Aerial view looking over towards Teesdale on the left and Stockton on the right.
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Aerial view looking over towards Teesdale on the left and Stockton on the right.
The foreground buildings are the remnants of The Malleable Steelworks . It originally stretched into the distance to the patch of grass in the upper centre which was the “Power House end ” where I continued my Electrical Apprenticeship till qualification in early 1970’s
An extremely important picture in many respects, including the fact that it may be the last to be taken showing part of the Portrack loop of the River Tees. This meander of the Tees was cut off during the 1830s and kept Stockton in business as a major port and eventually a significant builder of ships. The Portrack meander was very difficult for sailing ships to get round as it was full of sandbars, one of which effectively formed a small island.
Without the straightening of the Tees, which entailed cutting off two meaders, modern day Stockton would have looked a bit like a slightly larger version of Yarm. .
Getting back to a time before Portrack became so built up, makes the old river course very easy to spot.
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/eaw024117
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/eaw024116