Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 2001, it had a population of 23,620. There are four electoral wards on Newcastle City Council that include parts of Gosforth: Dene and South Gosforth, Fawdon and West Gosforth, Gosforth, and Parklands. Gosforth is located to the north of the city centre. History The origin of the area's name is thought to have come from 'Gese Ford', meaning 'the ford over the Ouse', referring to a crossing over the local River Ouse or Ouseburn. However, as it is first recorded as 'Goseford' in 1166, others think that the name originates from the Old English 'Gosaford', meaning 'a ford where the geese dwell'. Richard Welford notes that the names of North and South Gosforth come from the north and south of the River Ouse. South Gosforth was first mentioned in 1319, when it was noted that the English Army retreated there from a siege on Berwick. According to the 19th-century publication, A Topographical Dictionary of England, the township of Gosforth was held of the crown by the Surtees family from 1100 to 1509, when it passed by marriage to Robert Brandling. Parishes and urban districts In 1777, Gosforth contained seven townships of North Gosforth, South Gosforth, Coxlodge, Kenton, Fawdon, East Brunton and West Brunton. By order of the Local Government Board on 20 September 1872, the parishes of South Gosforth and Coxlodge were constituted into a district, governed by the South Gosforth Local Board. Mining In the 19th century, Gosforth was the location of a number of collieries, including the Gosforth and Coxlodge Collieries. Gosforth Colliery was located in South Gosforth, while Coxlodge Colliery was west of the Great North Road. Coxlodge Colliery comprised three pits; the Bower Pit, the Regent or Engine Pit, where the Regent Centre now stands, and the Jubilee or North Pit further west on Jubilee Road. Bulman Village The modern-day centre of Gosforth, straddling the Great North Road (here called Gosforth High Street), originated in 1826 as a settlement known for several decades as Bulman Village. It originally consisted of a number of properties large enough to qualify occupiers for the franchise (so-called 'forty shilling freeholders' (£2)), built by the Bulman family in an attempt to provide voters for their