#1Famous people · Wheatley Hill, County Durham
Athletes stand out among the 6 famous people born in Wheatley Hill
Eddie Hopkinson, the English footballer, is the most widely known, written about in 20 languages. The next two names are Eddie Carr and Dave Carr. 5 of them were born in the 20th century, more than in any other period. For every 10,000 residents there are 19.1 on the list, well above the typical County Durham town’s 12.7.
Born here
6
notable people
Best known
Eddie Hopkinson
in 20 Wikipedia languages
First
1900
Ollie Thompson
Youngest
1937
Dave Carr
Most common field
Sports
6 people
What stands out about Wheatley Hill’s famous people
The best known
Born in Wheatley Hill
The three best known are all athletes.
#1EC#2
DC#3
Through the years
When Wheatley Hill’s famous people were born
More were born in the 1930s than in any other decade: 3.
Sports
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Wheatley Hill
Still to come: 3 more, from 1900 to 1932.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The best known from each town within 12 miles of Wheatley Hill, with how many people each has.
BUWingate · 2 miBarry Unsworth & 9 moreMDTrimdon · 3 miMalcolm Dawes & 9 moreGMPeterlee · 3 miGina McKee & 6 moreBETrimdon Grange · 2 miBill Edmunds & 4 more
Haswell · 3 miTom Simpson & 4 moreTDSouth Hetton · 4 miTrevor Dance & 4 moreAMCoxhoe · 4 miAndy Mitchell & 3 moreJAShotton Colliery · 2 miJim Appleby & 1 more
Haswell · 3 miTom Simpson & 4 moreTDSouth Hetton · 4 miTrevor Dance & 4 moreAMCoxhoe · 4 miAndy Mitchell & 3 moreJAShotton Colliery · 2 miJim Appleby & 1 moreQuestions about famous people from Wheatley Hill
Who is the most famous person from Wheatley Hill?
Eddie Hopkinson (English footballer (1935-2004)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 20 languages. Next come Eddie Carr and Dave Carr.
How many famous people were born in Wheatley Hill?
6 people born in Wheatley Hill have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace.
What is Wheatley Hill known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 6 of the 6. That is 100% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Wheatley Hill?
Ollie Thompson, born in 1900. The youngest on the list was born in 1937.
Who counts as from Wheatley Hill?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Wheatley Hill’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (2)
- Eddie Hopkinson: Eskil Malmberg, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Tom Simpson: Panini, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.