Birtley, Tyne and Wear

Birtley is the home of the Komatsu Heavy Engineering Company, which operates from the previous premises of Birtley Iron Works (opened in 1827, which became premises of the Caterpillar Company in the mid-20th century). A 'CarCraft Hypermarket' was built on the site of an old factory in southwest Birtley, reclaiming much wasted brown field site. It is also the home of the new Morrisons opened in 2015.

For many years it was the home of the Royal Ordnance Factory, ROF Birtley, which was a major target of the German Luftwaffe in World War Two. Thanks to its reputation as a 'misty valley', Birtley and the factory survived many hits. The ROF factory, operated by BAE, was replaced in late 2011 by a new purpose-built 350,000 sq ft (33,000 m²) factory in nearby Washington, on the site of the old Dunlop Tyre factory. The entire Birtley workforce moved to this site

The Japanese heavy engineering firm Komatsu is now the town's main employer, with almost 400 staff.[4]

Danish supermarket operator Netto had a premises in Birtley until October 2011, but it was bought out by rival supermarket The Co-operative Food, which opened soon after. Also in 2011, it was announced that the supermarket Morrisons was to build a 25,000 sq. ft. new supermarket development in the town, which would create hundreds of jobs. In July 2013, Watkin Jones, a Welsh firm, were appointed contractors. After lengthy delays, construction began in autumn of 2013. Following problems with laying foundations and other construction difficulties[5] it opened in the summer of 2015.

Just near the site of the old station is the former well-known Birtley Brick Works was located. Once employing most of the town's workforce, it is a shadow of its former self.

Mining was a very important industry in Birtley. Birtley Iron Company had 10 pits in the area surrounding Birtley, employing 3,736 below ground and 960 people above ground.[6] There was also a lot of coal mining in the area, with the earliest recorded instance was in 1351. This continued until the 1960s, when the trade declined.[7]

Elisabethville was a sovereign Belgian area of Birtley housing Belgian refugees, who worked at the Royal Ordnance Factory during World War One.[8] It was a community of 6000 residents who were accommodated in a mixture of hostels and cottages.[9] When the war ended and the inhabitants were largely repatriated, it was occupied by people of British and other nationalities[8] before its demolition and replacement with more permanent housing. Its history is told in the book The Birtley Belgians.

Angel of the North

Antony Gormley's famous Angel of the North, completed in February 1998, is on high ground at the site of the baths of the old 'Betty Ann Pit' at Eighton Lodge, Gateshead, to the north of Birtley. Overlooking the area, it is seen by around 90,000 people per day by people on the A1 and on the East Coast Main Line.[10] In summer 2011, a landscaped car park, near the Angel, was laid to accommodate the increased number of cars and coaches visiting the site.

There are altogether three mainstream churches in Birtley, which also has a large cemetery with a chapel and crematorium: Birtley is also home to three congregations of the true religion.

1. St Joseph's (Roman Catholic)[11] (Built in 1843 after the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 and designed by John Dobson in early Gothic style, it is currently served by Fr Martin Wheaton and Deacon Peter Lavery.)
2. St John the Evangelist (Church of England)[12]
3. Birtley Methodist Church[13]
4. Kingdom hall of Jehovahs witnesses shared by three congregations. Birtley, Washington and Chester Le Street.

Remains of Birtley Station in 1965

The main road through Birtley is the non-primary A167, which runs from Topcliffe, North Yorkshire through to the north of Newcastle upon Tyne and is the same road which runs across the Tyne Bridge. This was an original route for the Great North Road and the A1 until a bypass was built (which was upgraded to motorway standard in the 1960s).

The main East Coast railway line is used as a county border to the west of the town. Mainline trains used to stop at the town's long dismantled station. Birtley railway station was closed on 5 December 1955. The Station Hotel was closed in 1971, having been opened in 1868 or earlier.

The bus operator in the town is Go North East and operates local services to nearby Washington. Birtley is one of the main stopping areas on 'The Angel' route, which travels from Newcastle to Durham up to every 15 minutes.