Bill Quay

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Bill Quay
latitude= 54.957
longitude= -1.537
population =
metropolitan_borough= Gateshead
metropolitan_county= Tyne and Wear
region= North East England
constituency_westminster= Gateshead East and Washington West
post_town= GATESHEAD
postcode_area= NE
postcode_district= NE10
dial_code= 0191
os_grid_reference= NZ297626 Bill Quay is an area in the east of Gateshead in North East England, situated between Hebburn to the east and Pelaw to the west. It lies on the south bank of the River Tyne, facing Walker-on-Tyne.

During the 19th century it was an industrial area catering for chemical works, bottle works, Robson's Paint and shipbuilding. The area saw an economic upturn at the end of the 19th century when the CWS (Co-Operative Wholesale Society) opened its vast and extensive string of factories along its main thoroughfare, Shields Road. Boutlands, Harrisons and Wood-Skinner were shipbuilders at Bill Quay with Harrisons remaining the last shipbuilders on the Tyne's south bank until its closure recently.

Bill Quay is also home to a well supported local cricket club (Bill Quay Albion). They currently compete in the Durham Coast league

Moreover, Bill Quay is home to Bill Quay Community Farm, an important urban farm and one of only 16 farm parks nationally recognised by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust in the UK. Breeds include Tamworth pigs, Jacob sheep, Hebridean sheep, Scots Grey hens and Bagot goats. It plays host to Chickenstock, a showcase festival for local Gateshead based bands that happens yearly.

Bill Quay in fiction

The novel "Schoolfrenz" by Ray Crowther (ISBN 0-9541110-3-6) is set mainly on Tyneside. Bill Quay is mentioned several times and is the location for a murder scene in the book.The author's website ( [http://ray-crowther.me.uk/Author/Schoolfrenz/Schoolfrenz_Photos2.htm Ray Crowther] ) contains an extract from Schoolfrenz about Bill Quay, and has photographs of Bill Quay and the surrounding area.

External links

* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=402666/ Geograph's page for NZ2962]
* [http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/ls/billquay.htm Local history site's article on Bill Quay]
* [http://www.geocities.com/rboutland2002/index Early shipbuilding at Bill Quay]
*oscoor gbx|NZ295627