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{{infobox UK place|
|country = England
|official_name= Cramlington
|latitude= 55.0821
|longitude= -1.5848
|population= 39,000 ([[2004]] est.)
|shire_district= [[Blyth Valley]]
| shire_county = [[Northumberland]]
|region= North East England
|constituency_westminster= [[Blyth Valley]]
|post_town= CRAMLINGTON
|postcode_district = NE23
|postcode_area= NE
|dial_code= 01670
|os_grid_reference= NZ2676
}}
The small [[town]] of '''Cramlington''' 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-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] origin, the word ‘Ton’ meaning town.
==History==
[[Image:St_nicholas_cramlington.jpg|thumb|St Nicholas's Church|left]]
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 [[1100s|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 [[1800s|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#United Kingdom|New Town]] and developers (such as William Leech and J.T.Bell) developed large [[housing estate]]s. It has effectively become a [[suburb]] of the much larger [[city]] to its south.
During [[World War I]], the North East of England was protected by the [[No. 36 Squadron RAF|No. 36 Home Defence Squadron]]. The squadron was formed at Cramlington on [[February 1]], [[1916]] by Capt. R. O. Abercromby, with Cramlington subsequently becoming an important base for military planes and [[airships]]. A reference to Cramlington airfield is made in [[W. E. Johns]] [[1935]] book ''The Black Peril'' from the extremely popular [[Biggles]] series.
==Geography and infrastructure==
The latitude and longitude of Cramlington are 55.07N & 01.59W [[British national grid reference system|NZ2676]]. The [[River Blyth, Northumberland|River Blyth]] is close by, as is Plessey Woods Country Park.
The town is served by [[Cramlington railway station]], with services to the [[MetroCentre]], [[Morpeth, Northumberland|Morpeth]] and [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] provided by [[Northern Rail]]. Cramlington has an extensive bus service of which is provided by [[Arriva North East|Arriva Northumbria]]. With the X1,X2,X3,X4,X5 and X6 buses linking the town to Newcastle Upon Tyne respectively.
As of early 2007, there have been rumours of a possible metro link being established in the future through sharing the somewhat redundant line between neighbouring towns [[Blyth]], [[Bedlington]], [[Ashington]] and [[Morpeth]].
Cramlington also has good road transport links, being situated between the [[A1 road|A1]], [[A19 road|A19]] and [[A189 road|A189]] roads. The town is also notable for its many roundabouts, especially the notorious Moor Farm roundabout which links the A19 and A189 as well as other roads to Cramlington.
In 2006, it was announced that Moor Farm roundabout is to be 'traffic controlled' with traffic lights installed, working on a similar operation to those at the A19 Silverlink roundabout, due to continuous congestion and also frequent accidents on a severe scale.
It has also been announced that Blyth Valley Council are proposing the construction of a new bus concourse, of which will be located near to Manor Walks Shopping Centre to improve public transport links for commuters.
==Economy==
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.<ref>[http://www.aesica-pharma.co.uk/find.html]</ref>
The popular Manor Walks shopping centre was constructed in the centre of the town in the [[1970s]], and was subsequently expanded in the mid-[[1990s]] and in [[2003]]/[[2004|4]]. The centre now includes retailers such as [[Argos]], [[ASDA]], [[Boots Group|Boots]], [[Next (retailer)|Next]] and [[Sainsbury's]].
Provisional permissions were recently given to an [[Open-pit mining|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.<ref>[http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/BB_News.asp?BB_Bulletin_ID=2891]</ref> As of [[July 2006]], it now appears mining will not go ahead.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/5146544.stm] </ref>
==Education==
Schools in [[Northumberland]] currently operate under a three tier system, however, the council recently made the decision to convert to the national two tier system. This change will affect all schools in the town. For example, [[Cramlington Community High School]], which is currently one of the largest high schools in the country, will absorb a neighbouring middle school to increase its student capacity.
Prior to the closure of the area's many middle schools, some elementary schools will be relocating to the former middle school sites, which will allow disused sites and land to be sold to housing developers and other parties. It has been proposed that the changes will begin as of September 2007, however there has been concern from local residents over traffic and parking arrangements at the new sites.<ref>http://www.blyth-wansbecktoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1115&ArticleID=1974999</ref>
==Leisure==
Cramlington's main leisure centre, Concordia, is situated in the town centre adjacent to the shopping mall and was opened by the Queen in the 1977. It boasts a leisure pool, originally designed in the 1970s as an indoor tropical paradise, indoor football pitches, tennis, badminton and squash courts, as well as a climbing wall. It also features a well-equipped gymnasium, sauna and bowling green.
As part of the new town design, the town has a large cycle path network. A cycle route also connects the town to the nearest beach, in Blyth.
As of late March 2007, Blyth Valley council have announced that the cycle network is to be extended to allow access to neighbouring town [[Bedlington]].
There are few pubs located around Cramlington, however the original Cramlington Village, ajacent the modern town centre is now more well-known for its nightlife. As the village incorporates popular pubs The Plough, The Blagdon Arms, The Travellers Rest, Capella's wine bar, The commrades club and the social club.
==Religion==
Cramlington has a number of churches of various denominations.
'''Methodist'''
* Doxford Place Methodist Church
* Welcome Methodist Church (formerly Station Terrace Methodist Church)
'''Church of England'''
* St. Nicholas Parish Church
* St. Andrew's
* St. Peter's
'''Catholic'''
* St. Paul's
==Famous residents==
The acclaimed [[comedian]] [[Ross Noble]] comes from Cramlington. Footballers [[Alan Shearer]], [[Steven Taylor (footballer)|Steven Taylor]] and [[Peter Ramage]] also started their careers playing for [[Cramlington Juniors F.C.]]. [[Sting]] briefly was a first school teacher at St Paul's First School. [[Trade unionist]] [[Charles Fenwick]] was born in the town.Worldwide renowned photographer and gangster rapper SWalton was also born and raised in Cramlington.
[[Middlesbrough F.C]] winger [[Graeme Owens]] was also born in Cramlington. Professional Skateboarder, Jamie Adair also originates from the town.
Pseudo-[[Chav]], Buzzcocks is from Cramlington. Buzzcocks is the character created by Adam Riffle and Norman Sheeran for an internet [[mockumentary]] on chav life. He is alledgedly the Godfether of Cramlington and the fastest [[rave]] dancer in the North East. A Youtube link to the character is available below
==Twin towns==
* [[Solingen]], [[Germany]]
* [[Ratingen]], Germany
* [[Gelendzhik]], [[Russia]]
==References==
<references/>
==External links==
*[http://www.rafweb.org/Sqn036-40.htm History of the No. 36 Home Defence squadron]
*[http://communities.northumberland.gov.uk/Cramlington_C15.htm Northumberland Communities] Photos and maps of Cramlington from 1610-1910.
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO6ucOnBwHA] Buzzcock's the Chav.
{{Northumberland Settlements}}
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