Ashington is a town in Northumberland, England, with a population of around 28,000 people. It is located four miles east of Morpeth and 15 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne. Ashington was built up from being a small hamlet in the 1840s, as the Duke of Portland constructed housing to encourage workers escaping the potato famine to come and work at the local collieries he was founding. As in many other parts of Britain, "deep pit" coal mining in the area declined during the 1980s and 1990s leaving just one colliery, Ellington until January 2005. In 2006 limestone was found in the town and plans for an opencast mine on the outskirts of the town have been put forward, although many people have objected to it. During the peak time of coal-mining, it was considered to be the "world's largest coal-mining village". There is now a debate about whether Ashington should be referred to as a town or a village—if accepted as a village it would be one of the largest villages in England. Famous footballers Colin Ayre, Jackie Milburn, Bobby Charlton, Jackie Charlton and England fast bowler Steve Harmison, Sir John Hall (businessman) were all born in Ashington. The town is also home to Ashington A.F.C. Motorcycle speedway racing was staged at the football ground in 1972 when two meetings took place. Ashington is also the name of a village in West Sussex. The mining workers of Ashington in Northumberland gave a 'Hooky mat' to their friends in West Sussex where it is now displayed in the village hall. An Ashington urban district was created in 1896, covering part of the parish of Ashington and Sheepwash and part of the parish of Bothal Demesne. It took in Hirst in 1914, then Sheepwash, most of Woodhorn and the remainder of Bothal Demesne in 1935. The urban district survived until 1974, when under the Local Government Act 1972 it became part of the Wansbeck district. Many inhabitants have a distinctive accent and dialect, known as Pitmatic. This varies from the regional dialect known as Geordie. In 1934 some of the Ashington miners enrolled in painting classes as an alternative pastime, and then began to produce paintings to sell at local markets to supplement their poor wages. They achieved unexpected success and approval from the art community and were given prestigious gallery exhibitions during the 1930s and 1940's under the name "The Pitmen Painters", although the group had called themselves "The Ashington Group". In the 1970s the group's work was 'rediscovered' and popularised as "workers' art" and given international exhibitions. On 26 October 2006 a new £16m museum housing the work was opened in Ashington by Princess Anne. Ashington is also home to Bruce Carnaby, who was selected at the age of 18 as the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) North East Young Sailor of the Year 2005. He is also a member of Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Sailing Club. More on Ashington