founded on the site of the former Willington Middle School on Denbigh Avenue. Other amenities in High Howdon include a small library, and shops along Tynemouth Road and at the southern end of Churchill Street. Close to the library was a set of dwellings that were once used to house police officers and their families. It also once functioned as a police station. A former maternity hospital, named Willington Quay Maternity Hospital, was closed in the 1970s. Before World War II, the north end of Churchill Street was divided between colliery and agricultural land. During WW2, a secret military installation was said to exist in this area. Later, the Willington Square flats (known locally as the "14 storeys" or "14ers") were built here. These three tower blocks became a Tyneside landmark, and were featured in the film version of the BBC sitcom Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?. They were demolished in the 1990s to make way for low-lying housing. The area is bordered by the areas of Rosehill and Holy Cross to the west, Hadrian Park and New York to the north and North Shields and Percy Main to the east, as well as Willington Quay to the south. There is also a small community suburb called East Howdon, which is located between Percy Main and the Tyne River. Since being bypassed it is quite isolated. As such it has a very close community feel with one local restaurant, two social clubs and a community centre all belonging to three streets. Transport High Howdon is served by Howdon Metro station on the Tyne and Wear Metro. This station replaced the original one from the Newcastle & North Shields Railway of 1839, which was demolished. The footbridge was preserved at Goathland railway station (a similar bridge from Percy Main station can be found in the National Railway Museum in York). Notable people The social reformer Francis Herbert Stead was born in Howdon in 1857, and his brother William Thomas Stead lived in the settlement. References Populated places in Tyne and Wear