West Moor

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= West Moor
latitude= 55.02
longitude= -1.58
population =
metropolitan_borough= North Tyneside
region= North East England
metropolitan_county = Tyne and Wear
constituency_westminster= North Tyneside
post_town= NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
postcode_district = NE12
postcode_area= NE
dial_code= 0191
os_grid_reference= NZ267705

West Moor (also sometimes written as "Westmoor") is a small place in Tyne and Wear, UK.

West Moor began as a colliery village around the beginning of the nineteenth century. It was so-called because it lies to the west of the ancient Killingworth Moor, which has now disappeared under development. It was at the colliery here that George Stephenson developed his first locomotive. Rather than a village, West Moor might nowadays best be described as a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne; it is close to Killingworth, Forest Hall, Longbenton and Gosforth Park.

West Moor contains a primary school - its middle school was closed down in 2000 - several shops and a pub, the George Stephenson Inn. Trains on the East Coast Main Line run through West Moor over a railway bridge.

Places of interest

George Stephenson's Dial Cottage

George Stephenson became an assistant to his father and later followed in his footsteps to become the engineman at Killingworth colliery. It was here that Stephenson developed one of the earliest locomotives, called the "Blücher", which ran on the Killingworth colliery railway in 1814. It was capable of pulling 30 tons up a grade at 4 miles per hour. He also convinced the mine manager to experiment with steam locomotion, and over the next several years Stephenson had built a further 16 engines at Killingworth.

While developing the "Blücher", Stephenson lived in "Dial Cottage", which still stands on the Great Lime Road in West Moor, south of Killingworth. The cottage has a sundial and a plaque above the door which reads

External links

* [http://www.westmoor.org.uk/ West Moor residents' association]
* [http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/css.nsf/AllCSSWeb/6BF40973C01130D680256B0700507D46 Dial Cottage information]