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Cramlington

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The town of Cramlington in the county of Northumberland is situated nine miles north of the provincial city of Newcastle Upon Tyne in the north east of England. Its population is about 39,000. Its name suggests a probable founding by the Danes or Anglo-Saxon origin, the word ‘Ton’ meaning town.

History

The first record of the Manor of Cramlington is from a mention in 1135 when the land was granted to Nicholas de Grenville. A register of early chaplains begins with John the Clerk of Cramlington (c.1163-1180). The register continues to the present day.

From the 12th Century onwards, its history has been mostly rural incorporating several farms and the parish church of St. Nicholas (built at a cost of £3,000 during 1865-1868 in the Gothic style) but during the early 19th Century, coal mining with several mine shafts in the immediate vicinity (the first was sunk in 1824) began to change that. It remained small, however, until 1964 when it was proclaimed a New Town and developers (such as William Leech and J.T.Bell) developed large housing estates. It has effectively become a suburb of the much larger city to its south.

During World War I, the North East of England was protected by the No. 36 Home Defence Squadron. The squadron was formed at Cramlington on February 1, 1916 by Capt. R. O. Abercromby, with Cramlington subsequently becoming an important base for military planes and airships. A reference to Cramlington airfield is made in W. E. Johns 1935 book The Black Peril from the extremely popular Biggles series.

Geography and infrastructure

The latitude and longitude of Cramlington are 55.07N & 01.59W NZ2676. The River Blyth is close by, as is Plessey Woods Country Park.

The town is served by Cramlington railway station, with services to the MetroCentre, Morpeth and Newcastle upon Tyne provided by Northern Rail. Cramlington has an extensive bus service of which is provided by Arriva Northumbria. With the X1,X2,X3,X4,X5 and X6 buses linking the town to Newcastle Upon Tyne respectively. As of early 2007, there have been rumours of a possible metro link being established in the future through sharing the somewhat redundant line between neighbouring towns Blyth, Bedlington, Ashington and Morpeth. Cramlington also has good road transport links, being situated between the A1, A19 and A189 roads. The town is also notable for its many roundabouts, especially the notorious Moor Farm roundabout which links the A19 and A189 as well as other roads to Cramlington. In 2006, it was announced that Moor Farm roundabout is to be 'traffic controlled' with traffic lights installed, working on a similar operation to those at the A19 Silverlink roundabout, due to continuous congestion and also frequent accidents on a severe scale. It has also been announced that Blyth Valley Council are proposing the construction of a new bus concourse, of which will be located near to Manor Walks Shopping Centre to improve public transport links for commuters.

Economy

There are several large industrial zones in Cramlington, most to the town's north-west, housing major pharmaceutical companies including Merck Sharp and Dohme. Other growing chemical companies including Aesica Pharmaceuticals are also present.

The popular Manor Walks shopping centre was constructed in the centre of the town in the 1970s, and was subsequently expanded in the mid-1990s and in 2003/4. The centre now includes retailers such as Argos, ASDA, Boots, Next and Sainsbury's.

Provisional permissions were recently given to an open cast mining operation to the north-west of the town, however the fine detail of how much coal is to be extracted has yet to be agreed. As of July 2006, it now appears mining will not go ahead.

Education

Schools in Northumberland currently operate under a three tier system, however, the council recently made the decision to convert to the national two tier system. This change will affect all schools in the town. For example, Cramlington Community High School, which is currently one of the largest high schools in the country, will be changing to the Cramlington Junior Learning Village. The new secondary school is being built by Gleeson next to Stonelaw Middle School.

Prior to the closure of the area's many middle schools, some elementary schools will be relocating to the former middle school sites, which will allow disused sites and land to be sold to housing developers and other parties. It has been proposed that the changes will begin as of September 2007, however there has been concern from local residents over traffic and parking arrangements at the new sites.

Cramlington Junior Learning Village

On the former playground of Stonelaw County Middle School is an under construction addition to the high school. Gleeson are building a new block to add to the high school before it becomes the secondary school.

Leisure

Cramlington's main leisure centre, Concordia, is situated in the town centre adjacent to the shopping mall and was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1977. It consists of a leisure pool, originally designed as an indoor tropical paradise, indoor football pitches, tennis, badminton and squash courts, as well as a climbing wall. It also features a gymnasium, sauna, bowling green and bar.

As part of the new town design, the town has a large cycle path network. A cycle route also connects the town to the nearest beach, in Blyth. As of late March 2007, Blyth Valley council have announced that the cycle network is to be extended to allow access to the neighbouring town of Bedlington.

There are several pubs and social clubs in and around Cramlington, including several that are located in the old Cramlington village, near the town centre. The Village includes three pubs, namely The Blagdon Arms, The Plough and The Travellers, as well as the Village Club and the Comrades Club, totalling five drinking establishments. Outside of the Village, the Brockwell Seam, The Phoenix and The Bay Horse are just some of the popular Cramlington public houses.

Starting August 13th 2007, Esteem Through Sport are running a basketball camp at Cramlington Sporting Club. Coaches at the camp include Kevin Cadle (Sky Sports) and Alan Cunningham (ex-Harlem Globetrotter) along side the staff from Esteem Through Sport and the Blyth Renegades.

Religion

Cramlington has a number of churches of various denominations.

Methodist

  • Doxford Place Methodist Church
  • Welcome Methodist Church (formerly Station Terrace Methodist Church)

Church of England

  • St. Nicholas Parish Church
  • St. Andrew's
  • St. Peter's

Catholic

  • St. Paul's

Famous residents

Twin towns

As part of Blyth Valley, Cramlington is twinned with:

References

External links



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Last updated on Wednesday March 05, 2008 at 05:39:32 PST (GMT -0800)
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