Sheriff Hill

Historically part of Gateshead Fell in County Durham, Sheriff Hill was the site of a battle between William the Conqueror and Malcolm III of Scotland in 1068.

By then, Gateshead Fell had been enclosed and a village had grown around the road, largely populated by an influx of tinkers, coalminers working at Sheriff Hill Colliery and workers at the local pottery, mill and sandstone quarry.

The local authority built a large council estate at Sheriff Hill to alleviate dangerous overcrowding in Gateshead, effectively turning the area into a residential suburb.

It ceased to be an independent village on 1 April 1974 when it was incorporated into the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead under the terms of the Local Government Act 1972.

The southern end of Sheriff's Highway – the main road through the suburb, is more than 500 feet (150 m) above sea level, making it the highest point in Gateshead.

Malcolm, accompanied by native insurgents and foreign supporters,[2] was met by William's men in the area of Sheriff Hill and was decisively beaten.

A number of small, isolated settlements had developed around the road at modern-day Deckham, Wrekenton, Low Fell and Sheriff Hill.

The houses were extremely unappealing; many were essentially mud huts – earth mounds carved into dwellings and roofed with sod.

[14] By the middle of the 18th century, the area had become a wild and frightening place[nb 2] and when theologian John Wesley arrived in 1785, he found a "pathless waste of white".

[19] Encouraged by Warburton's success, Paul Jackson established the Sheriff Hill Pottery in 1771 at the northern end of the turnpike road[20] and by 1775 was advertising his earthenware in the Newcastle Journal.

[29] In the 1920s, Blue Quarries was filled in[30] and Sheriff Hill Colliery, the longest surviving industrial operation, closed in 1926.

While most of the sod cottages were torn down after enclosure,[32] the remaining dwellings were in such poor condition that in 1883, Gateshead's Medical Health Officer described their standard as one of abject squalor.

Only the people themselves can do that and I hope that the spirit of 'esprit de corps' will prevail and this will be a model estate"[40] Demand was high – there were 427 applicants for the first twenty eight houses built – and the council built further tracts of housing in a broad triangle between Sodhouse Bank, Ermine Crescent and The Avenue, although central government withdrew its promised funding.

[18] It is bordered by Low Fell to the west, Deckham to the north, Beacon Lough to the south and Windy Nook and Carr Hill to the east.

[18] Sheriff Hill comprises part of the High Fell council ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead.

The ward covers approximately 2 square kilometres (0.77 sq mi), has a population of 8,952,[45] and is represented on Gateshead Council by three councillors.

At the southern end of the suburb the land reaches an elevation of over 500 feet (150 m) above sea level,[1] which is the highest point in the borough.

[56] In spite of the extensive rebuilding in the 20th century, the natural topography still affords panoramic views, particularly to the east towards the coast and north as far as the Cheviot Hills, from several vantage points.

[59][60] According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, Sheriff Hill has a population of 5,051 – 53% of whom are female, slightly above the national average, and 47% are male.

[66] Sheriff Hill compares unfavourably with the wider Gateshead area in respect of adults with educational qualifications.

[45] The area has than higher levels of unemployment in comparison with Gateshead and England: at Broadway, Pottersway and the Avenue, only 23.8% of adults have full-time employment and 10.09% have part-time jobs.

[76] Other small shops provide some local employment, but few are open for any length of time as they cannot compete with larger retailers elsewhere in Gateshead.

[86][87] It is the largest hospital in Gateshead and has since been expanded, most notably with the opening of the North East NHS Surgery Centre in 2008, which cost £13.3 million.

[89] The school was open to pupils aged 5 to 14,[90] and the curriculum focused upon "the three Rs" and included some other subjects such as needlework and biblical instruction.

[100] In 2005, Gateshead Council carried out maintenance work on the dene, including the pruning of shrubbery and the installation of several sets of steps, to encourage residents to use the area.

[102] The Old Cannon, at the northern end of Sheriff's Highway, has existed since medieval times and its present name has been used since 1782, and possibly earlier.

[108] Other public houses in Sheriff Hill include the Queens Head, listed in trade directories since 1848,[109] (which was converted into a 14 bedroom property in 2016) and the Travellers Rest, which was once called the "Golden Quiot".

It is built in stone ashlar with a low hipped slate roof and the doorpiece has two intact Greek Ionic columns.

[130] All buses serving Sheriff Hill are operated by Go North East under the administration of Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive, known as "Nexus".

[131] Waste management is co-ordinated by the local authority, Gateshead Council, which provides refuse collections, which became fortnightly in March 2012.

In a black and white engraving in an ovoid frame, a late middle-aged man faces right. He wears a regal tunic over a dark shirt. His bushy, neck-length hair is greying, and he has a grey beard with a black moustache and prominent eyebrows. On his head he wears a slim crown.
Malcolm III of Scotland was repelled by William the Conqueror at Sheriff Hill in 1068
Ina suburban area, a busy main road with vehicles travelling in both directions recedes into the distance. On the left is a row of red-bricked two-storey houses. On the right, an open parkland fringed with mature trees is visible. In the distance is a sunlit landscape of urban and industrial buildings leading to distant, low hills.
Shops at Sheriff's Highway provide employment to residents
In a black and white photograph, a group of six men and two woman wearing mostly dark suits and mayoral decorations stand on a building site. A man on the far left bears a device resembling a large barometer.
The mayor of Gateshead lays the foundation stone of the extension of the isolation hospital in 1938.
Across a road stands a two-storey, sandstone house with large windows facing the street. Ivy covers a wall, roof and chimney on the right; one chimney on the left and a slimmer one in the centre are visible.
Field House from Windy Nook Road
In a sunlit suburban street, a single-decker red bus is parked at a bus stop facing left. Above its windows are the words "Waggonway", "Chester-le-Street", "Beamish Museum", "Birtley" and "Gateshead". On a large window on the right is the word "Beamish", and below the windows are the words "the Waggonway" and a stylised picture of an early railway cart.
The No.28 stops at Sheriff's Highway.
A large, sunlit, single-storey orange brick building with a roof covered with red tiles. On the left are two small green doors, in the centre are three large, green, shutter doors. Atop the roof is an aerial.
Sheriff Hill ambulance station