List of Towns, Villages and Cities in Tyne and Wear County

Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in North East England, built around the estuaries of the two rivers it is named after. It covers 210 square miles (540 km2) and its five boroughs held 1,126,149 people at the 2021 census. Newcastle upon Tyne is the largest settlement.

The county has no county council. It was abolished in 1986, and the five metropolitan boroughs now run services directly, working together through the North East Mayoral Combined Authority.

Towns and Villages in Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear is almost entirely urban, so most of its named places are towns, former pit villages and city districts rather than free-standing villages. The list below groups all 121 recorded settlements by borough.

Newcastle upon Tyne

• Benwell
• Black Callerton
• Blakelaw
• Brenkley
• Brunswick Village
• Callerton Lane End
• Dinnington
• Fenham
• Gosforth
• Hazlerigg
• High Heaton
• Jesmond
• Kenton
• Lemington
• Newburn
• Newcastle upon Tyne
• North Brunton
• Old Walker
• Ouseburn
• Throckley
• Walker
• Walker Gate
• Wallbottle

Gateshead

• Barley Mow
• Barlow
• Birtley
• Blackhall Mill
• Blaydon-on-Tyne
• Byermoor
• Chopwell
• Clara Vale
• Coalburns
• Crawcrook
• Derwent Haugh
• Dunston
• Felling
• Gateshead
• Greenside
• High Spen
• Highfield
• Hooker Gate
• Kibblesworth
• Lamesley
• Low Eighton
• Low Fell & Chowdene
• Marley Hill
• Old Ravensworth
• Portobello
• Rowlands Gill
• Ryton
• Sheriff Hill
• Street Gate
• Sunniside
• Swalwell
• Victoria Garesfield
• Whickham
• Winlaton
• Wrekenton

North Tyneside

• Backworth
• Cullercoats
• Dudley
• Earsdon
• East Holywell
• East Howdon
• Forest Hall
• Killingworth
• Longbenton
• Monkseaton
• Murton
• New York
• North Shields
• Seaton Burn
• Shiremoor
• Tynemouth
• Wallsend
• West Holywell
• Whitley Bay
• Wideopen
• Willington Quay

South Tyneside

• Boldon Colliery
• Cleadon
• East Boldon
• Harton
• Hebburn
• Jarrow
• Low Walker
• Marsden
• South Shields
• The Boldons
• West Boldon
• Whitburn

Sunderland

• Burdon
• Chilton Moor
• Cox Green
• Easington Lane
• East Rainton
• Elemore Vale
• Fencehouses
• Hetton le Hill
• Hetton-Le-Hole
• High Dubmire
• Houghton-Le-Spring
• Humbledon View
• Low Moorsley
• New Herrington
• New Silksworth
• Newbottle
• Old Penshaw
• Philadelphia
• Rickleton
• Ryhope
• Sedgeletch
• Shiney Row
• Silksworth
• South Bents
• South Hylton
• Springwell
• Sunderland
• Usworth
• Washington
• West Herrington

By built-up area, Newcastle (300,125) is followed by Sunderland (170,134), Gateshead (120,046), South Shields (75,337) and Washington (67,085).

Geography

The Tyne cuts an east-west trench through the middle of the county, spanned at Newcastle by seven bridges within a mile. The Wear reaches the sea nine miles to the south at Sunderland. Between and beyond them the land rises to modest plateaux of former coalfield.

Northumberland lies to the north and west, County Durham to the south. The North Sea coast runs about 20 miles from Whitley Bay through Tynemouth and South Shields to Seaburn, with sandy bays between limestone headlands.

Demographics

The 2021 census recorded 298,545 people in Newcastle, 274,378 in Sunderland, 209,128 in North Tyneside, 196,179 in Gateshead and 147,919 in South Tyneside. Newcastle and North Tyneside grew over the decade; the other three fell slightly.

At 2,085 people per square kilometre the county is the third most densely populated in England, after Greater London and the West Midlands. Its student population is large: three universities sit inside the county boundary.

Economy and Local Life

Nissan’s plant at Washington is the largest car factory in the United Kingdom and the anchor of a wide supplier network. Subsea and offshore engineering firms line both banks of the Tyne, and the Port of Tyne handles bulk cargo, cars and cruise calls.

Newcastle city centre is the region’s retail, legal and financial hub, with the Metrocentre at Gateshead as the out-of-town counterweight. Newcastle, Northumbria and Sunderland universities together teach more than 70,000 students.

History

Hadrian’s Wall ended at Segedunum fort in Wallsend, and a second fort at South Shields supplied the frontier. Bede wrote his history at the twin monastery of Wearmouth and Jarrow in the early eighth century.

Coal shipped from the Tyne heated London for 400 years, and by 1900 the river’s yards launched a quarter of the world’s ships. The Jarrow March of 1936 set out from a town where the closure of Palmers shipyard had left most men without work. The county itself dates only from 1974.

Getting There

The A1 skirts Newcastle and Gateshead as the Western Bypass, and the A19 runs down the eastern side through the Tyne Tunnel to Sunderland. The A69 crosses to Carlisle, and the A184 links Gateshead to South Shields.

Newcastle Central station sits on the East Coast Main Line, about three hours from London. The Tyne and Wear Metro, opened in 1980, links Newcastle, Gateshead, the coast and Sunderland on 60 stations. Newcastle International Airport is seven miles north-west of the city, and a ferry runs from North Shields to IJmuiden in the Netherlands.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the population of Tyne and Wear?

1,126,149 across its five boroughs at the 2021 census.

What is the largest town in Tyne and Wear?

Newcastle upon Tyne, with 300,125 people in its built-up area. Sunderland (170,134) is second.

Which councils cover Tyne and Wear?

Five metropolitan boroughs: Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland. There has been no county council since 1986.

Is Tyne and Wear part of Northumberland or Durham?

Neither today. It was formed in 1974 from parts of both historic counties, and has been a separate metropolitan county since.

What postcode areas cover Tyne and Wear?

NE north of the Wear, SR around Sunderland, and DH in a few places on the Durham border.

Where is Tyne and Wear?

On the North Sea coast of North East England, between Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south.