49-594: Marsden Rock is a rock in Tyne and Wear , North East England , situated in Marsden , South Shields . It is overlooked by the Marsden Grotto . The rock is a 90 feet (27 m) sea stack of Magnesian Limestone which lies approximately 300 feet (91 m) off the main cliff face. It was formerly known for its naturally-formed arch. The arch collapsed in 1996 following a winter of storms creating two separate stacks. The smaller of
98-661: A tax credits call centre for HMRC , and is the former home of Findus UK. The Government National Insurance Contributions Office in Longbenton, demolished and replaced in 2000, had a 1 mile (1.6 km) long corridor. Be-Ro and the Go-Ahead Group bus company are in central Newcastle. Nestlé use the former Rowntrees chocolate factory on the east of the A1. BAE Systems Land & Armaments in Scotswood , formerly Vickers-Armstrongs ,
147-553: A Tyneside unitary authority , again excluding Sunderland, which would have set up a separate East Durham unitary authority. The white paper that led to the Local Government Act 1972 proposed as "area 2" a metropolitan county including Newcastle and Sunderland, extending as far south down the coast as Seaham and Easington, and bordering "area 4" (which would become Tees Valley ). The Bill as presented in November 1971 pruned back
196-676: A black head and throat, white eyestripe, chestnut nape, white underparts, and a heavily streaked black-grey back. Other plumages have a plainer orange-brown head, a browner back and chestnut nape and wing panels. Measurements : It breeds across Arctic Europe and the Palearctic and in Canada and the northernmost United States. It is migratory , wintering in the Russian steppes, the southern United States, Northern Scandinavian arctic areas and down to coastal Southern Sweden, Denmark and Great Britain . This
245-434: A scheme and the legislation of the time did not allow central government to compel one. Tyneside (excluding Sunderland ) was a special review area under the Local Government Act 1958 . The Local Government Commission for England came back with a recommendation to create a new county of Tyneside based on the review area, divided into four separate boroughs. This was not implemented. The Redcliffe-Maud Report proposed
294-494: A thousand billows sweep, Around thy head a thousand tempests roar, And still thou dost maintain thy sway for evermore. Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear ( / ˌ t aɪ n ... ˈ w ɪər / ) is a ceremonial county in North East England . It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne . The county
343-548: Is also an inter-urban line of belt helping to keep the districts of South Tyneside, Gateshead, and Sunderland separated. It was first drawn up from the 1950s. All the county's districts contain some portion of belt. Although Tyne and Wear County Council was abolished in 1986, several joint bodies exist to run certain services on a county-wide basis. Most notable is the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority , which co-ordinates transport policy. Through its passenger transport executive , known as Nexus , it owns and operates
392-422: Is an important habitat for cormorants, which have been there since 1960 but have never been seen to breed. Puffin and guillemot fly past the area regularly and terns feed offshore. In the late autumn, migrant terns, skuas , and gannets can be seen on the rock. Peregrine falcons can occasionally be found in the winter along with Lapland bunting and snow bunting . In 1998, it was reported that Marsden Rock
441-637: Is largely urbanised. It had a population of 1.14 million in 2021. After Newcastle (300,125) the largest settlements are the city of Sunderland (the population of Sunderland, UK is estimated to be 347,000 in 2024), Gateshead (120,046), and South Shields (75,337). Nearly all of the county's settlements belong to either the Tyneside or Wearside conurbations, the latter of which also extends into County Durham. Tyne and Wear contains five metropolitan boroughs : Gateshead , Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland , North Tyneside and South Tyneside , all of which form part of
490-574: Is named and along which its major settlements developed. The county is also notable for its coastline to the North Sea in the east, which is characterised by tall limestone cliffs and wide beaches. In the late 600s and into the 700s Saint Bede lived as a monk at the monastery of St. Peter and of St. Paul writing histories of the Early Middle Ages including the Ecclesiastical History of
539-477: Is often seen close to the tree line , and likes to feed in mixed-species flocks in winter. Its natural food consists of insects when feeding young, and otherwise seeds. The nest is on the ground. 2–4 eggs are laid. The food habits of the Lapland longspur are quite simple: mostly seeds in winter and arthropods in the summer, when they are in activity. During the winter, the longspur feeds on seeds. They pick them on
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#1733086186317588-671: Is the main producer of British Army tanks such as the Challenger 2 . A Rolls-Royce apprentice training site is next door. Siemens Energy Service Fossil make steam turbines at the CA Parsons Works in South Heaton . Sir Charles Parsons invented the steam turbine in 1884, and developed an important local company. Domestos , a product whose main ingredient is sodium hypochlorite , was originated in Newcastle in 1929 by William Handley, and
637-554: Is the only Asian species of the longspur buntings, and while it probably did not evolve there, it has been present in Eastern Europe for at least about 30,000 years. The most common flight call is a hard "prrrrt" usually preceded by a more nasal "teeww". When breeding, it also makes a softer "duyyeee" followed by a pause and a "triiiuuu"; both sounds alternate. It breeds in wet areas with birch or willow, and or bare mountains, and winters on cultivated land or coasts. The bird
686-886: Is the world's largest submersible robot. The car dealership Evans Halshaw is in Sunderland. The car factory owned by Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK between North Hylton and Washington is the largest in the UK. Grundfos , the world's leading pump manufacturer, builds pumps in Sunderland. Calsonic Kansei UK, formerly Magna , make automotive instrument panels and car trim at the Pennywell Industrial Estate. Gestamp UK make automotive components. Smith Electric Vehicles originated in Washington. The LG Electronics microwave oven factory opened in 1989, closed in May 2004, and later became
735-543: The Lapland bunting , is a passerine bird in the longspur family Calcariidae, a group separated by most modern authors from the Fringillidae (Old World finches ). The English name refers to the long hind claws. The genus name Calcarius is from Latin calcaria , "spurs", and the specific lapponicus refers to Lapland . The Lapland longspur is a robust bird, with a thick yellow seed-eater's bill. The summer male has
784-603: The North East Combined Authority , along with County Durham and Northumberland . The county was established in 1974 and was historically part of Northumberland and County Durham, with the River Tyne forming the border between the two. Its county council was abolished in 1986, but the county continues to exist. The most notable geographic features of the county are the River Tyne and River Wear , after which it
833-507: The Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service and Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums , which was created from the merger of the Tyne and Wear Archives Service and Tyne and Wear Museums . These joint bodies are administered by representatives of all five of the constituent councils. In addition the Northumbria Police force covers Northumberland and Tyne and Wear. There have been occasional calls for Tyne and Wear to be abolished and
882-640: The Tyne and Wear Metro light rail system, and the Shields ferry service and the Tyne Tunnel , linking communities on either side of the River Tyne. Also through Nexus, the authority subsidises socially necessary transport services (including taxis) and operates a concessionary fares scheme for the elderly and disabled. Nexus has been an executive body of the North East Joint Transport Committee since November 2018. Other joint bodies include
931-595: The Blaster was a smuggler, poacher and miner who inhabited Marsden Bay in the 18th century with his wife. It was reported that Jack moved to Marsden Bay in 1780 when he was almost 80 years old after refusing to pay rent at his house in Allenheads . A subsequent inhabitant, Peter Allan , was a local eccentric tavern-owner and builder who carved a home out of the rocks in Marsden Bay. In 1828, he moved in with his wife and family. By
980-543: The English People . Roughly 150 years ago, in the village of Marsden in South Shields , Souter Lighthouse was built, the first electric structure of this type. The Local Government Act 1888 constituted Newcastle upon Tyne , Gateshead and Sunderland as county boroughs (Newcastle had " county corporate " status as the "County and Town of Newcastle upon Tyne" since 1400). Tynemouth joined them in 1904. Between
1029-663: The Marsden Lodge Banner which represents the pitmen who worked in Whitburn Colliery alongside the phrase "Firm as a rock we stand". It has also appeared as a backdrop in the North-East drama Catherine Cookson . There have been a number of songs and poems written about Marsden Rock. The Legend of Marsden Rock; or the life and adventures of Little Spottee, the hermit of the rock , is a four-part poem and ghost story written by John Young in 1800. A song about Marsden Rock, to
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#17330861863171078-620: The Marsden coast was part of a continent and tropical swampland which stretched across the equator . Over time, the peat, sand and mud hardened to form the coal measures and the land drifted north of the equator. This land became a desert and subsequently lay below sea level, flooded around 260 million years ago by the Zechstein Sea which periodically rose and fell. The Permian Magnesian rocks found on Marsden coast were formed around 250 million years ago. The land continued to drift northwards over
1127-544: The North Sea east of Newcastle and inland Durham in County Durham around 20 kilometres (12 mi) south-west of Sunderland. There are some clear differences between the stations temperature and precipitation patterns even though both have a cool-summer and mild-winter oceanic climate . Tyne and Wear contains green belt interspersed throughout the county, mainly on the fringes of the Tyneside / Wearside conurbation. There
1176-496: The Royal Commission, published in 1937, recommended the establishment of a Regional Council for Northumberland and Tyneside (to be called the "Northumberland Regional Council") to administer services that needed to be exercised over a wide area, with a second tier of smaller units for other local-government purposes. The second-tier units would form by amalgamating the various existing boroughs and districts. The county boroughs in
1225-697: The Tyne in South Shields. Bellway plc houses is in Seaton Burn in North Tyneside . Cobalt Business Park , the largest office park in the UK, is at Wallsend , on the former site of Atmel , and is the home of North Tyneside Council. Swan Hunter until 2006 made ships in Wallsend, and still designs ships. Soil Machine Dynamics in Wallsend on the Tyne makes Remotely operated underwater vehicles , and its Ultra Trencher 1
1274-928: The Wear at Deptford . The outdoor clothing company Berghaus is in Castletown . Vaux Breweries , who owned Swallow Hotels , closed in 1999. ScS Sofas are on Borough Road. There are many call centres in Sunderland, notably EDF Energy at the Doxford International Business Park , which is also the home of the headquarters of the large international transport company Arriva and Nike UK . Rolls-Royce planned to move their production of fan and turbine discs to BAE Systems' new site in 2016. 54°58′26″N 1°36′48″W / 54.974°N 1.6132°W / 54.974; -1.6132 Lapland Bunting Fringilla lapponica Linnaeus, 1758 The Lapland longspur ( Calcarius lapponicus ), also known as
1323-480: The area would lose their status. Within this area, a single municipality would be formed covering the four county boroughs of Newcastle, Gateshead, Tynemouth, South Shields and other urban districts and boroughs. A minority report proposed amalgamation of Newcastle, Gateshead, Wallsend, Jarrow, Felling, Gosforth, Hebburn and Newburn into a single "county borough of Newcastle-on-Tyneside". The 1937 proposals never came into operation: local authorities could not agree on
1372-560: The areas of local government north and south of the river Tyne from the sea to the boundary of the Rural District of Castle Ward and Hexham in the County of Northumberland and to the Western boundary of the County of Durham, to consider what changes, if any, should be made in the existing arrangements with a view to securing greater economy and efficiency, and to make recommendations. The report of
1421-409: The cliff and covered in vegetation, and promontories have also developed around the rock. The surrounding beach is composed of sand and gravel generated by shoreward drifting of sediment. Marsden Rock has eroded and had various collapses throughout its history. In 1865, part of the rock gave way and five tons of rock fell through a building below. In early 1996 following a winter of storms, the top of
1470-562: The cliffs near Marsden Rock were weak and highly prone to fragmentation, with continued evidence of weathering. In 2020, the Rock itself was reported as "broadly stable", but local collapses of cave formations were still possible. The limestone cliffs which surround Marsden Rock are among the most important breeding colonies for seabirds in the north east of England. In the summer, the cliffs by Marsden Rock are home to fulmars , cormorants , kittiwakes , herring gulls , and razorbills . The rock itself
1519-466: The county boroughs, various other settlements also formed part of the administrative counties of Durham and of Northumberland . The need to reform local government on Tyneside was recognised by the government as early as 1935, when a Royal Commission to Investigate the Conditions of Local Government on Tyneside was appointed. The three commissioners were to: examine the system of local government in
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1568-425: The diet of the parents at that time of the year (June to July). The birds often catch insects in mid-air, but do forage through vegetation when climatic conditions prevent the insects from flying. Longspurs can consume between 3000 and 10,000 prey items (insects or seeds) per day, depending on their energy needs ; they may need to increase this number by 3000 when feeding the young. Dipteran larvae and adults form
1617-413: The event as "most inspiring to the listeners as they stood on the high cliffs of the mainland, and heard the great swell of choral praise floating over the wide waters and ascending to heaven." The significance of Marsden Rock as a local landmark is evident in its various pictorial and artistic depictions. The rock has been featured on many postcards, photographs and paintings of the area. It is pictured on
1666-451: The ground, rarely feeding directly on plants. They will forage around the same area for a period varying between a few minutes and an hour, then fly away looking for a new foraging area. Their seed diet is composed mainly of seeds from grass, foxtail, cultivated millet, crabgrass and wheat. During the breeding season, the birds migrate to the north, where their diet switches to arthropods. Nestlings are only fed arthropods, which also constitute
1715-432: The late 19th century, the top of Marsden Rock was accessible by ladders and stairs which had been constructed by Peter Allan and his family. The excavations and access to picturesque views attracted the attention of holiday-makers. By 1887, it was reported that thousands of people had scaled the rock thanks to Allan's stairs. In 1903, a choir climbed onto the rock to perform a choral service. A contemporary news report recorded
1764-467: The natural arch collapsed. This caused the rock to split into two separate stacks. The smaller of these two stacks, standing at 33 metres (108 ft), was inspected and deemed unstable and in danger of collapsing. It was demolished by the National Trust in 1997 in the interest of public safety. The remaining stack stands at 90 feet (27 m) high. In 2018, it was reported that the materials forming
1813-423: The next 250 million years until it reached its current position. The ice age which occurred around 15,000 years ago was largely responsible for shaping the current landscape of the Marsden coastline and surrounding area. The Magnesian Limestone coast along Tyne and Wear is variable; some sections are firm and compact whilst other sections are brittle and easily disintegrated by the sea and weather. Marsden Rock
1862-411: The region's five unitary authorities were controlled by Labour in 2019. Newcastle and Sunderland are known for declaring their election results early on election night. Therefore, they frequently give the first indication of nationwide trends. An example of this was at the 2016 European Union referendum. Newcastle was the first large city to declare, and 50.6% of voters voted to Remain; this proportion
1911-646: The second largest in the UK market. Petards make surveillance equipment including ANPR cameras, and its Joyce-Loebl division makes electronic warfare systems and countermeasure dispensing systems such as the AN/ALE-47 . Sevcon , an international company formed from a part of Smith Electric, is a world leader in electric vehicle controls. AEI Cables and Komatsu UK construction equipment at Birtley. J. Barbour & Sons make outdoor clothing in Simonside , Jarrow. SAFT Batteries make primary lithium batteries on
1960-509: The site of the Tanfield Group . Goodyear Dunlop had their only UK car tyre factory next to the Tanfield site until its 2006 closure. BAE Systems Global Combat Systems moved to a new £75 million factory at the former Goodyear site in 2011, where they make large calibre ammunition for tanks and artillery. The government's child benefit office is in Washington. Liebherr build cranes next to
2009-438: The southern edge of the area, and gave it the name "Tyneside". The name "Tyneside" proved controversial on Wearside , and a government amendment changed the name to "Tyne and Wear" at the request of Sunderland County Borough Council. Tyne and Wear either has or closely borders two official Met Office stations, neither located in one of the major urban centres. The locations for those are in marine Tynemouth where Tyne meets
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2058-525: The traditional border between Northumberland and County Durham to be restored. Tyne and Wear is divided into 12 parliamentary constituencies . Historically, the area has been a Labour stronghold; South Shields is the only Parliamentary constituency that has never returned a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons since the Reform Act of 1832 . At the level of local government , all of
2107-511: The tune of Jockey to the Fair , was sung in the 19th century. John Lodge included a poem entitled Ode the Marsden Rock in his 1842 poetry collection – The Bard, and minor poems – dedicated to Prince Albert . The poem marvels in the physical qualities and surroundings of Marsden Rock. Hail, giant rock! hail, fortress of the deep! Grim fortress of this stern and rock-bound shore, Around thy base
2156-883: The two campuses of Northumbria University as well as the Newcastle University main campus. Offshore Group Newcastle make oil platforms . Sage Group , who produce accounting software , are based at Hazlerigg at the northern end of the Newcastle bypass. Northern Rock , which became a bank in 1997 and was taken over by Virgin Money in November 2011, and the Newcastle Building Society are based in Gosforth . The Gosforth-based bakery Greggs now has over 1,500 shops. The Balliol Business Park in Longbenton contains Procter & Gamble research and global business centres and
2205-461: The two was demolished in 1997 due to safety concerns. The remaining stack is reachable on foot during low tide but is completely surrounded by water at high tide. The cliffs surrounding Marsden Rock are an important breeding ground for seabirds and colonies can often be seen on top of the rock itself, including kittiwakes , herring gulls , and razorbills . During the Carboniferous Period,
2254-956: Was distributed from the area for many years. Clarke Chapman is next to the A167 in Gateshead. The MetroCentre , the largest shopping centre in Europe, is in Dunston . Scottish & Newcastle was the largest UK-owned brewery until it was bought by Heineken and Carlsberg in April 2008, and produced Newcastle Brown Ale at the Newcastle Federation Brewery in Dunston until production moved to Tadcaster in September 2010. At Team Valley are De La Rue , with their largest banknote printing facility, and Myson Radiators ,
2303-1375: Was far lower than predicted by experts. Sunderland declared soon after and gave a 62% vote to Leave, much higher than expected. These two results were seen as an early sign that the United Kingdom had voted to Leave. Italics indicate the district centre. For a complete list of all villages, towns and cities see the list of places in Tyne and Wear . Birtley Blaydon Low Fell Rowlands Gill Ryton Sheriff Hill Whickham Byker Blakelaw Elswick Fenham Gosforth Jesmond Heaton Newburn North Kenton Throckley Walbottle Walker Westerhope West Moor Annitsford Backworth Benton Cullercoats Dudley Earsdon Fordley Forest Hall Killingworth Longbenton Monkseaton North Shields Preston Tynemouth Whitley Bay Wideopen Boldon Cleadon Harton Hebburn Jarrow Westoe Whitburn Castletown Fulwell Hendon Herrington Hetton-le-Hole Houghton-le-Spring Hylton Red House Newbottle Penshaw Rainton Ryhope Seaburn Shiney Row Silksworth South Hylton Southwick Springwell Village Warden Law Washington Two campuses of Sunderland University are in Sunderland, while Newcastle contains
2352-442: Was formed by erosion of less-resistant stone along the joints of the cliffs of Marsden Bay, resulting in an isolated stack of compacted limestone. A channel was carved through the rock by waves which formed a natural arch. By the 1800s, the arch had become large enough for sailing boats to pass through at high tide. Small caves have been carved into the rock overtime which can be observed at low tide. Resistant beds , jutting out from
2401-434: Was the site of the only recorded breeding ground for Manx shearwater on the east coast on mainland Britain. Marsden Rock has long been a local tourist attraction and significant landmark due to its appearance and history. It is believed to have once been a location for smuggling brandy and tobacco, the surrounding high cliff-faces providing cover for the moor boats. The rock is also famous for its eccentric inhabitants: Jack
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