Понтеленд: История и современность английского городка

Town and civil parish in Northumberland, England

Ponteland (/p//ɒ//n//'//t//iː//l//ən//d/ ponTEElənd) is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England. It is 15 mile (24 km) north of Newcastle upon Tyne. The name means "island in the Pont", after the River Pont which flows from west to east and joins the River Blyth further downstream, before flowing into the North Sea. Built on marshland near St Mary's Church and the old bridge, most marshland has now been drained to make way for housing. In the industrial era, the settlement expanded with the development of Darras Hall. Parts of Ponteland have some of North East England's most expensive houses; being just outside Newcastle, near the airport and on the edge of rural countryside. The civil parish includes the old village of Ponteland, the Darras Hall estate, and the villages of Kirkley, Medburn, Milbourne and Prestwick.

There has been nearly a thousand years of Christian worship in Ponteland. This traditionally concentrated around St Mary's the Virgin, the prominent Church of England church near Ponteland's village green. St Mary's traces its first construction to the Norman period in the twelfth century and is still an active church. Ponteland has parish registries dating from 1602 and has been recorded in Bishops transcripts as an important place of religion since 1762. Christian worship in Ponteland has expanded to other denominations in recent centuries. The Ponteland Methodist Church opened in 1841. An 1848 review appreciated Ponteland also hosted places of worship for Scottish Presbyterians and a Wesleyan chapel. In 1867, an Anglican sister church to St Mary's opened in Milbourne, one of Ponteland's wards. In 1884, a Catholic church was established at St Matthews, now part of the Hexham and Newcastle Catholic diocese. In the twentieth century, a United Reformed Church opened in Darras Hall. In the 13th century, Ponteland narrowly escaped conflict when the Treaty of Newcastle (1244) ensured a last minute peace between Scottish and English forces. The treaty bears the name of Ponteland's nearest city but was actually signed in the village. During the 14th century, Ponteland was less fortunate. Scottish forces destroyed part of Ponteland Castle, as prelude to the Battle of Otterburn in 1388, 20 mile (32 km) northwest of Ponteland. Taking advantage of English distractions in the Hundred Years War with France, 1337–1453, this battle saw a decisive defeat for English forces and the expansion of Scottish influence in Ponteland's Middle Ages experience. While Ponteland Castle was never rebuilt as a military stronghold, it transformed into a public house. Known as The Blackbird, this still serves the Ponteland community, nearly seven hundred years after the destruction of its original purpose. Parts of Darras Hall were used as a prisoner of war camp in the Second World War. The camp was designated number 69 of several hundred camps across Britain and held Italian and German prisoners of war. Reflecting the post war growth of the village, Ponteland High School opened in 1972. The affluent housing estate of Darras Hall is a popular choice for many of North East England's wealthy residents and many people associated with Newcastle United Football Club live in the parish including Alan Shearer, Peter Beardsley, Steven Taylor, George Hall, Phil Barton and Terry McDermott. In 2005, Darras Hall received considerable media attention when a convicted rapist moved to the estate, after purchasing a house with his National Lottery winnings. In the early 21st century, an expanding Ponteland and the adjoining Darras Hall was home to approximately 11,000 people.

In September 2017, the three tier education system in Ponteland changed to a two tier system, despite the many benefits of three tier system that parents campaigned to keep. The two existing First Schools converted to Primary Schools, along with Richard Coates Church of England Middle School which retained its older year groups until they had completed their year 8 education. Ponteland Community Middle School remained as a middle school at this time, converting to an academy. Ponteland High School sought planning permission for a new school building in order to house the increased pupil intake at years 7 and 8. This was due to be completed in September 2020. Ponteland Community Middle School then converted to a Primary school in September 2020. There are now four Primary schools in Ponteland: Ponteland Primary School, Darras Hall Primary School, Richard Coates Church of England Primary School and Ponteland Community Primary School. There is one Secondary school, Ponteland Community High School, which educates pupils aged 11–18.

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV Tyne Tees. Television signals are received from the Pontop Pike TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Newcastle, Capital North East, Heart North East, Smooth North East, Metro Radio, Greatest Hits Radio North East and Koast Radio, a community based station. The town is served by these local newspapers, Hexham Courant and Northumberland Gazette.

Ponteland's retail and commercial amenities concentrate around the village's main street, the nearby industrial estate, and Broadway, a small commercial zone serving Darras Hall. The former headquarters for Northumbria Police, now the location of a communications and training complex, is just north of Ponteland. Ponteland railway station was once served by the Ponteland Railway branch line of the North Eastern Railway (later part of the London & North Eastern Railway) from Newcastle, including a short spur to Darras Hall. Plans to electrify the line were abandoned in 1907, however, and the spur line lost passenger services in 1929 when volume fell below expectations. However, a substantial part of Ponteland's railway connections have been resurrected as part of the Tyne & Wear Metro system to serve Newcastle Airport. Reflecting its rural surroundings, Ponteland has several country walks. These concentrate around Ponteland Park and include a walk from the Diamond Inn to Kirkley and from Medburn to the Highlander Inn. Ponteland has five public houses: The Seven Stars, The Blackbird, The Badger, The Diamond Inn and The Pont Tap.