I was born in Gateshead, UK. It lies on the southern bank of the river Tyne - directly opposite Newcastle.





Gateshead is the home of the MetroCentre, the largest shopping centre in the European Union.

There has been a settlement on the Gateshead side of the River Tyne, around the old river crossing where the Swing Bridge now stands, since Roman times.

Theories of the derivation of the name 'Gateshead' include 'head of the (Roman) road' or 'goat’s headland', as the River Tyne at this point was once roamed by goats.

In 1068 William the Conqueror defeated the forces of Edgar the Atheling and Malcolm king of Scotland (Shakespeare's Malcolm) on Gateshead Fell (now Low Fell).

The earliest recorded coal mining in the Gateshead area is dated to 1344. As trade on the Tyne prospered there were several attempts by the burghers of Newcastle to annex Gateshead. In 1576 a small group of Newcastle merchants acquired the 'Grand Lease' of the manors of Gateshead and Whickham. In the hundred years from 1574 coal shipments from Newcastle increased elevenfold while the population of Gateshead doubled to approximately 5,500. However, the lease and the abundant coal supplies ended in 1680. The pits were shallow as problems of ventilation and flooding defeated attempts to mine coal from the deeper seams.