A great view of Finkle Street, Stockton c1962.
Photograph courtesy of Bruce Coleman.
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
A great view of Finkle Street, Stockton c1962.
Photograph courtesy of Bruce Coleman.
The origin of the name Finkle as in Finkle Street, appears to rest with our Nordic ancestors. Its known that the Danes used a type of wheeled market stall, barrow or drawn wagon to convey trade goods to market called a vincle from which they would sell goods. This stall on wheels contained merchandise such as fish or food, wool or drapery being offered for sale. So, perhaps a Finkle Street was the street were small stallholders set up their push barrows and stalls on wheels in order to trade. Many of our market towns boast street names bearing this name, Stockton, Thirsk, York, Malton, Selby, Hull, Richmond and Ripon, all have a Finkle Street, and there was Finkle Streets in Leeds, Knaresborough, Newcastle and Kendal. One wonders did the Norse word ‘vinkle’, become with the passage of time the word ‘vehicle’, a thing used for transporting people or goods, such as a lorry, or cart?
If I remember correctly it used to slope towards the river and me and my friends used to slide on the ice in the winter.
Finkle street did slope down towards the river and the slope starts just about where the rear end of the Ford Anglia is, parked on the far right of the photo.
http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-river-tees-1962/ @29:10
Splendid photo. I know the street very well.