Kibblesworth

Kibblesworth is a village 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Birtley, Tyne and Wear, England. Kibblesworth was a mainly rural community until the development of the pit and brickworks and the resulting increase in population. Following the closure of the pit in 1974, few of the residents now work in the village. Historically in County Durham, it was transferred into the newly created county of Tyne and Wear in 1974. The village's name means "Cybbel's Enclosure". Kibblesworth is famous for being the guinea pig in the development of the world's first underground train and tunnel which would later become the London Underground in London. After being predominantly a council estate project consisting of prefabricated homes built in the 1950s, Kibblesworth has seen a massive change in recent times with the 'pre-fabs' being demolished and the new homes built by Keepmoat replacing them all, providing a much needed facelift and more providing more homes to buy. There are plans to build around 220 new homes by Taylor Wimpey on the surrounding outskirts of the village, with previous green belt land being downgraded to brown belt by the Government, with planning permission at an advanced stage, although this has had some strong opposition from current Kibblesworth residents due to already strained amenities including the local school and road systems. Kibblesworth has a number of amenities: two play parks; a bowling green; a cricket and football pitch; a working men's club; a local pub, The Plough Inn; a community centre, the Millennium Centre, opened by Princess Anne in 2000, which also features a hair salon and a beauty 'pod'; a convenience store, including the local post office; and an Italian bistro, Giuseppe's opened in 2019. It is served by buses from Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne and Chester-le-Street, featuring three bus stops within the village and a scholars bus for the nearby Lord Lawson of Beamish, based in Birtley. The local primary school is Kibblesworth Academy, located on West View.