Washington is a town in the county of Tyne and Wear in northeast England. Washington is administered as a part of the City of Sunderland and is located some 10 miles (16km) west of the city centre, and is located roughly the same distance south of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In 2001 Washington had a population of 55,454.

Washington was designated a new town in 1964 and expanded dramatically to house overspill population from surrounding cities. <p> The main shopping centre is 'The Galleries', an indoor complex housing local shops and services, and the ASDA and Sainsbury (also known as SavaCentre) supermarkets.<p>

Contents

1 History 2 Industry 3 Visitor attractions 1 External links

History

The name comes from the local Anglo Saxon chief 'Hwaes', whose family ?Inga? had an estate ?Tun? there -- ?Hwaesingatun?.<p> The Old Hall may have been built by William de Hertburn, who moved to the area in 1183. As was the custom he took the name of his new estates, and became William de Wessyngton. By 1539 when the family moved to Sulgrave Manor in Northamptonshire the spelling ?Washington? had been adopted. It was from Sulgrave that the ancestors of George Washington the first President of the United States emigrated to Virginia in 1659. Ironically they emigrated because of their Royalist sympathies. <p> The present Hall is an early 17th century small English manor house of sandstone. Only the foundations and the arches between the Kitchen and the Great Hall remain of the original house.

Industry

Washington's main industries include textiles, electronics, car assembly, chemicals and electrical goods. The Nissan auto plant is the largest private-sector employer in the City.

Visitor attractions

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust nature reserve and the Washington 'F' Pit mining museum are within the town, and Beamish Open-Air Museum is located nearby.

The North of England Aircraft Museum occupies part of the old RAF Usworth base. The Nissan plant takes up much of the rest. An attempt to run a municipal airport from the site failed.

External links

• Washington.co.uk (http://www.washington.co.uk/washington_index.htm)
• Sunderland City Council (http://www.sunderland.gov.uk)

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