10 Guinness World Records created in the North East that still stand today
They all still remain in the Guinness World Records list
There are a number of North East landmarks in the Guinness World Records. Most of us already know that the region is home to the largest half marathon and the longest ancient roman wall.
But did you know that Northumberland has the oldest vehicular suspension bridge and Sunderland is home to the newest minister? There is a lot of history in the area which remain in the ultimate record book.
Here are 10 record breaking landmarks we should be proud of:
Longest ancient Roman wall
The longest wall from the ancient Roman world that survives today is the 118-km (73-mile) Hadrian’s Wall project in the Roman province of Britannia (today the UK), much of which still runs from the Solway Firth in the east to the River Tyne in the west.
Construction started in AD122–126 under the orders of Emperor Hadrian as a defensive and customs barrier. It was mostly made from stone, using the labour of Roman legionnaires to create a wall measuring 2.5–3 m (8–10 ft) wide and 4.5-6 m (15–20 ft) high. Milecastles at regular intervals housed up to 32 soldiers, while larger forts at approximately 5-mile intervals allowed traffic to pass between north and south.
It was the largest structure ever built by the ancient Romans.
Oldest vehicular suspension bridge
The oldest vehicular suspension bridge is 200 years, achieved by the Union Chain Bridge, which spans the River Tweed between Horncliffe, Northumberland and Fishwick, Berwickshire (all UK), as of 2020.
Largest Half Marathon
The largest half marathon has 41,615 runners and was achieved by The Great North Run (UK) from Newcastle upon Tyne to South Shields, UK, on 7 September 2014.
First tilting bridge
The first tilting bridge is the Gateshead Millennium or "Winking" Bridge. The bridge, designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects and engineered by Gifford & Partners, stretches 126 m across the River Tyne in Newcastle.
Some 36,000 people watched the bridge tilt for the first time on 28 June 2001. It weighs more than 800 tonnes, contains enough steel to make 16 Chieftain tanks and sits on 19,000 tonnes of concrete.
First turbine vessel
The experimental steam yacht Turbinia designed by the Hon. Sir Charles Parsons (1854–1931) was built in 1894 in Wallsend. She was 31.39 by 2.74 m (103.75 by 9 ft) in length, displaced 44.5 tonnes and was powered by three steam turbines developing 2,000 shp, each driving a shaft fitted with three screws.
On trials she achieved a speed of 34.5 knots (64km/h; 39.7mph) and later astounded observers when first publicly demonstrated at Queen Victoria’s Jubilee Review in June 1897. She is currently preserved at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle.
The first house powered by hydro-electricity
The first house powered by electricity derived from hydro-sources was Cragside in Northumberland, built in 1863. It was constructed for Lord Armstrong by celebrated architect Richard Norman Shaw.
By 1880, Cragside was using two lakes on the surrounding estates to generate electricity as well as being the first house to be lit by Joseph Swan's newly invented incandescent light bulbs.
First purpose-built lifeboat
The first purpose-built lifeboat was the Original, made in 1790 by shipbuilder Henry Francis Greathead (UK) at the South Shields boatyard. The wooden vessel, with an interior lined with cork and copper, measured 9 metres (29 feet 6 inches) long, 3 metres (9 feet 10 inches) wide and could accommodate 20 people (inclusive of a crew of 12).
The oldest intact lifeboat
The oldest intact lifeboat is the Zetland. It was built in 1802 by Henry Francis Greathead (UK) at the South Shields boatyard and is now housed at the Zetland Lifeboat Museum in Redcar, Teesside.
Newest Minister
In Jan 1998 the Church of St Michael and All Saints, the parish church of Sunderland, received the title of Minster from the Bishop of Durham. This was the first time that this title had come to be used for a church since the Reformation and the first occasion upon which the title is known to have been bestown rather than adopted by popular usage.
Oldest model train set
The oldest model train set can be found in the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, County Durham. It was made for John Pease at an unknown date before 1868.
It is a wooden model train set comprising a yellow locomotive, black tender, six coaches in different colours and four rails forming an incline. A wooden box with historical notes inscribed completes the set.