BU#1
Famous people · Wingate, County Durham
Most of the 10 famous people born in Wingate came into the world in the 20th century
Barry Unsworth, the English novelist, is the most widely known, written about in 20 languages. Second and third on the list are Jimmy Alderton and Brian Drysdale. Per head, the list is long: 19.9 for every 10,000 residents, where the typical town in County Durham has 12.7. The oldest name on the list belongs to Thomas Armstrong, born in 1849, the newest to Brian Drysdale, born in 1943.
Born here
10
notable people
Best known
Barry Unsworth
in 20 Wikipedia languages
First
1849
Thomas Armstrong
Youngest
1943
Brian Drysdale
Most common field
Sports
6 people
The best known
Born in Wingate
Three names lead: Barry Unsworth (20 languages), Jimmy Alderton (7) and Brian Drysdale (5).
JA#2
BD#3
Through the years
When Wingate’s famous people were born
The 1920s alone account for 2 of the births charted here.
SportsWriting & ArtsMilitaryScience & Medicine
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Wingate is known for
6 of them work in Sports, the biggest field.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Wingate
Another 7, 4 of them athletes.
John Brass
1879–2000Colliery manager who sat on the Gresford disaster inquiry
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Around it, Horden has the most people on record, 18 of them.
SAHorden · 3 miStan Anderson & 17 moreMDTrimdon · 3 miMalcolm Dawes & 9 moreGMPeterlee · 3 miGina McKee & 6 more
Wheatley Hill · 2 miEddie Hopkinson & 5 moreKFBlackhall Colliery · 4 miKen Felton & 5 moreBETrimdon Grange · 2 miBill Edmunds & 4 more
Haswell · 4 miTom Simpson & 4 moreJAShotton Colliery · 2 miJim Appleby & 1 more
Wheatley Hill · 2 miEddie Hopkinson & 5 moreKFBlackhall Colliery · 4 miKen Felton & 5 moreBETrimdon Grange · 2 miBill Edmunds & 4 moreHaswell · 4 miTom Simpson & 4 moreJAShotton Colliery · 2 miJim Appleby & 1 moreQuestions about famous people from Wingate
Who is the most famous person from Wingate?
Barry Unsworth (English novelist (1930–2012)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 20 languages. Next come Jimmy Alderton and Brian Drysdale.
How many famous people were born in Wingate?
10 people born in Wingate have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace.
What is Wingate known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 6 of the 10. That is 60% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Wingate?
Thomas Armstrong, born in 1849. The youngest on the list was born in 1943.
Who counts as from Wingate?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Wingate’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 (3)
- Thomas Kenny: Gallaher Cigarette Cards, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- 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.