Forest Hall
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country = England
| coordinates = {{coord|55.0209|-1.5689|display=inline,title}}
| official_name = Forest Hall
| os_grid_reference = NZ269683
| metropolitan_borough = North Tyneside
| region = North East England
| metropolitan_county = Tyne and Wear
| constituency_westminster = Newcastle upon Tyne North
| post_town = NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
| postcode_district = NE12
| postcode_area = NE
| dial_code = 0191
}}
Forest Hall is a village in the borough of North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is 4 miles from Newcastle upon Tyne. It borders Killingworth to the north, Holystone to the east and Benton to the south. The village was named after the Forest Hall, which incorporated a medieval tower. Woodside Court was built on the site of the Hall, which was demolished in 1962.[https://co-curate.ncl.ac.uk/forest-hall/ "Forest Hall"]. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
History
= Dial Cottage =
File:Longbenton - Dial Cottage, Westmoor.jpg
Dial Cottage, a grade II listed building{{Cite web|title=Dial Cottage, a grade II listed building|url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101025392-dial-cottage-killingworth-ward#.YEGgHWj7TIU|access-date=4 March 2021|website=British Listed Buildings}} and home from 1804 to 1823 of railway pioneer George Stephenson,{{Cite web|title=George Stephenson's Birthplace|url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/george-stephensons-birthplace/features/george-stephensons-birthplace|access-date=4 March 2021|website=National Trust}} is located on Great Lime Road in Forest Hall. It was while he was living there that Stephenson developed one of the world's earliest locomotives, called the Blücher, as well as several others which ran on the Killingworth Colliery from 1814. The trackbed is now a public footpath which can be accessed from Great Lime Road a kilometre east of the cottage.
The cottage is privately owned, though tours occasionally take place. At the cottage there is a sundial, which Stephenson built himself and which gives the cottage its name, and a plaque which reads:
“George Stephenson. Engineer, inventor of the Locomotive Engine. Lived in this cottage from 1805 to 1823; his first locomotive (Blücher) was built at the adjacent colliery wagon shops, and on July 25, 1814 was placed on the wagonway which crosses the road at the east end of this cottage."{{Cite web|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5114790|title = Geograph:: Plaque and sundial, Dial Cottage, West... © Graham Robson cc-by-sa/2.0}}
= Clousden Hill Free Commune =
{{Main|Clousden Hill Free Communist and Co-operative Colony}}
Geography
= Station Road North =
File:Station Road, Forest Hall, Newcastle.jpg
Forest Hall's main shopping centre is Station Road North and the pub Flying Scotsman is close to the former railway station.{{Cite web|title=Flying Scotsman|url=http://flyingscotsmanforesthall.co.uk/|access-date=4 March 2021}} Additionally, Springfield Park, a public park, is located near Station Road North; it has sports grounds, a playground and a community centre.{{Cite web|date=|title=Springfield Community Centre|url=https://springfieldcommunity.org.uk/|access-date=4 March 2021|website=Springfield Community Association}} In 2019, North Tyneside Council completed a £500,000 public works project into Station Road North; this included replacing the paving tiles, installing new benches and raising the road junction at the western end of the street as a traffic calming measure.{{Cite web|last=Sharma|first=Sonia|date=13 March 2018|title=Fresh plans to breathe new life into Forest Hall shopping area unveiled|url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/fresh-plans-breathe-new-life-14403276|access-date=15 February 2022|website=Chronicle Live}}{{Cite web|date=May 2019|title=Forest Hall Public Realm Improvements|url=https://my.northtyneside.gov.uk/category/1309/forest-hall-public-realm-improvements|access-date=15 February 2022|website=North Tyneside Council}}
Governance
Forest Hall is located in the borough of North Tyneside in the ceremonial county of Tyne & Wear. Its parliamentary constituency is also called North Tyneside, represented since 2010 by Mary Glindon. The village does not have its own council ward and is divided between multiple wards named after other localities; most of Forest Hall, including Station Road North and the area along Station Road, is in Benton Ward, while most of Palmersville is in Killingworth Ward and most of Westmoor is in Longbenton Ward.{{Cite web|title=Ward map|url=https://my.northtyneside.gov.uk/sites/default/files/web-page-related-files/Ward%20map%20%281000dpi%29.pdf|access-date=14 February 2022|website=North Tyneside Council}} As of February 2022, the town's councillors are:
| class="wikitable"
| bgcolor="{{Party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |Peter Earley |
| bgcolor="{{Party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" |
|Janet Hunter |
| bgcolor="{{Party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" |
|Pat Oliver |
| class="wikitable"
| bgcolor="{{Party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |Gary Bell |
| bgcolor="{{Party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" |
|Linda Darke |
| bgcolor="{{Party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" |
|Erin Parker Leonard |
| class="wikitable"
| bgcolor="{{Party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" | |Karen Clarke |
| bgcolor="{{Party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" |
|Eddie Darke |
| bgcolor="{{Party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" |
|Joan Walker |
The Labour Party has held all three wards since 2008 when Benton Ward's seat was won by Leslie Birkinfield and Killingworth's was won by Norma Peggs, both Conservatives.{{Cite web|last=Teale|first=Andrew|title=Local Election Results 2008 - North Tyneside|url=https://www.andrewteale.me.uk/leap/results/2008/54/|access-date=14 February 2022|website=Local Elections Archive Project}}
Education
Primary Schools
- Forest Hall Primary School{{Cite web|title=Forest Hall Primary School|url=https://www.foresthallprimary.co.uk/|access-date=4 March 2021}}
- St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School{{Cite web|title=St Mary's RC Primary School|url=https://www.stmarysrcprimaryschool.co.uk/|access-date=4 March 2021}}
- Ivy Road Primary School{{Cite web|title=Ivy Road Primary School|url=https://www.ivyroadprimary.org.uk/|access-date=4 March 2021}}
- Westmoor Primary School{{Cite web|title=Westmoor Primary School|url=https://www.westmoorprimary.co.uk/|access-date=4 March 2021}}
There are no secondary schools within Forest Hall, but George Stephenson High School{{Cite web|title=George Stephenson High School|url=https://www.gshs.org.uk/|access-date=4 March 2021}} in Killingworth and Longbenton High School{{Cite web|title=Longbenton High School|url=https://longbenton.org.uk/|access-date=4 March 2021}} are both nearby. The nearest higher education providers are Newcastle University and Northumbria University.
Religion
Churches
- St Bartholomew's - Church of England{{Cite web|title=St Bartholomew's Church|url=https://www.stbartholomews.org.uk/|access-date=4 March 2021}}
- St Andrew's - Methodist
- St Mary's - Roman Catholic{{Cite web|title=St Mary's Church|url=http://www.rcdhn.org.uk/churches07/churchcontact.php?chid=159|access-date=4 March 2021|website=Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle}}
- Westmoor Methodist Church{{Cite web|title=Newcastle Methodist Churches|url=http://www.newcastlecentralmethodist.org.uk/churches.php|access-date=4 March 2021|website=Newcastle Central + East Circuit}}
- Bethesda Gospel Hall{{Cite web|title=Bethesda Gospel Hall|url=http://www.bethesdagospelhall.co.uk/|access-date=4 March 2021}}
- Kingdom hall- Jehovah's witnesses
There are no non-Christian places of worship in the area; the nearest synagogue is in Gosforth{{Cite web|title=United Hebrew Congregation Newcastle|url=https://uhcnewcastle.uk/|access-date=4 March 2021}} and the nearest mosque is in Heaton.{{Cite web|title=Heaton Mosque|url=https://heatonmosque.co.uk/|access-date=4 March 2021}}
Transport
File:The_Ritz,_Forest_Hall_-_geograph.org.uk_-_419839.jpg
Several bus routes pass through Forest Hall, linking it to both Newcastle city centre and other surrounding areas such as Cramlington and Whitley Bay. The number 355 bus takes twenty minutes to travel to the Haymarket bus station,{{Cite web|date=|title=55 Bus Timetable|url=https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/find-a-service/55-from-newcastle-upon-tyne-haymarket-bus-station-to-newcastle-upon-tyne-haymarket-bus-station|access-date=4 March 2021|website=Arriva Bus}} while the 63 takes thirty to the Monument.{{Cite web|date=|title=63 Bus Timetable|url=https://www.stagecoachbus.com/plan-a-journey/journey-results?a%5BCategory%5D=locality&a%5BGeocode%5D%5BGrid%5D%5Bvalue%5D=WGS84&a%5BGeocode%5D%5BLongitude%5D=-1.5659728175650682&a%5BGeocode%5D%5BLatitude%5D=55.02155252216535&a%5BFullText%5D=Station+Road+(Forest+Hall)%2C+North+Tyneside&a%5BLocalityData%5D%5BLocalityId%5D=ZYX25732&a%5Bid%5D=Station+Road+(Forest+Hall)%2C+North+Tyneside&b%5BCategory%5D=locality&b%5BGeocode%5D%5BGrid%5D%5Bvalue%5D=WGS84&b%5BGeocode%5D%5BLongitude%5D=-1.611163267316514&b%5BGeocode%5D%5BLatitude%5D=54.97743005846445&b%5BFullText%5D=John+Dobson+Street%2C+Newcastle+Upon+Tyne&b%5BLocalityData%5D%5BLocalityId%5D=ZYX26067&b%5Bid%5D=John+Dobson+Street%2C+Newcastle+Upon+Tyne&c=true&d=2021-03-05T13%3A15%3A00.000Z&e=Station+Road+(Forest+Hall)%2C+North+Tyneside&f=John+Dobson+Street%2C+Newcastle+Upon+Tyne&g%5BADULT%5D=1&g%5Btotal%5D=1|access-date=4 March 2021|website=Stagecoach}} Both serve bus stops at or near the Ritz, a former cinema and a local landmark on Forest Hall Road.
Forest Hall's two main road thoroughfares are Great Lime Road and Station Road. Great Lime Road is an east-west route through the north of the town between Westmoor and Palmersville and on to Holystone. Station Road is a north-south route from Station Road North through the south of the town and on to Benton. There are no major A-roads within Forest Hall itself but the western terminus of Great Lime Road is at Findus Roundabout on the A189, and Holystone roundabout on the A19 is near Palmersville.
The East Coast Main Line passes the village which was once served by a railway station until 1958.{{Cite web|title=Disused Stations: Forest Hall Station (NER)|url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/f/forest_hall_ner/|access-date=2021-03-05|website=Disused Stations}} Benton station on the Tyne & Wear Metro is located less than a mile away. Palmersville, however, does have its own Metro station, which is located at the far eastern edge of the village, and also serves Holystone.
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Notes
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External links
{{Commons category-inline|Forest Hall}}
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