Dunston, Tyne and Wear

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Dunston Power Station, 1971

Dunston was originally an independent village and is now an area of Gateshead in the English county of Tyne and Wear.

Dunston is located on the River Tyne. Formerly the site of an advanced power station, it is now home to the MetroCentre, the largest shopping and leisure centre in Europe[MetroCentre]. Dunston is also known for its preserved wooden staithes (structures for loading coal onto ships), a relic from its days as a colliery. In the 1920s they loaded 140,000 tons of coal per week, and they are reputed to be the largest wooden structures in Europe. [Sitelines archaeology project: Dunston staithes]

Footballer Paul Gascoigne[English-Football.org.uk: Paul Gascoigne] and singer Brian Johnson grew up in Dunston, as well as a Maltese International Rugby Player, Ryan Robson.

The area is serviced by the Dunston railway station, along the Tyne Valley Line.

Dunston is split into two distinct areas, separated by the A1 dual carriageway, Dunston and Dunston Hill.

Dunston is home of the "Derwent Tower", commonly known as the "Dunston Rocket", a tower block which was once the highest in Gateshead, and was designed by the Owen Luder Partnership and completed in 1973.[SINE Project: Derwent Tower]

After the Power Station was demolished, the area around the river remained derelict for many years. In 1990, the Gateshead Garden Festival brought the start of regeneration to the area, and by the start of the 21st Century, the whole area became a haven for stylish riverside apartments and houses. One of these developments was designed by Wayne Hemingway.

On 6 June 1993 the IRA attacked a gas holder in the nearby area of Low Team. The damage was limited and no one was injured.[Damages bid over bombing arrests]

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