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Washington is a former village in North East England. Washington is now part of the City of Sunderland and is located some 10 miles (16km) west of the city centre, and is roughly the same distance south of Newcastle upon Tyne. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 55,454.
Washington was designated a new town in 1964 and expanded dramatically by the creation of new villages and the absorption of areas of Chester-le-Street to house overspill population from surrounding cities. It was incorporated with Sunderland in 1974 when the metropolitan borough of Sunderland was formed, but many residents consider themselves still part of the traditional County Durham.
The main shopping centre is 'The Galleries', an indoor complex housing local shops and services, and the ASDA and Sainsbury (previously known as SavaCentre) supermarkets. It was officially opened in 1974 by Princess Anne. A large area of parkland extends south from 'The Galleries' and is known as Princess Anne Park.
History
The origin of the name Washington is not fully known; it may be from Old English wæsc "to wash" + -inga 'people of' + dun "hill" (i.e. people of the hill by the stream). Due to its proximity to the Wear, this origin seems likely. This origin is shown in a record of the name as Wasindone from 1096.
Another origin, also likely is 'estate associated with a man called Wassa', from the Old English personal name Wassa + ing- + tun, -ing- meaning '(place) of' and tun (farm, estate, town). This origin is shown in a record of the name as Wassyngtona from 1183.
However, this is not a conclusive toponymy origin of the name; it is still not ascertained.
The Old Hall may have been built by William de Hertburn, who moved to the area in 1183. As was the custom he took the name of his new estates, and became William de Wessyngton. By 1539 when the family moved to Sulgrave Manor in Northamptonshire the spelling "Washington" had been adopted. It was from Washington Village that the ancestors of George Washington, the first President of the United States, emigrated to Virginia in 1657. Ironically they emigrated because of their Royalist sympathies.
The present Hall is an early 17th century small English manor house of sandstone. Only the foundations and the arches between the Kitchen and the Great Hall remain of the original house.
Washington's curious design was incorporated from many towns in the United States. The new town is divided into small self-sufficient "villages". It was originally also divided into 15 numbered districts, a fate which confused many visitors to the area. Washington's villages are called Donwell, Usworth (originally Great Usworth), Concord, Sulgrave, Albany, Glebe, Barmston, Washington Village (the original village and location of the Old Hall), Columbia, Blackfell, Oxclose, Ayton, Lambton, Fatfield, Harraton and Rickleton. Built on industry, the town itself has several industrial estates, named after famous local people, such as Parsons, Armstrong, Stephenson, Crowther, Pattinson, Swan and Emmerson.
Industry
Historically, Washington was heavily involved in the coal industry with a number of pits. One of these in the Albany district of Washington is preserved as the 'F' Pit Museum (pits in Washington were named alphabetically e.g. the 'F' Pit). A number of the old communities of Washington grew up around the pits (e.g. the modern area of Usworth partly grew up around the Usworth mine and the area was known as Usworth Colliery (and still is to some of the older generation). In support of the mines there was a series of waggonways and later railway lines to transport the coal. The waggonways took coal to staithes on the River Wear where it could be loaded onto barges to be taken to the ocean going vessels at Sunderland.
Washington was also involved in the chemical industry and the Washington Chemical Works was a major employer in the 19th Century. This later became the Cape/Newalls works producing insulation. The Pattinson Town area of Washington grew up around the chemical works. This area is now Pattinson industrial estate and Teal Farm housing estate.
Currently, Washington's main industries include textiles, electronics, car assembly, chemicals and electrical goods. The Nissan automotive plant is a major employer in the town, although the factory itself is just outside the town boundary and lies in Sunderland itself. Nissan is the largest private-sector employer in the City of Sunderland.
Visitor attractions
The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust nature reserve and the Washington 'F' Pit mining museum are within the town, and Beamish Open-Air Museum is located nearby.
The Washington Arts Centre is a converted farm building. The Centre includes an exhibition gallery, community theatre, artist studios and a recording studio.
The North of England Aircraft Museum occupies part of the old RAF Usworth base. The Nissan plant takes up much of the rest. An attempt to run a municipal airport from the site failed.
Education
There are several schools in the villages of Washington.
- Primary schools in the area
- John F. Kennedy Primary School
- Lambton Primary School
- Holley Park Primary School
- George Washington School
- Usworth Colliery
- Usworth Grange
- Barmston Primary
- Wessington Primary - (formerly glebe primary)
- Albany Primary
- St.Bedes
- Secondary schools in Washington.
- Usworth School opened in Washington in the 1960s has been confirmed for closure at the end of the 2006-07 school year. 2004 OFSTED report in (pdf).
- Biddick Sports College
- Washington School (formerly Washington Grammar School)
- St.Robert of Newminster (Roman Catholic Secondary School)
- Oxclose Community Secondary School
Transportation
Washington has no railway station, making it one of the largest towns in Britain without an operational railway station (see Corby and Gosport). Proposals to extend the Tyne and Wear Metro to Washington have failed to attract government support. There is a bus station next to The Galleries. Major roads run through Washington, with connections to the A1. Washington services is situated between junctions 64 and 65 of the A1(M) motorway
Famous people
Gertrude Bell was born at Washington Hall. The musician Bryan Ferry (of Roxy Music fame) comes from Washington and attended Washington Grammar School (now Washington School (Comprehensive)). Heather Mills attended Usworth School.
See also
External links
"Washington, Tyne and Wear"