Whitley Bay, West Park

HER Number:
16864

District:
N Tyneside

Site Name:
Whitley Bay, West Park

Place:
Whitley Bay

Map Sheet:
NZ37SE

Class:
Recreational

Site Type: Broad:
Sports Ground

Site Type: Specific:
Cricket Ground

General Period:
Modern

Specific Period:
C20

Form of Evidence:
Structure

Description:
The 19th century clay pits for the brickworks at Whitley Hill Heads were exhausted in 1889. The owner landscaped the site and created the basis of West Park, 90 feet below road level and sheltered by steep banks. In 1911 West Park became a market garden. In 1924 Whitley and Monkseaton Urban District Council bought the site and began to infill the quarry. In 1934 the Council announced plans for a stadium at West Park, which was still being infilled. Plans for the stadium were put on hold at the outbreak of war. The Council announced in 1949 that it would turn West Park into a 25,000 capacity cycling and athletics stadium. However the stadium was never built and Hillheads developed instead into a cluster of four sporting venues. West Park has been home to Whitley Bay Cricket Club since 1960. The cricket club formed in 1946 at Churchill Playing Fields. The pavilion dates from 1967, the original burnt down in 1966.

Easting:
3504

Northing:
7145

Grid Reference:
NZ35047145

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
Lynn Pearson, 2010, Played in Tyne and Wear - Charting the heritage of people at play, p 62