Is there anything you would like to know about the Borough of Stockton, its history, its industries, its buildings or its people? Just add a comment with your query to this page and we will endeavour to answer it. If we don’t know the answer it may well be that some of our site visitors do…
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Picture Stockton Archive 
Anyone have anything on John Smith or Harry Smith and their connection to Portrack Shamrocks football club? Probably 1930 onwards.
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Does anyone remember my grandparents Thomas and Annie (Nancy) Gibson from 24 Laburnum Ave. Thornaby. The shop Lan Cakes?
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Hello!
I am a costume student up at Northern School of Art in Hartlepool.
Does anyone have any tidbits to do with our local traditional dress or craft? We seem to be the most under-served region in regards to recorded folk craft and history (as far as I have been able to investigate so far..)
Do we have any certain folklore specially for Teesside / North east here? Or traditional dress? I am at a loss but would really love to represent our area in my work.
Thank you for any help!
Abi
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Abi, sorry to see that you have had no responses to your appeal. Here are couple of suggestions for you to look into. Probably the most characteristic costume in the area were the bonnets worn by the ladies in the small fishing town of Staithes, just north of Whitby. The Staithes bonnet readily identified women from Staithes. Then you might like to look into fishermens jerseys, these often had knitting patterns that were unique to particular ports. So if you knew the different patterns you could identify where the fisherman came from. The local name nickname for a jumper was “gansey” derived from the Channel Island Guernsey, in the same way that other jumpers might be called a Jersey.
If you are studying in Hartlepool, you might have seen the statue of Andy Capp on the seafront. He was based upon the typical workman going to his local for a drink. The flat cap and the white scarf could be found throughout the North-East.
The white scarf might be related to the white scarf worn by many workman in foundries or other hot places where the conditions caused the workers to sweat a lot. Then there is the traditional craft of “proddy” mats, which have been taken up by modern artists to make a new art form. That is enough to keep you busy for a while 🙂
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Hello Abi
I don’t think there is any information on traditional Teesside dress available. Because of our history of heavy industry, after 1850 we were a mixture of people from the English midlands, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Basic hard wearing clothes would have been the norm. I think you would have to go back before this period to find traditional clothing, Prior to this Stockton was an agricultural port so clothing would be a mixture of these styles.
Cliff is pointing you in the right direction as far as traditional clothing is concerned. I think you would be best to concentrate on smaller communities of the North East with regard to preserving traditional clothing. Type “Cullercoats shawl ” into your search engine as a start. This will give you an idea of traditional wear. The shawl was probably the only distinctive item of clothing most women could afford in Victorian times. It was practical but could be more elaborate than everyday clothing. Many were ornately embroidered and the tradition is still carried on today among the knitting community.
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Is there a book about the Green Dragon Yards history please?
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I used to work for the first landlord (Mr Smith) of The Griffin Public House in Bader Avenue, Thornaby. I worked mainly in the evenings and at weekends at The Griffin whilst at Catering College in Darlington between 1974 to 1976. Does anyone have any photos of Mr Smith? He was such a lovely man.
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Hello! I used to live on Northbourne Road in the 1990s but on looking on Google Maps it appears the side of the road I lived on has no houses! I’m wondering please if/when they were demolished, or if I’ve misremembered completely?
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Hi,
My property 23 Bentley Wynd just off the high street is around 200 years old. It’s layout at the back is really strange as the bathroom and half the property is in our neighbours garden and our kitchen is wrapped around the other neighbours with the staircase window looking onto our garden. Until recently, the property had an unusually large amount of land with it. I’d love to know what it was and how those decisions came to happen.
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Hi does anyone have any pictures of my Mum – Vivian Brown. She sang with the Jimmy Lipthorpe Band at the Fiesta and around the area. I would love any pictures, especially of her singing.
She came from Norton and has a brother Peter Brown. She married Normal Williams.
Thank you so much.
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How do I find a full list of bands that performed at the Dovecot Arts Centre in the 80/90s
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Hi.
can anybody help me please looking for the Family named HICKS in 1939 census they lived at Two Mile House farm Stockton-on-Tees,
Thomas Hicks,
Laura Hicks,
children are Susan Annie Hicks 1918 – 1939.
Fred Hicks 1921 – 2006 married a Stanley Lee Robson.
Ida M Hicks 1922.
Laura Hicks 1924 – 2015, married a Henry Hall.
Olive S Hicks 1925,
Thomas L Hicks 1930 married a Margaret Taylerson.
All born in Stockton-on-Tees any help just finding nothing on the family at all.
kind regards
Bev
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Bev, I am not sure if you are trying to trace the ancestors of Thomas and Laura, or their descendants. Here is some information on one of their children.
Freda Hicks married Stanley L Robson in 1945. They had three children; John W Robson born in 1946, Raymond born in 1949, and Kathleen L, Robson in 1954.
A Raymond Robson married Susan A Doyle in 1975 in Cleveland.
Kathleen L Robson married Andrew Philip Kidd in 1977 in Cleveland. I believe they are currently living in Middlesbrough.
Hope this helps.
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Cliff, Thank you for the information yes I am looking for information on the Descendants of Thomas and Laura to see if there is any left ,
Laura was my Gran’s sister, Thank you again
Bev
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Wondering if you could help me find photos of the 1967 Captain Webber Parade and of the “Casey At Bat” reenactment of 1967. Looking for pictures in particular of the actors who played in the “Big Valley” Thank-you.
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Is there a museum or anything regarding Furness Shipyard Haverton Hill shipbuilding, I have hand written ledgers and photos to offer
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Alan, Teesside Archives is the local repository for documents and photographs relating to local industries etc. I suspect that they would be delighted to provide a home for any documents relating to the Furness Yard. They can be contacted at teesside_archives@middlesbrough.gov.uk
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Teesside Archives hold the collection for Furness Shipyard. They may be interested in the material so would suggest contacting them via email: teesside_archives@middlesbrough.gov.uk
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Vera and Winifred MacIntyre married two Stocktonians, John Lenham and Arthur Lenham. Vera worked all the life for Hintons in Dovecot Street. Does anyone know anything about the MacIntyres and their connection with Hintons.
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Vera and Winifred were two of the children of Richard McIntyre and Mabel Todd who had married at Gateshead in 1909. The following children were born at Gateshead, Sidney (b.1915), Eva (b.1919), Winifred (b.1925) and Vera (b.1928).
The couple moved to Teesside where Edma was born in 1932. The 1939 Survey shows the family living at 81 Teesdale Avenue, Billingham. Richard died in 1943. I do not know anything about the family after that date, apart from Winifred marrying Arthur Lenham in 1948, and Vera marrying John Lenham in 1950.
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I am hoping someone can help me. I am researching former Sunderland AFC players and have seen in Wikipedia (on line) that one such player Kenneth Jones (who was born in Easington Colliery on 1 October 1936) is quoted as having passed away in Stockton-on-Tess in July 2018.
However, I can find no record of this in any other on-line searches. Can anyone send me details about the Kenneth Jones who died between July-September 2018 in Stockton aged 81 to see if this was the former Sunderland footballer. Sunderland AFC has no record of this player passing away and believes him to still be alive but don’t know where.
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William Laws of Norton saved a young child from drowning in 1937 is there any history of this please?
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Hello,. Wondering if anyone has any information relating to the building the the Whitehouse Farm estate, more specifically Whitehouse Drive. I am trying to find photographs of my house from when it was built along with the original plans. The house was designed and built by Marsh builders I believe and the first owners were a Mr and Mrs Hayes who moved in, upon completion, in 1957. Any help would be much appreciated.
Many thanks
Karl
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Try Stockton Planning Dept for detailed plans-doubtless they will charge. For the plot location try Land Registry.
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Hi Derek,
Sorry for the late reply. I tried the planning department but they don’t have any records of the house. (I find it strange but that was what I was told). I have the original deeds etc which is all I believe land registry will have (I may even have more information than they hold!)
I’m all out of avenues, I was hoping that someone would know previous owners and had photos etc.
Thanks for the reply.
Karl.
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I’m trying to locate a specific photo of a Stockton street scene showing children posing for the camera, c. 1915-18 – sorry this is so vague! But it was enlarged and printed onto a wall display at Preston Park Museum in the mid 1980s, and caused a lot of interest to my family since two little girls in the foreground were my Grandmother and her sister (my Gran recognised herself, and of course various family members all dutifully went to see it on display)
My Mum and I have made enquiries at Preston Park – the staff have been very helpful but say without better info about date, location etc of the photo it’s impossible to find it.
If anyone else can remember the photo and provide any sort of info, it would be much appreciated..
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Does anyone remember the Batemans? Port Clarence
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Hello everyone, my Nan Rose Goodwin nee O’Neill, who was teetotal, used to regale me with tales about owning/running a pub in the area ‘down the steps’ ‘over the bridge’, in other words where Thornaby town hall and the station looked over towards Head Wrightsons down by the river. Can anyone tell me please what would be the best way to find out which pub she ran? I’m sure someone will know all the pubs that used to be in the area. I now so wish I had asked her which pub along with a thousand other questions. Don’t we all?
I forgot to add that Rose was born in 1899 and she must have ran a pub anytime between 1930 and 1960. A wide timescale I know. If anyone can help then thank you.
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Stephen, your grandmother would have known the area “over the bridge” well, as she was born and brought up in those streets on the edge of the Head Wrightson works. The O’Neill family appear in the 1901 Census living in Railway Street, and in the 1911 Census living in Prince Street. After Rose’s marriage in 1922, she moved into a later part of Thornaby, residing in Teesdale Terrace (off Cobden Street) in 1939.
You will only find out which pub your Nan worked in IF she was the landlord, and had formally applied for the alcohol licence through a local court. I doubt that you will find any records of her if she worked for the landlord, even though some barmaids in small pubs virtually ran the place.
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Thank you Cliff, I have learn’t something completely new there. Much appreciated. My first memories of my Nan were in the early 60s when she lived in Anderson Street, then she moved to Heslop St, and then back to Teesdale Terrace, so it’s interesting to now know that she returned to her old street. Like I said, I so wish I’d paid more attention to what she told me way back! Thanks again. I understand she was the owner, but I wouldn’t know which pub or where to start.
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I’d like to order a list of churches in the west of the town by their locations – Fairfield, Hardwick, Hartburn, Newham Grange, Newtown, Oxbridge, Ragworth, Roseworth etc. Is there a reliable map or diagram, official or otherwise, that shows where one district ends and the neighbour begins?
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