Tyne and Wear Directory

Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in North East England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. It consists of the five metropolitan boroughs of South Tyneside, North Tyneside, City of Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and the City of Sunderland.

North Tyneside and Newcastle upon Tyne had previously existed within the historic county of Northumberland, whereas South Tyneside, Gateshead and Sunderland were all previously within the borders of County Durham, with the River Tyne forming the border of the two counties.