This is a view of the south end of Stockton High Street on market day, we believe it was taken by Jack Marriott from the top of the Town House, probably in the late 1950s.
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
This is a view of the south end of Stockton High Street on market day, we believe it was taken by Jack Marriott from the top of the Town House, probably in the late 1950s.
In 1953, I worked for 3.5 years for Mr Wlliam (Bill) Sharp, who owned the mobile sales shop seen to the right of the toilet block and adjoining it. When I started with him aged 11 at his New Street, Thornaby warehouse, apart from plucking chickens, geese and ducks, I loaded the Ford 5 ton wagon he had with eggs and sales goods for four days a week at 5.45 am, so when he arrived at 6.15 am from his home in Yarm Road, Eaglescliffe he could get straight off. I thought the world of Mr Sharp and his family, apart from one small thing, whenever we passed his home he’d stop for 30 minutes and go inside for a cup of tea and not once did he ever invite me in, or send a cup of tea out, it was always made very clear that I was just the hired kid and of no consequence. Despite this I really did enjoy working for him and listening to his stories and advice, unknown to him I adopted many of his work habits and philosophy and was ‘a man by the age of 15’. He asked me to work for him full time when I left school but I refused. This was before the days of supermarkets and street markets were very popular, our best sales line was ‘egg seconds’, these were eggs rejected by the egg packers for shell faults or blemishes, or for being too small or too large. Our extra large were a sight to see, they were actually two eggs in one brown shell, and sold for 2/- per dozen laid by mature hens and usually from a chicken called the ”Rhode Island Red”, we sold thousands of small white eggs from first lay(ing) chickens called ‘White Leghorns’. This breed has disappeared today because the public want ‘brown eggs’ not white. Today’s supermarket eggs are very poor value and the egg sizes have been downgraded, a 1950s medium size egg is today a large egg, and our small eggs are today’s medium egg…
Town planners definitely got it wrong, try and imagine how popular the High Street would be if it was still as in the picture, so much character that no architect to-day could ever simulate.
The High Street just as I remember it, as others have said, Vane Arms, Empire, what nostalgia.
Max.
Just look at that wonderful higgledy-piggledy roofline,It’s enough to make you weep.
Considering the population of Stockton then to what it is now- new estates like Elm Tree and Ingleby Barwick etc. Even the streets are busy, not a scene that happens now I expect, is it possible town planners got it wrong ?
Great to see this picture of the High st as it was before development. My friends and I spent many saturday afternoons wandering around here and saturday evenings in the Vane Arms or Black Lion before heading off to the Maison having bought tickets and then got a pass out. Happy days. I now live in Bucks but have a lot of good memories of Stockton and the friends I had during that period.
Their rum truffles were out of this world.
Amongst the small shops was a lovely chocolate shop, Laesers.
A familiar scene, at ground level, from my childhood to leaving Stockton post marriage in 1957. Jack Marriott took our wedding photos at Stockton Parish Church. I often travelled with him on the No. 4 Fairfield bus!
Look at those magnificent buildings on the left, like Maureen – as we knew it.
How nostalgic this picture is……..this is the Stockton I grew up in.