Billingham

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Billingham (England)
Billingham
Billingham
Location in England

Billingham is an English town on the north bank of the River Tees in the borough ( Borough ) Stockton-on-Tees and belongs to County Durham . The population is currently about 36,000 people.

history

Billingham has been an Anglo-Saxon settlement since about the 7th century AD . The name "Billingham" comes from Anglo-Saxon and probably means "The home of Billa's people". In the late Anglo-Saxon period, Billingham belonged to the successors of the English monk and Bishop Cuthbert of Lindisfarne . St. Cuthbert's Church is named after him and has a tower that was built around 1000 AD. A late 7th century tombstone is now in the British Museum .

In the 10th century Billingham was conquered by the Irish-Norwegian King Ragnald. Ragnald gave Billingham along with other lands in the vicinity of the tea valley to one of his men, the Irish-Viking knight "Scula" (or "Scule"), who expanded the rule in favor of the Vikings.

The earliest “chemical industry” in Billingham was probably salt production, which may have gone back to the Romans.

Industrialization at the time of the world wars

In 1801, Billingham's population was only 355, but the need for explosives during World War I caused the city to grow rapidly. In 1917 the government decided to build an ammonia factory there. Later the plant was primarily used for the production of chemicals and fertilizers. Finally, in 1926, the factory became part of the newly formed ICI ( Imperial Chemical Industries ). In addition, anhydrite has been mined in the vicinity of the city since 1928 . In 1934 the production of plastics began there .

Aldous Huxley toured ICI's newly opened and technically advanced "Brunner and Mond" factory and gave an excellent and detailed account of the processes that took place there. The introduction to the very first edition of his novel “ Brave New World ” proves that Huxley's visit to Billingham inspired Huxley to write his later classic, in which “Mustapha Mond” plays a role, alluding to the industrialist “Alfred Mond”.

Henry Thorold states in the Shell Guide to County Durham: “This is a truly extraordinary experience, a unique sight in England. The factories are on both sides of the street. Steaming, hissing - high steel towers, large cylinders, pipes everywhere ... At night, the entire industrial world on the banks of the Tees comes to life ... Thousands of lights shine, the silhouettes of the large girders of the transport bridge stand out in the dark: a magical one City."

In 1930 the city's population had grown to 19,000. After World War II , growth continued, with many new housing developments as the city expanded northward, until it had 38,000 residents in the 1970s.

Economic use after 1970

From 1971 to 1988 ICI operated a small nuclear reactor within General Atomics' Billingham factory of the " TRIGA Mark I" type . In addition, the coal-fired power station "North Tees Power Station" was operated on the banks of the Tees' for the power supply of the factories, which was planned by Giles Gilbert Scott . In 1987 it was decommissioned and demolished. The “Billing Reach Industrial Estate”, an international quay facility owned by “Able UK Ltd.”, is now on the site of the power plant.

ICI is no longer active in Billingham since it sold many parts of the company during the restructuring of the group in the 1990s. Some of ICI's former manufacturing facilities are still in operation but owned by other chemical companies.

In 1983, NIREX published plans to use the closed anhydrite mining site as an interim storage facility for nuclear waste . There was a great outcry among the public because, despite the fact that the place is geologically suitable, it was still too close to a large settlement center. As a result, the plans were withdrawn in 1985.

The "Billingham Beck Valley Country Park" was built in the area of ​​a recultivated industrial waste dump and has grown steadily; it now also includes former pastureland and new wetlands. It is about 24 hectares. In 1992 it was declared a nature park by "English Nature" and in 2005 it won a "Green Flag Award". The Billingham Beck itself is one of the largest tributaries of the River Tees and has a floodplain in the former industrial area of ​​ICI.

Cultural development

The "Billingham Folklore Festival" has been held annually in Billingham since 1965.

In 1967 the "Billingham Forum" was opened in the city center. It is a sports and leisure facility with a theater, a swimming pool, an ice rink and sports halls for gymnastics, archery, squash and judo as well as a number of sports fields. Stars such as Arthur Lowe , David Jason , Penelope Keith , Timothy West and Dame Anna Neagle appeared in the theater .

There are plans to redevelop Billinghams city center. An earlier initial initiative planned the construction of a new sports and leisure center in John Whitehead Park to replace the old forum, but did not provide for a new location for the theater. This triggered a lot of discussion and the plans were abandoned in November 2004.

Political administration

Between 1923 and 1968 Billingham had its own Urban District Council , which among other things built Dawson House, Kennedy Gardens and Billingham Golf Club (the first city-owned golf club in Great Britain). It was later merged into the "County Borough of Teesside"; In 1974 the parish order was changed again, with the establishment of a council for the entire Stockton borough. The "Office of the Deputy Prime Minister" supported the formation of a new city council; a request to the Stockton Borough Council and a referendum from 2003 resulted in approval of the plans. Since 2007 Billington is a separate municipality ( Civil Parish ) with the status of a town and accordingly a town council.

Billingham is integrated into the railway network with its own train station (Billingham Railway Station).

Personalities

Sons and daughters of the town:

Other personalities:

  • Keith Stewartson (1925-1983), applied mathematician; grew up in Billingham
  • Timothy West CBE (born 1934), film and stage actor; directed the Billingham theater from 1980 to 1981

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Overview of the projects implemented since the Town Council was founded on its website, accessed on April 1, 2018.

Coordinates: 54 ° 37 ′  N , 1 ° 17 ′  W