Gateshead
- A Canny Toon just ower the Tyne from The Toon
  

Gateshead is south of the river Tyne Rich in hills and Geordie Pride There's Windmill, Carr and Sheriff Shipcote, Team Valley, Sunniside
As well, it's very well rich Springwell, Swalwell, Saltwell wey aye Bill Quay, Low and High Felling And, without the ing, there's the Fell, Low and High
There's also tons of ton toons Winlaton, Dunston, Wrekenton and Ryton too And reflecting coalfields there's Team Colliery And Cube Pit or is it Q?
There's hams like Whickham, Bensham and Deckham There's Salt Meadows, Friars Goose and more Crawcrook, Mount Pleasant and Blaydon Windy Nook, Felling Shore and Pelaw
Eeh, there's Lamesley, Wardley and Birtley Heworth, Beacon Lough, Rowlands Gill The Teams, Eighton Banks and The Old Fold And did I mention Lobley Hill?
Jon Bratton © 2007

Famous People from Gateshead or who have been residents include:-
Marcus Bentley  Narrator of Big Brother
Thomas Bewick  Engraver
William Booth Founder of the Salvation Army
Catherine Booth William's wife
Mary Bowes, Countess of Strathmore Author and celebrity sleep-about Harry Clasper Oarsman
David Clelland Labour politician and M.P.
Joseph Cowen Radical politician
Steve Cram Athlete
Emily Davies Educational reformer and feminist. Founder of Girton College Cambridge
Daniel Defoe Writer and government agent
Madeleine Hope Dodds Historian
George Elliott Industrialist and M.P.
William Falla (see above) Nationally-known commercial gardener
Paul Gascoigne Footballer
Alex Glasgow Singer Songwriter
Jill Halfpenny actress
Sharon Hodgson Member of Parliament
Arthur Holmes, Rock Star (Geologist)
Brian Johnson Current lead singer with rock band AC/DC
James Leathart of Brackendene Low Fell -Industrialist and art collector John Thomas Looney Shakespeare scholar
Angus Monro, Top Retailer, Matalan Maestro
Robert Stirling Newall Industrialist
Bezalel Rakow Communal rabbi
James Renforth Oarsman
Geordie Ridley - Composer of 'Blaydon races'
William Shield Master of the King's Musick
Christina Stead Australian novelist
John Steel - Drummer, The Animals
Sir Joseph Swan Inventor of the electric light bulb
Jonathan Tulloch Author, former Gateshead teacher
William Wailes Stained glass maker
Robert Spence Watson Author, arbiter and public benefactor
Taylor Wane Porn Star
Sylvia Waugh Author of the 'Mennyms' series for children


Daniel Defoe is remembered as the father of the English novel but it is a little known fact that his most famous novel Robinson Crusoe was written in Gateshead. And Alice in Wonderland was partly written by Lewis Caroll, in the Ravensworth Arms, Lamesley. Christina Stead, the Australian author, set her only English novel, Cotter's England partly in Gateshead (called Bridgehead in the novel).

Newcastle Gateshead

To the tune of Blaydon Races, here's a little ditty what I wrote

Gateshead's got 11 bridges, so that ye'll not droon
When ye're getten ower the Tyne, comin from The Toon
It's full of passionate people, it's a vary passionate place
It's seen the return of it's prodigal son, Journey inte Space

We're now being marketted as NewcastleGateshead because our economic fortunes are inextricably linked but then they always have been
Most of the Newcastle coal came from Gateshead
The famous Newcastle Grindstones were quarried in Gateshead
Newcastle Breweries was 'born' in Gateshead
The Geordie Anthem was composed in Gateshead

and, as said earlier, now many of the region's icons
Newcastle Brown Ale, The Metro Centre, The Hilton Hotel, Newcastle Gateshead, The Angel of the North, The Millennium Bridge
The Region's Independent Television, The Sage, The Baltic,
The International Athletics Stadium
are all in Gateshead

Aw went to Blaydon Races, 'twas on the ninth of Joon,
Eiteen hundred an' sixty-two, on a summer's efternoon;
Aw tyuk the 'bus frae Balmbra's, an' she wis heavy laden,
Away we went alang Collingwood Street, that's on the road to Blaydon.

(chorus)

Oh lads, ye shud only seen us gannin',
We pass'd the foaks upon the road just as they wor stannin';
Thor wes lots o' lads an' lasses there, all wi' smiling faces,
Gawn alang the Scotswood Road, to see the Blaydon Races.

We flew past Airmstrang's factory, and up to the "Robin Adair",
Just gannin' doon te the railway bridge, the 'bus wheel flew off there.
The lasses lost their crinolines off, an' the veils that hide their faces,
An' aw got two black eyes an' a broken nose in gan te Blaydon Races.

(chorus)

When we gat the wheel put on away we went agyen,
But them that had their noses broke they cam back ower hyem;
Sum went to the Dispensary an' uthers to Doctor Gibbs,
An' sum sought out the Infirmary to mend their broken ribs.

(chorus)

Noo when we gat to Paradise thor wes bonny gam begun;
Thor was fower-an-twenty on the 'bus, man, hoo they danced an' sung;
They called on me to sing a sang, aw sung them "Paddy Fagan",
Aw danced a jig an' swung my twig that day aw went to Blaydon.

(chorus)

We flew across the Chain Bridge reet into Blaydon toon,
The bellman he was callin' there, they call him Jackie Brown;
Aw saw him talkin' to sum cheps, an' them he was pursuadin'
To gan an' see Geordy Ridley's concert in the Mechanics' Hall at Blaydon.

(chorus)

The rain it poor'd aw the day an' myed the groons quite muddy,
Coffy Johnny had a white hat on - they war shootin' "Whe stole the cuddy."
There wes spice stalls an' munkey shows an' aud wives selling ciders,
An' a chep wiv a hapenny roond aboot, shootin' "Now, me boys, for riders."

(chorus)