The small
Town of in the county of
Northumberland is situated nine miles north of the provincial city of
Newcastle Upon Tyne in the north east of
England . Its population is about 39,000. Its name suggests a probable founding by the
Danes or
Anglo-Saxon origin, the word ‘Ton’ meaning town.
The first record of the Manor of Cramlington is from a mention in
1135 when the land was granted to Nicholas de Grenville. A register of early chaplains begins with John the Clerk of Cramlington (c.
1163 -
1180 ). The register continues to the present day.
From the
12th Century onwards, its history has been mostly rural incorporating several farms and the parish
Church of St. Nicholas (built at a cost of £3,000 during
1865 -
1868 in the
Gothic Style ) but during the early
19th Century ,
Coal Mining with several mine shafts in the immediate vicinity (the first was sunk in
1824 ) began to change that. It remained small, however, until
1964 when it was proclaimed a
New Town and developers (such as William Leech and J.T.Bell) developed large
Housing Estates . It has effectively become a
Suburb of the much larger
City to its south.
During
World War One , the North East of England was protected by the
No. 36 Home Defence Squadron squadron. The squadron was formed at Cramlington on
February 1st ,
1916 by Capt. R. O. Abercromby, with Cramlington subsequently becoming an important base for military planes and
Airships .
There are several large industrial zones in Cramlington, most to the town's north-west, housing major pharmaceutical companies including
Merck Sharp And Dohme . Other growing chemical companies including
Aesica Pharmaceuticals are also present. Cramlington also has a
National Rail station (
Cramlington Railway Station ) with direct services to
Morpeth ,
Chathill ,
Newcastle Upon Tyne ,
Sunderland ,
Middlesbrough and Europe's largest shopping mall - The
Metrocentre .
Provisional permissions were recently given to an
Open Cast Mining operation to the north-west of the town, however the fine detail of how much
Coal is to be extracted has yet to be agreed.
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The acclaimed
Comedian Ross Noble comes from Cramlington. Footballers
Alan Shearer ,
Steven Taylor and
Peter Ramage also started their careers playing for
Cramlington Juniors F.C. .
The latitude and longitude of the town are 55.07N & 01.59W NZ2676. It is served by
Cramlington Railway Station .
''Twin Towns''
