Wideopen
| Wideopen | |
| Northumberland | |
|---|---|
 Entrance to the Newcastle Race Course | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NZ241728 |
| Location: | 55°2’60"N, 1°37’26"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Newcastle Upon Tyne |
| Postcode: | NE13 |
| Dialling code: | 0191 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | North Tyneside |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
North Tyneside |
Wideopen, also occasionally spelled Wide Open, is a village in Northumberland, some six miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne city centre.
Wideopen adjoins the settlements of Seaton Burn, Brunswick Village and Hazlerigg. The village straddles the historic Great North Road between London and Edinburgh (marked by the A1 trunk road until the village received a bypass to the west which took that designation). The village is in an area with a strong mining history and had its own colliery.[1]
In 2012 work began on a new housing estate by Bellway Homes, to the east of the Great North Road, between Lockey Park and Weetslade Country Park.
History and name
The village is present on an 1860s Ordnance Survey map as 'Wide Open', with the settlements of 'East Wideopen' to the east, and 'West Wideopen' to the south.[2]
The village name is nowadays written as one word in widespread use and appears on signage at either end of the village, but the alternative form of 'Wide Open' is still occasionally found on maps and elsewhere, which leads to a pleasing unconformity in contemporary addresses.
Wideopen Colliery
The pit shafts for the colliery were sunk and opened by Perkins and Thackrah in 1825. The colliery produced its first coal in May 1827.[3] It was sketched by Thomas Harrison Hair in 1844 as part of his collection. There was for many years a scrapyard on the site, but this closed in 2011 to make way for new housing.[4]
Churches
- Church of England: St Columba's Church[5]
- United Reformed Church: St John's United Reformed Church
- Roan Catholic: Sacred Heart, North Gosforth, a Victorian church notable for its stained-glass windows with designs by the Pre-Raphaelite artists Edward Burne-Jones, Ford Madox Brown and William Morris.[6][7]
About the village
The village contains one pub (Travellers Rest), two health centres, a library, a garage, a supermarket, a post office, an ambulance station and various local shops. The village has two primary schools, Hazlewood Primary School and Greenfields Community Primary School.
Lying on the outskirts of the village, Wideopen Conservation Area was designated in January 2007 and a character appraisal was adopted in January 2009
Recreation and leisure
- Football: Wideopen Juniors, based at Lockey Park.[8]
- Golf: Parklands Golf Club, which until 1986 was Wideopen Golf Club, though founded in 1966 as a mere driving range, known as the John Jacobs Golf Centre.
Woodlands Hall provides indoor leisure facilities and Wideopen swimming pool (within the grounds of Greenfields Primary School) is used as a school learner pool.
The Reivers Cycle Route runs past the village providing access to a nationally designated cycle route from the east to west coast.[9] The village is directly connected to the local waggonways network (former mineral railways) which provides opportunities for walking and cycling routes throughout the area.[10]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Wideopen) |
- Greenfields Primary School
- Parklands Golf Club
- Wideopen swimming pool
- 861 (Wideopen) Squadron Air Cadets
- Wideopen conservation area
- 2nd Wideopen Scout Group
References
- ↑ "Weetslade Country Park". nwt.org.uk. Northumberland Wildlife Trust. http://www.nwt.org.uk/reserves/weetslade-country-park. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
- ↑ Map: Wideopen Colliery 1860s - Durham Mining Museum
- ↑ "Wideopen Colliery". Durham Mining Museum. http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/w115.htm. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
- ↑ "Wideopen Colly". Structural Images of the North East. University of Newcastle Upon Tyne. http://sine.ncl.ac.uk/view_image.asp?digital_doc_id=1325. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
- ↑ St Columba's, Wideopen
- ↑ Sacred Heart RC Church, North Gosforth – History
- ↑ [http://www.sacredheartng.org.uk/windows.htm Sacred Heart RC Church, North Gosforth - Burne-Jones Windows
- ↑ Wideopen Juniors
- ↑ North of England Cycle Routes
- ↑ waggonways