Sheriff Hill

Sheriff Hill is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. It lies on the B1296 road 2 mile (3 km) south of Gateshead, 2.5 mile (4 km) south of Newcastle upon Tyne and 12 mile (19 km) north of the historic city of Durham. According to the 2001 UK census it had a population of 5,051. Historically part of Gateshead Fell in County Durham, Sheriff Hill was the site of a battle between William the Conqueror and Malcolm III of Scotland in 1068. A road was built through Gateshead Fell in the early 13th century, attracting some settlers. A procession of bishops, sheriffs and noblemen known as the Sheriff's March took place on the road in 1282, and continued biannually until the 1830s. By then, Gateshead Fell had been enclosed and a village had grown around the road, largely populated by an influx of tinkers, coalminers working at Sheriff Hill Colliery and workers at the local pottery, mill and sandstone quarry. By the turn of the 20th century these industries were in steep decline. The local authority built a large council estate at Sheriff Hill to alleviate dangerous overcrowding in Gateshead, effectively turning the area into a residential suburb. It ceased to be an independent village on 1 April 1974 when it was incorporated into the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead under the terms of the Local Government Act 1972. Now part of the local council ward of High Fell, the suburb is economically disadvantaged compared with other areas of the borough and nationally, with high levels of unemployment. Sheriff Hill was the site of one of Gateshead's largest boarding schools but as of 2012, the only remaining educational establishment is Glynwood Primary School. The suburb also contains the Queen Elizabeth Hospital the largest hospital in Gateshead, a small dene and a small park. The principal landmark is St John the Evangelist Church, one of three Grade II listed buildings in the area and one of two remaining churches. The southern end of Sheriff's Highwaythe main road through the suburb, is more than 500 feet (152 m) above sea level, making it the highest point in Gateshead.

Until the 19th century, Sheriff Hill was part of Gateshead Fell, a "windswept, barren and treacherous heath" that took its name from the town of Gateshead and the fell or common land contiguous with it. In 1068, Malcolm III of Scotland marched across the Scottish border to challenge the authority of William the Conqueror. Malcolm, accompanied by native insurgents and foreign supporters, In the 13th century, a road through Gateshead Fell became the main trade route between Durham and Newcastle and as its importance grew, two public housesthe Old Cannon and The Three Tuns, were built along with a small number of houses. The settlement's name derives from the Sheriff's March; an ancient, biannual procession first held in 1278. An inquisition at Tynemouth declared that the King of Scotland, the Archbishop of York, the Prior of Tynemouth, the Bishop of Durham and Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus should meet the justices before they entered Newcastle from the south. A procession was held before the meeting; on the appointed day the procession started in Newcastle, crossed the River Tyne to Gateshead and made its way up the steep road. The meeting place was initially at Chile Well but subsequently the procession came to "light and go into the house". The house was the Old Cannon public house, where drink was served at the sheriff's expense. When the judges arrived, the procession returned to Newcastle. The few cottages and properties at Sheriff Hill were of such poor quality that in 1713, the total of ninety one cottages returned only £8 9s 6d in rent. The rental rate declined over the years and eventually, poverty rates were so high that several tenants paid no rent. The houses were extremely unappealing; many were essentially mud hutsearth mounds carved into dwellings and roofed with sod. The length of the road that ran through Sheriff Hill was called Sodhouse Bank. By the middle of the 18th century, the area had become a wild and frightening place and when theologian John Wesley arrived in 1785, he found a "pathless waste of white".

Sheriff Hill is 2 mile (3 km) south of Gateshead town centre and 255 mile (410 km) from London. The underlying geology is predominantly sandstone, grindstone and clay. At the southern end of the suburb the land reaches an elevation of over 500 feet (152 m) above sea level, In 1829, the view of Newcastle and the River Tyne from the hill was said to be "uncommonly grand" and it inspired local artist Thomas Miles Richardson to paint his first notable picture, "View of Newcastle from Gateshead Fell" in 1816. In spite of the extensive rebuilding in the 20th century, the natural topography still affords panoramic views, particularly to the east towards the coast and north as far as the Cheviot Hills, from several vantage points.

Sheriff Hill, in common with much of the north east of England, has a temperate climate. The mean highest temperature is , which is slightly lower than the England average of The mean lowest temperature, , is somewhat higher than the England average of The total annual rainfall is , significantly lower than the national average for England of .

According to the 2001 UK census, 82.7% of residents in Sheriff Hill describe themselves as Christian. This is marginally higher than the regional average of 80.1% and substantially higher than the national average of 71.7%. The second most prevalent religion is Islam; some 0.57% of residents identify as Muslim. Around 0.1% identify as Buddhist and the same proportion identify as Jewish. Just 0.05% identify as Hindu. All of these figures are below the national average. Of the remaining residents, 0.1% adhere to a religion other than those stated, 11.2% have "no religion" and 5.1% did not state any religion. There are two churches in the suburb today. The Anglican Church of St John is located in Church Road and the Sheriff Hill Methodist Church, a member of United Methodist Free Churches, is located at the junction of Kells Lane and Sheriff's Highway and is shown on the 1939 ordnance survey maps. It is a modern, brick building of semi circular design. with no significant industry. The suburb was once considered affluent, but as of 2012, almost half of the working age population are economically inactive and less than half of households own a car. Around 3.1% of the population are self employed. Those in employment work outside the area, except those employed in the suburb's public houses, betting shops or fast food outlets. Other small shops provide some local employment, but few are open for any length of time as they cannot compete with larger retailers elsewhere in Gateshead. and situated on Sour Milk Hill Lane. Sheriff Hill Lunatic Asylum tended 86 patients in 1844 and continued to attract admissions until its closure in 1860. Soon after, work began on a 38–bed isolation hospital at what is today Queen Elizabeth Avenue. The first building was completed in 1878 and others were added later. The site was enclosed by a large stone wall tipped with barbed wire and broken glass, and by 1903 the hospital comprised a main block with an administrative building in the centre with a ward block on each side, another three ward block, a porter's lodge, a steam disinfecting building, a laundry and a mortuary. The hospital had a maximum capacity of 78 patients, who were tended by two resident doctors and 10 nurses. During the period 1918 to 1939, the isolation hospital remained the sole medical provision in Sheriff Hill. Faced with an increase in population, Gateshead Council decided that a new general hospital should be built. In March 1938, preliminary work started on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on the site of the isolation hospital; the foundations were laid in 1939 but the outbreak of World War II delayed the building work. The new hospital was opened by Queen Elizabeth, wife of King George VI, on 18 March 1948. It is the largest hospital in Gateshead and has since been expanded, most notably with the opening of the North East NHS Surgery Centre in 2008, which cost £13.3 million. According to official data, Sheriff Hill residents experience comparatively poor health; 13.7% of the adult population are considered clinically obese, around 38% of adults smoke compared with the UK average of 25.9% of adults, and 37% of adults are binge drinkers. The average life expectancy for men is 77.9 years, the same as the UK average, but for women is 78 years; four years below the UK national average. The school was open to pupils aged 5 to 14, and the curriculum focused upon "the three Rs" and included some other subjects such as needlework and biblical instruction. Attendance was compulsory but truancy was rifesuch was the scale of the problem that prizes and awards were presented to encourage attendance. refn|group=nb|These problems were largely eradicated when, in 1891, the 'penny a week' charge on parents was expunged in law and mandatory free education for children up to the age of 12 was established. and was replaced by Glynwood Primary School and Ennerdale Junior School, which were opened by Alderman Grant on 28 November 1953 after a dedication by the Rector of Gateshead. Situated on Glynwood Gardens and Southend Road, the schools were later merged; Glynwood School survives as the sole educational establishment in Sheriff Hill. As of 2010, the school is larger than average and the proportion of children entitled to and claiming free school meals is well above the UK average. The pupils at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 are taught subjects from the National Curriculum and achievement is broadly inline with the national average. It is named in honour of Alderman Daniel Hodkin, Gateshead's deputy mayor in 1920 and a member of the Housing Committee which built council housing at Sheriff Hill. Hodkin Park was locally listed by Gateshead Council in 2004 in recognition of its significance to the local community. At the northern end of Sheriff's Highway there is a dene, shown as the "Quarry Plantation" on Ordnance Survey maps of 1858. In 2005, Gateshead Council carried out maintenance work on the dene, including the pruning of shrubbery and the installation of several sets of steps, to encourage residents to use the area. Sheriff Hill contains several public houses because of its origin as a mining village with a population of tinkers, and because before Durham Road through Low Fell was opened in 1827, Sodhouse Bank (now Sheriff's Highway) was the route to the Great North Road. The Old Cannon, at the northern end of Sheriff's Highway, has existed since medieval times and its present name has been used since 1782, and possibly earlier. In 2016, the building still stands, but has been converted to a Chinese Takeaway. The Three Tuns, which is listed in trade directories in 1778, In 1867 it was the scene of a reception to celebrate the passing of Lord Russell's Reform Act, and reform meetings and benefit societies were subsequently held there. In recent times it has hosted a number of niche events, including an international pie festival in 2010 and an international sausage festival in 2011. Both the Old Cannon and The Three Tuns were locally listed by Gateshead Council in 2004. Other public houses in Sheriff Hill include the Queens Head, listed in trade directories since 1848, (which was converted into a 14 bedroom property in 2016) and the Travellers Rest, which was once called the "Golden Quiot". and an annual Christmas Fayre is held at the church to mark the start of Christmas in Sheriff Hill.

Home Office policing in Sheriff Hill is provided by Northumbria Police; the nearest police station is at High West Street, Gateshead. Statutory emergency fire and rescue service is provided by the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service and Sheriff Hill is served by the Gateshead East station on Dryden Road in Low Fell. Health provision is provided by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which is a National Health Service (NHS) hospital administered by the Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust. The area is served by an ambulance station adjacent to the hospital on Old Durham Road and ambulance services are provided by the North East Ambulance Service. Public transport services are co ordinated by the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive. Sheriff Hill's distribution network operator for electricity is Northern Powergrid. Northumbrian Water supplies drinking water, which is sourced from Kielder Reservoir, and also has responsibility for waste water services.