Birtley is a town and unparished area in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is situated to the south of Gateshead and is conjoined to Chester-le-Street across the county boundary in County Durham. Until 1974, Birtley and the adjoining areas of Barley Mow, Vigo and Portobello were part of Chester-le-Street Rural District under County Durham until being moved into Tyne and Wear under the Borough of Gateshead. It forms an urban area with nearby Chester-le-Street, Washington, Houghton le Spring, Hetton le Hole and Sunderland as part of Wearside. Birtley was a civil parish with a parish council (which also covered the adjoining neighbourhoods) until 1 April 2006, after a local referendum agreed to abolish it. The former parish had a population of 11,377 in 2001. The ward of Birtley in the Gateshead MBC had a population of 8,367 in the 2011 Census. Elisabethville Elisabethville was a sovereign Belgian area of Birtley housing Belgian refugees, who worked at the Royal Ordnance Factory during World War I. It was a community of 6000 residents who were accommodated in a mixture of hostels and cottages. When the war ended and the inhabitants were largely repatriated, it was occupied by people of British and other nationalities before its demolition and replacement with more permanent housing. Its history is told in the book The Birtley Belgians. Angel of the North Antony Gormley's famous Angel of the North, completed in February 1998, is on high ground at the site of the baths of the old 'Betty Ann Pit' at Eighton Lodge, Gateshead, to the north of Birtley. Religion There are altogether three mainstream churches in Birtley, which also has a large cemetery with a chapel and crematorium: Birtley is also home to three Jehovah's Witness congregations. St Joseph's (Roman Catholic) (Built in 1843 after the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 and designed by John Dobson in early Gothic style, it is currently served by Fr Martin Wheaton and Deacon Peter Lavery.) St John the Evangelist (Church of England) Birtley Methodist Church Kingdom hall of Jehovahs witnesses shared by three congregations. Birtley, Washington and Chester Le Street. Transport links The main road through Birtley is the non-primary A167, which runs from Topcliffe, North Yorkshire through to the north of Newcastle upon Tyne and is the same road which runs across the Tyne Bridge. This was an original route for the Great North