Famous People from Cramlington

For a town best known as a 1960s new town, Cramlington has produced or shaped a surprising range of people: a pit boy who became a Privy Councillor, a striker who won the league title, a Paralympic champion who still lives here, and one of the country's best-known comedians. This guide covers the people with a documented connection to Cramlington, with a link to the source for each.

Our photo shows the de Havilland Moth "Novocastria" of the Newcastle upon Tyne Aero Club, which flew from Cramlington Aerodrome, in 1925. That was the year Constance Leathart learned to fly at the club.

The first name: John the Clerk

The earliest Cramlington person we know by name is John the Clerk, the first recorded chaplain of the village chapel, around 1163 to 1180. His name lives on in the John the Clerk pub on Low Main Place. Our guide to historic churches in Cramlington tells the story of the chapel he served.

Charles Fenwick: from pit boy to Privy Councillor

Charles Fenwick was born in Cramlington on 5 May 1850 and went to work as a coal miner at the age of ten. He joined the union in 1863, became prominent in the Northumberland Miners' Association and was also a Primitive Methodist preacher. At the 1885 general election he won the Wansbeck seat as a Lib-Lab MP and held it until his death. (Wikipedia: Charles Fenwick)

Fenwick served as secretary of the Trades Union Congress's Parliamentary Committee from 1890 to 1894. When his union affiliated to the Labour Party in 1907 he declined to follow, staying with the Liberals, and he was made a Privy Councillor in 1911. He died in Newcastle on 20 April 1918. (Wikipedia)

The Cramlington train wreckers

Some of Cramlington's best-known names come from a single day during the 1926 General Strike. On 10 May 1926, William Golightly of the Northumberland Miners' Association addressed miners at the West Cramlington Institute and urged them to stop the coal trains. That day the Flying Scotsman was derailed near Cramlington after a rail was removed. The engine overturned and a fireman was scalded, but nobody was killed. (SSLH: Cramlington, a place in labour history; People's History Museum)

Nine men were arrested on 5 June 1926: Billy Baker, Jimmy Ellison, Bob Harbottle, Bill Muckle, Tommy Roberts, Ollie Sanderson, Bill Stephenson, Joseph Wallace and Arthur Wilson. Wallace was discharged and the other eight were jailed for between four and eight years. Five were released in September 1928 and the last three a year later. (SSLH)

Bill Muckle went on to tell his side of the story. He appeared with his wife Jenny in a BBC documentary in 1969, and his memoir, No Regrets, was published in 1981. (SSLH)

Constance Leathart: a pioneering pilot

Constance Leathart was born in Low Fell in 1903, but her flying career began at Cramlington. She learned to fly in 1925 with the Newcastle Aero Club, which was based at Cramlington Aerodrome, and with Walter Runciman (later Viscount Runciman) she set up an aircraft repair business, Cramlington Aircraft. (Wikipedia: Constance Leathart)

In 1927 she became the first British woman pilot outside London to gain a flying licence. She was also the first person in Britain to design and fly a glider, and one of the first women to fly over the Alps. She died in Northumberland in 1993. (Wikipedia) Our guide to the lost buildings of Cramlington has more on the aerodrome where she trained.

Ray Pointer: league champion and England forward

Ray Pointer was born in Cramlington on 10 October 1936. He joined Burnley in 1957 and scored 118 goals in 223 league games for the club, winning the First Division title in 1959 to 1960. He won three England caps and scored two goals, making his debut against Luxembourg on 28 September 1961. He later played for Bury, Coventry City and Portsmouth, and died on 26 January 2016. (Wikipedia: Ray Pointer)

Sting: two years teaching in Cramlington

Before he was a household name, Gordon Sumner, born in Wallsend in 1951, qualified as a teacher in 1973. He then taught at St Paul's First School in Cramlington for two years. (Wikipedia: Sting)

Ross Noble: comedian

Ross Noble was born in Newcastle on 5 June 1976 and grew up in Cramlington, which he has credited with sharpening his imagination. His stand-up career brought a Perrier Award nomination in 1999 and a Time Out comedy award in 2000. (Wikipedia: Ross Noble)

Stephen Miller MBE: Paralympic champion

Stephen Miller was born in Cramlington in 1980 and still lives in his hometown. Competing in the club throw, he won Paralympic gold at Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004, silver at Beijing in 2008 and bronze at Rio in 2016, plus a discus bronze in Sydney. He was given the Freedom of Cramlington on 7 February 2014 and appointed MBE in the 2016 New Year Honours. (Wikipedia: Stephen Miller)

Further reading

For the places behind these stories, follow our heritage walking trail round the old village, or read our interesting facts about Cramlington. The Cramlington history timeline and heritage hub put it all in context. If we have missed someone with a documented Cramlington connection, let us know.