What is Washington, Tyne and Wear?
[[File:Washington Old Hall.jpg|thumb|right|250px|{{Center|Washington Old Hall}}]] '''Washington''' is a [[new town]] in [[Sunderland]], in the north east of [[England]]. Historically it was part of [[County Durham]]. It joined a new county in 1974 with the creation of [[Tyne and Wear]]. Washington is an equal distance from the centres of [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], [[Durham, England|Durham]] and Sunderland, and it has close ties to all three cities. It was named a new town in 1964. At the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]], the town had a population of 67,085.<ref>{{cite web|title=Washington (Tyne and Wear)|url=http://www.citypopulation.de/php/uk-england-northeastengland.php?cityid=E35001427|accessdate=6 January 2015}}</ref> Sometime before 1183, William de Hertburn acquired the manor of Washington Old Hall.<ref name=SCC>{{cite web |url=http://www.sunderland.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=6956&p=0 |title=A history of the Old Hall |author=<!--Staff writer(s)--> |date= |website= |publisher=Sunderland City Council |accessdate=6 January 2015 |archive-date=3 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103080318/http://www.sunderland.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=6956&p=0 |url-status=dead }}</ref> De Hertburn changed his name to de Washington. [[George Washington]], first [[President of the United States]] is a direct [[descendant]]{{Disambiguation needed|date=May 2024}} of William de Hertburn.<ref name=SCC/> [[Gertrude Bell]] grew up in Washington. == References == {{reflist}} {{multistub|geo|UK}} [[Category:City of Sunderland]] [[Category:Towns in Tyne and Wear]]