Whickham · Tyne and Wear
Whickham stands on high ground above the Tyne and the Derwent, about five miles south-west of Newcastle, and on a clear winter evening the views across the valley make a warm fireside feel well earned. Tyne & Ember fits wood-burning and multi-fuel stoves throughout Whickham and its neighbours, including Swalwell, Sunniside, Fellside and Dunston Hill.
Whickham homes range from sandstone cottages near Front Street to 1950s estates and large modern houses, so no two installations are quite alike. We start with a site assessment, explain what Gateshead Council's smoke control rules mean for your address, and follow up with a clear written quote.
The historic core of Whickham, along Front Street and around St Mary's Church, is a conservation area. Its older buildings are mostly sandstone with pantiled roofs, and there are narrow lanes such as Church Chare with its row of brick cottages. Stone chimneys here are often sturdy but irregular inside, so a flexible liner is usually needed to give a modern stove a smooth, correctly sized flue.
Towards the western end of the village, late nineteenth-century miners' terraces have chimneys designed for coal fires, often in shared stacks. From the 1950s, estates such as the Lakes Estate off Whickham Highway and the Oakfield Estate off Whaggs Lane added large numbers of semis and bungalows, some still with usable chimneys and some long since capped.
Later developments, including the newer estates on the edges of the village, are more likely to have been built without chimneys. For those, an insulated twin-wall flue is the usual route. Bungalows can be particularly straightforward, as the flue only has to pass through one ceiling and the roof.
Whickham is part of the Borough of Gateshead, and Gateshead Council states that the vast majority of the borough is a designated smoke control area, with some exemptions listed separately. Unless your address falls within an exempt area, burning wood will require a DEFRA-exempt appliance; the alternative is a multi-fuel stove used only with authorised smokeless fuel.
Choosing good logs is equally important. Firewood sold in England in bags or small loads must meet the Ready to Burn standard of 20% moisture or less. Wet wood smoulders, coats the flue with tar and can put you on the wrong side of the rules. The council's smoke control page has the exemptions list.
Our services in Whickham
Whether you live in a sandstone cottage in the conservation area or a 1950s semi off Whaggs Lane, a Whickham stove project usually draws on several of the services below.
Planning and fitting a new wood-burning stove or log burner, from checking your chimney and hearth to commissioning the stove and talking you through using it safely. We plan and fit wood-burning stoves for homes in Newcastle, across Tyne & Wear and the wider North East, starting with a site assessment so the stove suits your room, your chimney and the local smoke control rules.
Fitting multi-fuel stoves that can burn wood or approved smokeless fuels, with the right liner, hearth and air supply, and clear advice on what you can legally burn locally. A multi-fuel stove can burn logs or approved smokeless fuels, which gives you flexibility through a North East winter. We fit them in homes across Newcastle, Tyne & Wear and beyond, and make sure you know what you can…
Swapping an old, oversized or inefficient stove for a modern Ecodesign model, with the chimney, liner, hearth and ventilation checked so the new stove works safely. If your current stove is old, smoky, cracked or simply the wrong size, we can replace it with a modern model. We serve homes in Newcastle, across Tyne & Wear and the wider North East, and check the whole installation…
Lining existing chimneys and fitting new flue systems for stoves, including twin-wall flues for homes without a chimney, all planned around a proper inspection first. A stove is only as safe as the flue it's connected to. We assess chimneys and plan lining or new flue systems for homes in Newcastle, across Tyne & Wear and the wider North East, usually as part of a stove installation.
Preparing hearths and fireplace openings for a stove, from opening up a blocked fireplace to laying a new hearth that meets the regulations and suits your room. The hearth and fireplace opening are where safety and looks meet. We prepare hearths and fireplace openings for stoves in homes across Newcastle, Tyne & Wear and the wider North East, as part of planning a stove…
Before you choose a stove
The conservation area follows the historic core of the village, including Front Street, the church and Dunston Hill House. If your home is inside it, new external flues or changes to chimneys visible from the street may need planning advice from Gateshead Council. Fitting a liner into an existing chimney is usually much less of an issue.
Most of Gateshead is covered by smoke control orders, but the council lists some exempt areas. It is worth checking whether your part of Whickham, Sunniside or Marley Hill is covered before choosing a stove, because it decides whether an exempt appliance is essential.
Older sandstone chimneys can have eroded mortar, cracked pots or flues that change direction inside the wall. Wind and weather on Whickham's exposed hilltop can make matters worse. A visual check of the stack and a smoke test are the best way to find out whether repairs are needed before lining.
Many houses on Whickham's post-war estates were built with chimneys, but some have had breasts removed or stacks taken down during later renovations. Knowing what remains, and whether anything above is properly supported, shapes the whole installation and is checked at the site assessment.
Homes on the higher, more open parts of Whickham can experience strong gusts that affect how a chimney draws. The terminal, cowl and flue height all play a part. If you have had downdraught problems with an open fire before, mention it when we visit so it can be planned for.
Whickham was an early centre of Tyneside coal mining. Its shallow seams were worked from at least the early seventeenth century, and the Grand Lease Way, a wagonway built around 1621, carried coal down towards the river. By the eighteenth century those seams were largely exhausted, and Whickham became a favoured place for wealthier families to live; one 1787 description called its buildings 'modern and handsome'.
Historically part of County Durham, Whickham became an urban district in 1894, covering Dunston, Marley Hill, Byermoor and Swalwell, before joining the Borough of Gateshead in 1974. Chase Park, near Front Street, was once the grounds of a manor house demolished in 1960. Above the Derwent stand the Grade I listed ruins of Old Hollinside, a fortified manor house, while the Derwent Walk and the Gibside estate lie just beyond.
Map of Whickham
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FAQs
If your address is inside one of Gateshead's smoke control areas, which cover most of the borough, you can burn logs only in a DEFRA-exempt stove. If your home is in an exempt area, any Ecodesign stove may be used with dry wood. Either way, Ready to Burn logs will give a cleaner, hotter fire.
Yes, usually. A twin-wall insulated flue can pass through the ceiling and roof directly above the stove, which is often simpler in a bungalow than in a two-storey house. The flue must terminate at the correct height and distance from windows, roof lights and neighbouring buildings.
Yes. Fitting a solid-fuel stove in England must be either self-certified by an installer registered with a competent person scheme or approved through Gateshead Council's Building Control. You should receive a certificate once the installation is complete. Keep it with your property paperwork, as a buyer's solicitor will usually ask to see it.
Stoves rated above 5kW generally need a permanent air vent to the room, sized according to the Building Regulations. Very airtight modern homes may need one even for smaller stoves. We assess this on site and explain where a vent could go.
Yes. Building Regulations require a carbon monoxide alarm in the room where a new solid-fuel appliance is installed, and we fit one at installation and show you how to test it. Carbon monoxide has no smell, so an alarm is the only reliable warning if a flue becomes blocked or damaged.
Send us a few details and photos and we will arrange a site assessment and a clear written quote.
From our blog
Regulations & safety
The whole of Newcastle upon Tyne is a smoke control area. Here is what that means for a log burner: exempt appliances, authorised fuels, the penalties that now apply, and how to check elsewhere in the region.
Buying guides
Kilowatts, room sizes and rules of thumb, explained simply. Why an oversized stove causes problems, how insulation changes the picture, and when extra ventilation is needed under Building Regulations.
Stove advice
Not every chimney needs a liner, but many older ones do. Here is how installers decide, what the main liner options are, and how a chimney's condition is checked before and after a stove goes in.