Chopwell

Chopwell is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, located approximately three miles west of Rowlands Gill and one mile north of Hamsterley. The Gateshead MBC ward (called Chopwell and Rowlands Gill) had a population at the Census 2011 of 9,395.[2]

Chopwell
Derwent Street (the main street through Chopwell)
Chopwell Location within Tyne and Wear
Population	3,096 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference	NZ119582
Metropolitan borough	Gateshead
Metropolitan county	Tyne and Wear
Region	North East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
Postcode district	NE17
Dialling code	01207
Police	Northumbria
Fire	Tyne and Wear
Ambulance	North East
UK Parliament	Blaydon

It dates back to at least 1150, evidenced by a written document in which Bishop Pudsey granted the Manor of Chopwell to the first Abbot of Newminster. Newminster Abbey retained possession of the Manor until the dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536.[3]

Traditionally an area of coal mining, Chopwell was nicknamed "Little Moscow" because of the strong support for the Communist Party. Chopwell counts "Marx Terrace" (after Karl Marx) and "Lenin Terrace" (after Vladimir Lenin) among its street names, and during the 1926 General Strike the Union Flag at the council offices was taken down and replaced with the Soviet flag. Another notable street, site of the former Chopwell Junior School, "Fannybush Lane", was renamed "Whittonstall Road" by the local authority in the 1990s after its street sign was repeatedly stolen.

In 1974, Chopwell became part of the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear and the metropolitan borough of Gateshead, after previously being part of the administrative county of Durham.

Chopwell is currently home to over 3,000 people.