the standard fleet livery further updated in 2016. Vehicles were repainted red at the front, and blue at the back, separated by a white strip, with a tagline and website featuring above
12882-423: Was not sheriff of Durham nor entered within that liberty as sheriff. . . nor made there proclamations or attachments" . The arguments appear to have prevailed, as by the fourteenth century Durham was accepted as a liberty which received royal mandates direct. In effect it was a private shire, with the bishop appointing his own sheriff. The area eventually became known as the " County Palatine of Durham". Sadberge
12996-426: Was phased out in September 2015, with Bothal Middle School and Hirst Park Middle School closing. First schools became primary schools while Ashington High School (now Ashington Academy ) became a full secondary school . Schools were first built by the Ashington coal company, but many have since been replaced. Northumberland College (formerly, Ashington Technical College) is the main further education provider in
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