Whitley Bay

Whitley Bay
Northumberland
St. Mary's Lighthouse at Whitley Bay
Location
Grid reference:	NZ3572
Location:	55°2’44"N, 1°26’39"W
Data
Population:	36,544
Post town:	Whitley Bay
Postcode:	NE25, NE26
Dialling code:	0191
Local Government
Council:	North Tyneside
Parliamentary constituency:	Tynemouth

Whitley Bay is a small seaside town located on the coast of Northumberland. The beach forms a bay stretching from St Mary's Island in the north to Cullercoats in the south.

Transport

Whitley Bay is around nine miles from the county town, Newcastle upon Tyne, and is a popular seaside excursion from the city.

The Tyne and Wear Metro line runs through the town with stations near the town centre (Whitley Bay), as well as in Monkseaton, West Monkseaton and Cullercoats. A Metro journey to Newcastle city centre takes around 25 minutes.

History

Whitley was first mentioned about the year 1100 when King Henry I conferred it with other possessions on the Priory of Tynemouth being referred to in ancient documents and maps before that date as Witelei, Wyteley, Hwyteleg, Witelithe, Wheteley, Wytheleye, Whitlaw, Whitlathe and Whitlag. Whitley is also referred to in the charters of King Henry II, King Richard I and King John, confirming to the priors their possessions and liberties.

During the Crusades, Pope Nicholas IV granted to Edward I the first-fruits and tenths of all ecclesiastical possessions for six years to defray the expenses of an expedition to the Holy Land. A valuation was made of the spiritual and temporal goods of the Priory on 26 March 1292, when the yearly rents from Whitley were returned as 20 shillings, and the tithes as 9 marks.

About the beginning of the 14th century, the manor of Whitley was held from the Prior of Tynemouth by a singular feudal service called the Conveyes which seems to have originated from John de Whitley. Richard de Emeldon, eighteen times Mayor of Newcastle and seven times its representative in Parliament, was the Lord of the Manor of Whitley in 1333.

On 9 April 1345, Edward III granted Gilbert de Whitley a licence to crenellate his manor house at Whitley. This request to fortify a house is an indication of the degree of insecurity felt in Northumberland during the Edwardian wars in Scotland.

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Whitley was held under the Crown for a time. By a grant of Edward VI dated 8 December 1551, it came into the hands of Dudley, Earl of Warwick who was created Duke of Northumberland. It remained in the Percy family until 1632 after which time the area appeared to be let at a yearly rental to various holders until it came into the possession of the Duke of Somerset on his marriage in 1682 with Elizabeth, the heiress of Joscelyn, the 11th Earl of Northumberland. Whitley subsequently passed by inheritance to her granddaughter Elizabeth Seymour who had married Sir Hugh Smithson a Yorkshireman, afterwards created Duke of Northumberland. Whitley has since been retained by descendants and the present Duke of Northumberland is the Lord of the Manor and principal landowner.

Monkseaton, which forms the greater part of the north west of the district, is also very old and its industries were common with those of Whitley being chiefly coalmining and limestone quarrying.

19th Century to present

Whitley Bay Promenade

From the late 19th century and into the 20th century the adverse effects of the decline of local coalmining and dependent industries in the area were ameliorated by the emergence of Whitley as a seaside holiday resort. The opening of the North Tyne Loop railway line in 1882, connecting the coastal villages to Newcastle, benefited the tourism industry. The line followed the route of the present Metro line, and included a new railway station in the centre of the town, and another at Monkseaton. Both stations are still in use as Metro stations.

The Whitley Bay Parish Church is St Paul's Church. The church was provided by the Duke of Northumberland when the old parish of Tynemouth was divided in 1860. It was consecrated in 1864.

The town was known as Whitley until the 1890s, at which time the confusion of the name with Whitby in the North Riding of Yorkshire, was often causing mail to be misdirected. The final straw came in September 1901 when an ex-resident died in Edinburgh and his body was to be buried in St Paul's churchyard, Whitley. Unfortunately, the body was transported to Whitby by mistake delaying the funeral. The council asked residents for suggestions for a new name, the most popular choice was Whitley Bay. It has since been known as Whitley Bay, but locally it is still called 'Whitley'.

Airmen man a 75mm field gun during training at Whitley Bay

Media

• The News Guardian'
• The Chronicle Extra, formerly known as the Herald and Post.

Sport

Hillheads Park, home of Whitley Bay FC

• Football: Whitley Bay FC
• Ice Hockey: Whitley Warriors Ice Hockey Club
• Rugby Union: Whitley Bay Rockcliff RFC
• Speedway: The Rockcliff ground was the home of the short-lived Dirt Track or Speedway venture in the spring of 1929. About 12 meetings were staged.

In fiction

Whitley Bay Ice Rink, location of the sitcom Thin Ice

• Thin Ice (BBC sitcom, 2006) was filmed in the town and at Whitley Bay Ice Rink.
• Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (1970s sitcom) has numerous references to Whitley Bay
• The music video for First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by duo Journey South was filmed along the beach and seafront in Whitley Bay.
• The music video for Pray by Tina Cousins was filmed in Whitley Bay.