{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}} {{Use British English|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox UK place | official_name = Westoe | metropolitan_borough = South Tyneside | metropolitan_county = Tyne and Wear | region = North East England | country = England | coordinates = {{coord|54.9881|-1.42116947|display=inline,title}}.<ref name="OS">{{cite web|title=Westoe, South Tyneside|url=https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/local/westoe-south-tyneside|website=Ordnance Survey|access-date=17 November 2018|date=2018}}</ref> | population = | population_ref = | constituency_westminster = South Shields | post_town = SOUTH SHIELDS | postcode_area = NE | postcode_district = NE33 | dial_code = 0191 | os_grid_reference = NZ 3713 6609 | static_image = The Westoe, South Shields.jpg | static_image_caption = The Westoe pub, which backs on to Westoe Village }} '''Westoe''' was originally a village near South Shields, in the South Tyneside district, in Tyne and Wear, England, but has since become part of the town and is now used to refer to the area of the town where the village once was. It is also an electoral ward for local political purposes.
== History == ===Westoe Village=== thumb|right|Postcard of Westoe, 1904
The earliest recorded mention of Westoe is in 1072, which refers to a group of seven farms.<ref name="WillFoxHotel">{{cite web |title=Our Local History |url=http://www.sirwilliamfoxhotel.com/new/?page_id=354 |website=Sir William Fox Hotel |access-date=18 November 2018}}</ref>
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the village of Westoe was around one mile south of South Shields<ref>{{cite map |author=Ordnance Survey|title=Durham IV|year=1862|url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/102341461#zoom=6&lat=5751&lon=2873&layers=BT|scale=1:10560|publisher=Ornance Map Office|edition=1|location=Southampton|language=en|access-date=18 November 2018}}</ref> (which was then part of County Durham until the formation of Tyne and Wear under the Local Government Act 1972), and was gradually absorbed into the urban sprawl extending from the center of the town.
In contemporary usage, the term "Westoe Village" refers to a specific suburban road of the same name in the Westoe area of the town. It consists of Georgian and Victorian houses, many having been built by business leaders of the town,<ref name="WillFoxHotel" /> including those who owned mines and shipyards. It is considered one of the most exclusive areas of South Shields.
Several houses that were historically in the village are not considered to be part of the modern-day Westoe Village. The semi-detached early-nineteenth-century houses of Westoe Terrace have been absorbed into the late Victorian terrace of Dean Road.
===Westoe Colliery=== Westoe Colliery was one of many coal mines in the area. Opened in 1909, it operated until May 1993,<ref name="DMM">{{cite web |title=Westoe Colliery |url=http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/w008.htm |website=Durham Mining Museum |publisher=Durham Mining Museum |access-date=17 November 2018}}</ref> when it was the last pit of its kind on Tyneside to close.<ref name="Chronicle">{{cite web |last1=Sneddon |first1=Sean |title=Rare underground photos show the harsh reality of life at Westoe Colliery |url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/history/rare-underground-photos-show-harsh-11156315 |website=Chronicle Live |publisher=Trinity Mirror North East |access-date=17 November 2018 |date=9 April 2016}}</ref> The site of the colliery has since been cleared and redeveloped into Westoe Crown Village, which falls into the Horsley Hill ward of South Tyneside Council.
===Westoe Cemetery=== Westoe Cemetery was opened in 1857 and is now closed to new graves (although existing family graves can still be used).<ref name="CouncilCemetery">{{cite web |title=Westoe Cemetery |url=https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/article/34737/Westoe-Cemetery |website=South Tyneside Council |publisher=South Tyneside Council |access-date=17 November 2018}}</ref> Notable local-born physician Dr Thomas Winterbottom, as well as barrister and politician Robert Ingham are buried in the cemetery.<ref name="CouncilCemetery" />
===The Westoe Netty=== Westoe became locally famous as the inspiration for a popular painting, ''Westoe Netty'', which illustrates a local public toilet<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/apr/04/artnews.art|title=Urinal finds museum home|first=Martin|last=Wainwright|date=4 April 2007|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=10 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/1298826.famous_toilet_to_go_on_display/|title=Famous toilet to go on display|newspaper=The Northern Echo|access-date=10 October 2018}}</ref> (''Netty'' is a Geordie dialect word for toilet). The original toilet was built in 1890 near a railway bridge on Chichester Road, near its junction with Westoe Road. To allow for regeneration, it was dismantled and put into storage in 1996. In 2008, the toilet was rebuilt as a permanent exhibit at the Beamish Museum.
=== Westoe Brewery === Westoe had its brewery, the Westoe Brewery, which stood on Dunelm Street to the off Westoe Road. It was founded by Robert Henderson and construction began in 1885, with the first brewing on 7 April 1886.<ref name="brewery1892">{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=Supper and Presentation |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000287/18921019/016/0003?browse=true |url-access=subscription |via=British Newspaper Archive |access-date=26 August 2025 |issue=11,366 |work=Shields Daily Gazette |date=19 October 1892}}</ref> The brewery continued under the ownership of Robert Henderson until 1907 when Joseph Johnson acquired it, and in 1924 merged it with the City Brewery from Durham. In 1938, the company became Westoe Breweries Limited, and in 1946 became public.<ref name="LabSoc">{{cite web |title=Joseph Johnson (Durham) to Westoe Breweries Ltd |url=https://labology.org.uk/?page_id=5746 |website=The Labologist's Society |access-date=17 November 2018}}</ref>
The breweries were taken over by Hammond United Breweries in 1960,<ref name="LabSoc" /> and was closed and demolished by 1986.<ref name="GazetteBrewery">{{cite web |title=Raising Glass to Brewery Tradition |last=Myles-Kelly|first=Paul|url=https://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/raising-glass-to-brewery-tradition-1-1272867 |website=Shields Gazette |access-date=17 November 2018 |date=28 August 2006}}</ref><ref name="brewery1986">{{cite news |last=Blower |first=Janis |title=Farewell to the old brewery |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000731/19861103/046/0004?browse=true |url-access=subscription |via=British Newspaper Archive |access-date=26 August 2025 |work=Shields Daily Gazette |date=3 November 1986}}</ref>
In 2004, the Jarrow Brewing Company of nearby Jarrow purchased the former Chameleon pub on Claypath Lane, just off Westoe Road, reopening it as The Maltings in May 2005.<ref name="JarrowBrewCoPubs">{{cite web |title=Pubs |url=http://www.jarrowbrewery.co.uk/pubs.htm |website=Jarrow Brewery |publisher=Jarrow Brewing Company |access-date=18 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217022757/http://www.jarrowbrewery.co.uk/pubs.htm |archive-date=17 December 2010 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> They expanded their microbrewery output by installing a facility below this pub,<ref name="JarrowBrewCoPubs" /> producing 100 barrels a week.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jarrowbrewery.co.uk/ |title=Welcome to the Jarrow Brewery |website=www.jarrowbrewery.co.uk |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821115803/http://www.jarrowbrewery.co.uk/ |archive-date=21 August 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The company included in its beers Westoe IPA.<ref name="JarrowBrewingCoProducts">{{cite web |title=Products and Tasting Notes |url=http://www.jarrowbrewery.co.uk/products_and_tasting_notes.htm |website=Jarrow Brewing Company |access-date=18 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217193959/http://www.jarrowbrewery.co.uk/products_and_tasting_notes.htm |archive-date=17 December 2010 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> On 27 September 2018, the company was dissolved.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jarrow Brewing Company - Overview |url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08311864 |website=Companies House |access-date=17 November 2018}}</ref>
=== Westoe Fair ===
The annual village fair has musical entertainment, refreshments, and games. A host of charity and voluntary organizations have stalls with tombolas, raffles, and displays including the Rotary Club of South Tyneside and South Shields Local History Group.
== Politics == Westoe was formerly a township in the parish of Jarrow,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/place/21174|title=History of Westoe, in South Tyneside and County Durham|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=6 September 2024}}</ref> in 1866 Westoe became a separate civil parish, on 30 March 1897 the parish was abolished and merged with South Shields.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10197636|title=Relationships and changes Westoe CP/Tn through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=6 September 2024}}</ref> In 1891 the parish had a population of 72,445.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10197636/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Westoe CP/Tn through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=6 September 2024}}</ref>
===Metropolitan Borough Council=== Westoe is an electoral ward of South Tyneside Council,<ref name="WardMap">{{cite web |title=Westoe Ward Map |url=https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/media/38172/Westoe-Ward-Map/pdf/8_Westoe_A3_-_ST.pdf |website=South Tyneside Council |publisher=South Tyneside Council |access-date=17 November 2018 }}</ref> and stretches from Chichester Road and Leighton Street in the north, to Harton House Road in the south. In the 2007 local elections the ward returned three independent candidates; however, as of 2018, the ward had returned to three labor councilors.<ref>{{cite web |title=List of councillors by ward |url=https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/article/60211/List-of-councillors-by-ward?formid=147775&pageSessionId=193af7d7-a5f6-419c-ba71-370ccf96464d&fsn=31b31f02-a2e1-4755-8d37-907ea155aeae |website=South Tyneside Council |access-date=17 November 2018}}</ref> The ward population taken at the 2011 census was 8,080.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13689654&c=Westoe&d=14&e=62&g=6359937&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1436191033597&enc=1|title=Local statistics - Office for National Statistics|website=Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk|access-date=10 October 2018}}</ref>
===UK Parliament=== Westoe is located in the South Shields constituency. Its 2017 electorate was estimated to consist of 6227 voters.<ref name="ElecCalcSouthShields">{{cite web |title=Seat Details |url=https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/cgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=South%20Shields |website=Electoral Calculus |publisher=Electoral Calculus Ltd |access-date=17 November 2018}}</ref>
==Transport== ===Road=== thumb|right|Entrance to Westoe Village, from St George's Avenue Westoe Road (formerly Westoe Lane<ref>{{cite web |title=Westoe Lane |url=https://www.southtynesidehistory.co.uk/archive/architecture/places-of-worship/618933-westoe-lane |website=South Tyneside History |publisher=South Tyneside Council |access-date=18 November 2018}}</ref>) forms part of the A1018 road from South Shields to Seaham, and was so named because it originally ran between South Shields and Westoe Village. What is now considered Westoe Village has limited vehicular access via St George's Avenue only, which contributes heavily to its tranquil reputation.
===Tyne and Wear Metro=== The Westoe area is served by the Chichester Metro station, the penultimate stop on the South Shields branch of the Tyne and Wear Metro rapid transit system.
== Education == The South Shields campus of South Tyneside College is located on St George's Avenue (just before access to Westoe Village) and serves further education to people ages 14 years and older.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=http://www.stc.ac.uk/ |website=South Tyneside College |access-date=17 November 2018}}</ref>
== Sport == === Westoe Rugby Football Club === {{Main|Westoe RFC}} Westoe Rugby Football Club, which was established in 1875, is one of the oldest organizations still in the Westoe area today. The club has continuously occupied its original ground, directly opposite Westoe Village, since its establishment, and is today one of the local community hubs of the area. === Harton & Westoe CW === {{Main|Harton & Westoe C.W}}
Harton and Westoe C.W was a association football club in Westoe, South Shields. The club was playing in the Wearside League before going into extinction in 2019.<ref>{{cite web | last = Cooper | first = Mal | title = Harton & Westoe C.W. FC: Club Statement | url = https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/hartonwestoefc/news/harton--westoe-cw-fc-club-statement-2416396.html | website = Pitchero | date = 12 April 2019 | access-date = 30 December 2025 }}</ref>
== Readhead Park == Robert Readhead was a local businessman and was the eldest son of John Readhead, who founded John Readhead and Sons Limited, a noted local shipwright and marine engineering firm. Joining his father's business as an apprentice, Readhead stuck with the firm and eventually became one of the directors, retiring from active involvement in 1909 to take a larger community role - something he continued for the next 40 years (including four years spent as mayor).<ref name="STC-ReadheadPark">{{cite web |title=Readhead Park |url=https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/article/34423/Readhead-Park |website=South Tyneside Council |access-date=18 November 2018}}</ref>
In 1921, Readhead donated the land on which Readhead park lies to the town in thanksgiving for peace. The park was opened on 18 May 1923, and features a 3 ft high scroll-style commemorative plaque which reads:<ref name="TWHER">{{cite web |last1=Morrison |first1=Jennifer |title=Westoe, Sunderland Road, Robert Readhead Park |url=http://www.twsitelines.info/SMR/5255 |website=SiteLines |access-date=18 November 2018}}</ref>{{blockquote|text=County Borough of South Shields Robert Readhead Park. This park was presented by Alderman Robert Readhead J.P. to the town council of South Shields for public pleasure grounds by deed of gift dated 20th April 1923. Opened to the public on the 3rd May 1923 by Robert Readhead ESQ M.A. (Oxon) (Son of the Donor), Edward Smith, Mayor, John Lawson, Chairman of Parks and Cemeteries committee.}} The park has a bowling club (which includes a bowling pavilion), tennis courts, and a small children's play area.<ref name="STC-ReadheadPark" />
==Notable residents== * Elinor Brent-Dyer,<ref name="WillFoxHotel" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www3.shropshire-cc.gov.uk/brentdye.htm|title=Elinor Brent-Dyer|website=Shropshire County Council|access-date=2017-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051124012502/http://www3.shropshire-cc.gov.uk/brentdye.htm|archive-date=2005-11-24}}</ref> author of the Chalet School books; born in South Shields; attended school in Westoe * Catherine Cookson, author, lived at Tyne Dock, South Shields, and would have visited Westoe, although she was not a resident; it was the backdrop for a number of her romance novels<ref name="WillFoxHotel" /><ref> {{cite web|title=Catherine Cookson|quote=4. Sir William Fox Hotel, Westoe Village, South Shields. This conservation village was the setting for many of her books including Katie Mulholland and Kate Hannigan.|website=Afundit.co.uk|url=http://www.afundit.co.uk/Cookson1.htm|access-date=2007-12-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703172101/http://www.afundit.co.uk/Cookson1.htm|archive-date=3 July 2008}}</ref> * William Fox,<ref name="WillFoxHotel" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.primeminister.govt.nz/oldpms/1856-61-69-73fox.html|title=Former Prime Ministers of New Zealand|website=New Zealand Prime Minister's Office|access-date=2007-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714115716/http://www.primeminister.govt.nz/oldpms/1856-61-69-73fox.html|archive-date=2007-07-14}}</ref> four time Prime Minister of New Zealand * Robert Ingham, twice MP for South Shields, lived at Westoe House<ref name="Fleet">Dorothy Fleet (2019) ''Westoe: A History of the Village and its Residents''</ref> * Joe McElderry, winner of ''The X Factor'' in 2009, pop/classical crossover singer and model; born and grew up in Westoe and still lives nearby * Livingston Middlemost, born in Westoe;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/31/31438/31438.html |title=Player profile: Livingston Middlemost |publisher=CricketArchive |access-date=2019-03-31 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> first-class cricketer * Dame Flora Robson,<ref name="WillFoxHotel" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.welhat.gov.uk/leisureculture/museumsgalleries/abiographicalhistoryofdameflorarobson |title=A Biographical History of Dame Flora Robson|website=Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council|access-date=2007-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070806151843/http://www.welhat.gov.uk/leisureculture/museumsgalleries/abiographicalhistoryofdameflorarobson |archive-date=2007-08-06}}</ref> actress; nominated for an Oscar for her role in ''Saratoga Trunk'' * Andrew Stoddart, born in Westoe;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/20381.html|title=Andrew Stoddart|website=ESPN CricInfo|publisher=ESPN Sports Media|access-date=10 October 2018}}</ref> played international cricket for England and rugby union for England and the British Isles; Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1893
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Places in Tyne and Wear}}
Category:Suburbs of South Shields Category:Former civil parishes in Tyne and Wear