Setting
Bill Quay is situated in Gateshead, on the banks of the River Tyne. The workshop is set up in an old shop premises in Bill Quay. 2003 saw the closure of the local butcher, the post office, the garage and a bike shop.
Engraving by J W Carmichael, 1830
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Before BQFW
Clare Satow bought the empty butcher's shop and held a few workshops and exhibitions within its white tiled walls before converting it into a workshop. The workshop overlooks a magnificent stretch of the river Tyne, where major shipyards once dominated the landscape and the soundscape.
"Made In Bill Quay" exhibition, 2003
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"Made In Bill Quay" exhibition, 2003
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The Dark Town
The shipyards at Bill Quay are long since abandoned. In 2008, the gigantic sheds along with the great cranes of the former Swan Hunter shipyard were dismantled, to be shipped to India. Those cranes that are still active load huge bobbins of high tech cabling onto ships equipped like Swiss Army pen knives. The area once had both shipbuilding and repair yards; coal was loaded from here onto colliers. Paint factories, bottleworks, rivershore and chemical industries fumed away giving Bill Quay the nickname 'The Dark Town'. In 1961 the removal of a 2 million ton spoil heap of fuming sulphuretted hydrogen began, along with the clearance of terraces and other debris...
View of Walker Naval Yard, by Derek Brown
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Man and crane, anonymous |
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Smokey tugs on the Tyne, anonymous |
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Dead cars and debris littering the landscape
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Regeneration
By 1986 a Bill Quay community farm was established and trees planted. The riverbank greened, and today, animals graze in fields bordered by hedges. This dramatic riverscape has inspired the work of photographers and artists who have lived in and visited Bill Quay since the mid 19th century. Bill Quay farm has run a strong arts based interpretation, education and ornamentation programme for the past 22 years.
Goat sculpture by Sally Matthews at Bill Quay community farm
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Cranes and bobbins, by Robert Soden
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