Approximate Population: 78,403

Theories of the derivation of the name ‘Gateshead’ include ‘head of the (Roman) road’ or ‘goat’s headland’, as the River Tyne at this point was once roamed by goats.

The first recorded mention of Gateshead is in the writings of the Venerable Bede who referred to an Abbot of Gateshead called Utta in 623. In 1068 William the Conqueror defeated the forces of Edgar the Atheling and Malcolm king of Scotland (Shakespeare’s Malcolm) on Gateshead Fell (now Low Fell).

During medieval times Gateshead was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Durham. At this time the area was largely forest with some agricultural land. The forest was the subject of Gateshead’s first charter, granted in the 12th Century by Hugh du Puiset, Bishop of Durham.

The first records of coal being mined in the Gateshead area was in 1344. As trade on the Tyne prospered there were several attempts by the burghers of Newcastle to annex Gateshead. In 1576 a small group of Newcastle merchants acquired the ‘Grand Lease’ of the manors of Gateshead and Whickham. In the hundred years from 1574 coal shipments from Newcastle increased elevenfold while the population of Gateshead doubled to approximately 5,500. However, the lease and the abundant coal supplies ended in 1680. The pits were shallow as problems of ventilation and flooding defeated attempts to mine coal from the deeper seams.

Chartered Surveyors Gateshead Tyne and Wear

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