Church

St. Mary’s church is an Anglican church situated in the centre of the village.^[15] The earliest description available of the church was in 1793 by William Hutchinson. The description stated that the church had no aisles or tower, and only a small chancel. There was also an ornamented area containing two seats, divided by a small column. However, despite this the earliest description being in the 18th century, the architecture in the church itself are of 13th century age and suggest that the church is from relatively early period.^[16] The church has since had to be rebuilt twice taking place in 1806 and in 1858. The new structure still occupies original site of the church. The current construction was built by Frances Ann the Marchioness of Londonderry, and is where the present Londonderry Arms public house takes its name. Subsequent to the rebuild, the church was developed considerably, and now consists of a nave, chancel, and south aisle.^[17] The church now seats 240. It has a traditional Sunday service, as well as a number of community activities for all ages taking place every day of the week.^[18]

Climate

St Mary's Church of England Aided Primary School, Longnewton

St Mary’s Primary school is much smaller than that of the average sized primary school in the United Kingdom. It is a mixed gender school, with ages ranging from 3–11. David Moorfoot is the current head teacher, and at present there are 85 pupils attending.^[20] In the January 2012 Ofsted inspections, the school gained a rating of 2, meaning 'good', in each of the following areas, Achievement of pupils, quality of teaching, behaviour and safety of pupils, leadership and management and overall effectiveness. .^[21]

The Wilson Centre

The Wilson Centre was built in 1886 donated by Rev. J. Wilson, the vicar of St Mary’s Church to be used to benefit the education of the population of Longnewton. The centre was built by Mr Kipling and cost a total of £380, it was subsequently named the Wilson Institute after Rev. J. Wilson himself. In 2003 it was decided to explore the option of using the building as a village hall. A £266,000 grant was obtained from the Big Lottery Community Halls Fund in 2008. The centre was refurbished and finally opened again in October 2009.^[22] The Wilson Centre offers three rooms, one of these providing seating for up to 80 people.^[23] and is £13 per hour.^[24] The other two rooms are smaller, and offer seating for up to 15 and 40 people^[25] these costing £5 and £9 per hour respectively. The centre also offers a modern kitchen, which comes at a price of £11,^[26] and is set up with Wi-Fi access.

Public Houses

Londonderry Arms, Long Newton

The Vane Arms dates back to the 18th century when it was known as the New Inn. The Londonderry Arms is named after the third Marquis of Londonderry, who has played an instrumental part in the history and development in the village of Longnewton.^[27]

A66 Junction

New A66 Roundabout and Junction

The A66 is a two lane dual carriageway that runs between Stockton on Tees and Darlington, around 32,000 vehicles pass through it every day. There are currently two junctions located near Longnewton and Elton, giving access to Teesside International Airport and the local area.^[28] The Longnewton junction was subject to calls for it to be renovated due to high accident rates in the area, as in the period from January–December 2003 there were 108 casualties in Stockton on tees district with many of these being on the A66 stretch of road.^[29] The aim of the project was to construct a bridge and slip roads to allow local traffic to leave the dual carriageway and join the main road safely. It would also create a new road link from Longnewton to Elton, making it easier for all modes of transport to commute between villages, additionally improving access to the airport.^[30] The cost of the whole project came to a total of £12 million.^[31] Locals had been campaigning for action, for around 15 years, to address what had been described as a 'death trap' junction, with the number of casualties.^[32]

Bus Services

Bus services from Long newton stopped running in April 2014 due to council funding cuts. A community bus service was proposed for the village. Without access to a car, transport links become very strenuous.^[33]

Rail services

Durham Tees Valley Airport Terminal Building

There is no railway station in Longnewton, however there are several stations nearby which are accessible by car, or possibly bus. The nearest station is Teesside Airport railway station although this is effectively non-functional as only two trains stop there a week, however, there are others nearby including those of Dinsdale, Allens West and Eaglescliffe.^[34] Darlington station is a more mainline station, however this is a 15-minute journey from Longnewton with no direct bus routes.^[35]

Teesside International Airport

Teesside International Airport is located south of Longnewton, just under three miles away by road.^[36] It is relatively small, receives arrivals and disperses departures to the following European nations; Bulgaria, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.