These two photos show how Junction Road has changed over the years.
Courtesy of John Trotter.
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
These two photos show how Junction Road has changed over the years.
Courtesy of John Trotter.
does anyone have photos of Milner or Jameson Road? I am interested in what the area looked like?
The Lift people were Pickerings Norman. Pickersgills had the shop in Norton High Street and the workshop in Portrack. They were also owners of many houses which they rented out in the Green and High Street area. You could tell they were Pickersgill houses because their doors were always painted a dark green.
The Pickersgill family still lived in that big house although I never knew if they were the Lift company or the Plumbers? Where the old pillar box stood opposite Station Rd and on Junction Road our friends the Wilsons and Kidner”s lived in “Vernadale”.We were friends until they all passed away and the house sold quite a while ago. My ex schoolfriend Bob Harbron explained to me yesterday how Milner Road and Jameson Road got their names. Lord Milner and Jameson had made their names in the development of South Africa and the Boar wars. Co incidentally my son is going out there this week for his employers, so I hope he can bring a magic touch to help both of our countries. Yes, Don, the sandquarry was a dangerous place and I have mentioned before how another friend, Sydney Frankland, fell off the raft when the pole broke and in he went. Fortunately we were able to get him out safely and he squelched all the way back to our house and my Mother told him to “run all the way home, Sydney, so that you do not get cold”. However, that aside, we learned self-reliance and how to light fires safely – happy days!
I’ve just found your comments about Vernadale, 1, Junction Rd. Are you still in the Norton area?
No Brian I now live in Thirsk and am very happy here, I am nearly 90 now and still enjoy life despite all the changes that have taken place which we have no control of. I am afraid it is not the country I knew and my Dad fought two world wars for, WHY?
Of course the second war we were obliged fight.
I love this country and have had one breakdown worrying about things and do no intend to have another.
A note for Bob Irwin, I was a pal of Harold Walker his Dad grew the best carrots in Norton and I had one very day when I called for Harold to go to Freddy Nattrass. Remember playing Miniature Cricket with cigy cards for wickets, and hand carved cricket bats with our knives? All Boy Scouts had knives, but not like today!
Hi Norman I can slightly remember you. Once having a conversation while I was playing marbles between the 3 trees in Ragworth Place outside Harold’s house. Yes g/dads carrots along with everything else he grew was good. I thought you were living in Leeds?
Norman, we remember Norton as it was a Village surrounded by fields and Market gardens, places for children to have adventures and do normal things without H&S breathing down our necks. We knew discipline and respect, we had discipline and courtesy lessons and did not go running to the lawyer when we got the cane or the local Policeman smacked us over the ear with a glove full of dry beans nor did we tell our parents as we would have got another clip for showing them up.
My Father grew up in Norton lived there all his life and hated the changes. Our world is always changing and let’s face it we did not make a good job of looking after it as we hand it on to our Grandchildren. Yes we all carried pocket knives for carving and splicing it never crossed our minds to stick them into someone, we settled things with fists.
I have travelled a lot and always came back, Stockton is a green area full of trees and the river now a fresh water lake is a big improvement. I am your age Norman and well settled, no place I ever saw was better than Stockton, I will end up with my Wife and relatives in St Mary’s quite happily and leave the world for the young, they cannot do a worse job than we did,
Frank.
Hi Norman
Having read your comments particularly about Fredrick Nattrass. I wonder if you remember a Kenneth Littlefair?
I was born in 1937 and from being a very young child used this area as my playground, mainly because it was adjoining my Grandfathers fields. What is described as the Sand Quarry (Sandhole) I cannot remember but it was used by the Council as a dumping ground for all their building rubble. It was being backfilled for the oncoming of the play field for the WN school. There were 2 entrances to this land 1. Top of Fulthorpe Road and 2. Just as you turn into Fife Road from Junction Road opposite the back alley of Junction Road. Mr Pickersgill lived opposite this field and said his view across to the Cleveland Hills would never be blocked while he was still alive, that is why houses were not built there until recent years. The houses on the left going up Junction Road would end at about No.95 where the road then narrowed to Country Lane. At this point I remember a wooden seat, when sitting on it you looked down Junction Road towards Norton Village. Can anyone remember this seat?
I remember the quarry.it was full of water and deep,we used to make rafts and go across the quarry not realising how dangerous it was.
Thank you Norman Kidd for the all the interesting information on Junction Road. We moved into Fife Rd in 1961 and have seen so much development over the years. The shop you mentioned in Milner Road was a real favourite with my children too but in our time was owned by Mr and Mrs Crocker. After the Sand Quarry was levelled the piece of land adjoining Junction Road continued to be farmed by Jackson Walker but I think it was owned by the Pickersgill family who lived in the red brick house opposite.The market garden was sold several years ago as building land for five large detached houses. I think the gardens in those houses must have some of the most fertile soil in Norton when I remember the amount of farmyard manure Mr Walker spread on the ground every year! When I was at senior school in the 1940`s the buses only went as far as Ashville Avenue and beyond that you were almost in the coumtryside. How times have changed !
Dear Margaret Hodgson, This is a very interesting and valuable piece of Norton”s development. Referring to Pic 1 marked, Junction Road Norton on Tees. The terrace houses had not been built on Junction Road between Milner and Jameson Road as you say, it also looks as if the road surface on what became Milner Rd had not been surfaced. I was born in 8 Milner Road in 1928 and I recall my parents telling me you could walk in the fields from Fyffe (Fife) Road up to Durham Road. The old Sand Quarry referred to, only extended from the Fyffe Road end to halfway across to Junction Road, the other half extending to Junction Rd was farmed by Jackson Walker. I spent a lot of time playing in that old quarry, building rafts, catching newts, taddies, and roasting potatoes. We also had our bonfire night fires there with fireworks from Mrs Winspears shop in Milner Rd. If you look straight up Junction Road on the left you will see a tree, near that was a small pond which stood at the bottom of Grantham Road. Just beyond that tree were the first new houses on the left of Junction Rd which extended to just passed Ashville Avenue. Then came some very big houses, one called Kyle House owned at that time by the Gordon family, probably later by Dr Alexander Fleck, Chairman of ICI. The modern picture shows traffic lights, bollards and electric lamp standards. It was all Gas with a gaslighter who originally came with his pole. North Albert Road and the Barmoor estate was also built well before the second war. Then not much more development until Tunstalls farm, later Codlins, and then Durhams were sold and Corby House owned by the Armitage family. I have not much else to add except I consider myself very fortunate to have spent my childhood there. I would still like to hear from my old friends in Stockton Pictures Ref:t9632 if anyone knows them please tell them I was asking.
The old photograph shows Milner Rd and Jameson Rd on the left and was probably taken in the early 1900`s.The terrace houses numbers 17,19,21,& 23 were obviously a later addition. The stone built houses on the right of the picture stand at the corner of North Albert Rd but must have been there before that road was constructed.The open ground (now the playing fields belonging to the Education Centre)was a wonderful adventure playground for my children in the 1960`s before it was levelled and made into playing fields for the William Newton School.We were told that the land had been a sand quarry which would account for the undulating rough ground. Can anyone help to confirm this please?