of the so-called Gateshead Fell-Bishop Auckland Gang have been scrutinised. However, the gang had ‘a tenuous identity’ and, despite "many arrests, few serious crimes were confirmed in court". It is true, however, that Walter Clark and his wife, Jane Trotter, lived on the Fell and a number of pickpockets arrested around 1780 were associated with that house. The Newcastle Chronicle reported in 1786 that one of the gang, Francis Russell, was ‘whipped around the Sandhill’. A number of other individuals were pursued for other minor acts of criminality, such as stealing geese or killing sheep. These incidents gained something of a local reputation for individuals such as Thomas Colpits, who was arrested on several occasions and found himself reported in the local press. The modus operandi of these ‘gangs’ was that “they often changed their names and frequently rendezvous at the Crown and the Cannon at Gateshead Fell and had ware rooms for their stolen goods...” It seems likely that these acts were the sporadic acts of associated ‘tinkers’ rather than an organised gang of criminals: ‘there was no evidence of definite ringleaders or organisation’. Religion Gateshead Fell was once one of the strongest seats of Methodism in the whole of England. This is due almost entirely to the visit of John Wesley, the joint founder of the Methodist movement, in March 1743. It is said that he was returning from Pelton to Newcastle when "...he observed a little village called Chowden [now Chowdene], which they told me consisted of colliers only. I resolved to preach there as soon as possible, for these are sinners and need repentance." He duly returned on 8 March 1743, was moved by the amazement of the local children (who he described as "neither clothed or naked" to his presence and duly began his preachings. In doing so, Wesley ensured that Methodism was bourne on the Fell. Curiously, the Gateshead Fell movement quickly disassociated itself from the Newcastle circuit and formed itself into a strong, separate existence so that by 1840, well attended Wesleyan services were being held in Carr Hill, Low Fell and in Sheriff Hill Demise Boundary Disputes Gateshead Fell has been described as 'uninhabitable waste' which made the frequent boundary disputes somewhat perplexing. In 1595, for example, when commissioners riding on behalf of the Bishop of Durham rode along the boundary they were harangued by local residents and then confronted by the