[7] In 1800 the Stargate Pit (Towneley Main Colliery) was opened and on 30 May 1826, a coal dust and methane (firedamp) explosion there killed 20 men and 18 boys.

[5][8][9] Ryton soon became a place of migration for the wealthy, who wanted to escape the urban sprawl of the Industrial Revolution in Gateshead and Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.

A large part of the estate became a nature reserve in 1964, with The Grove remaining in private ownership standing in 7 acres.

After the decline of the coal industry during the second half of the twentieth century, Ryton became increasingly suburbanised and is now effectively a suburb of Gateshead.

Remnants of several old pits across Ryton and Crawcrook, including Emma, Clara and Addison can still be found.

It consists of 43 hectares of grassland, ponds, woodland and locally rare species of flora and fauna.

[11] Further up the Tyne Valley, past the village of Crawcrook and into the border of Northumberland, there are rural market towns such as Prudhoe, Corbridge and Hexham.

In the more central part of Ryton these include a Cooperative supermarket, a Sainsbury's Local store and a selection of independent businesses and shops, a dentist and various hair and beauty salons.

Ryton has an extensive Edwardian park which includes children's playing equipment and a bowling green.

A good example of this is the R3/R4 to Winlaton, Blaydon and Rowlands Gill via Stargate, and there are services to Crawcrook, Prudhoe and Hexham to the west and the MetroCentre, Gateshead and Newcastle to the east.

Like many greens in similar villages, it played host to an annual fair which included jugglers, dancers and local stalls.

Charles Thorp set up a savings bank in 1815 in a building within the old village known as the White House which still stands there today.

The Ryton Summer Festival, held at the local comprehensive school usually includes live music, sport and arts and crafts stalls.

There are two air raid shelters in Ryton Willows, as well as other Second World War features such trenches and shower/toilet rooms with tiles, etc.