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 
is it possible to get a copy of the Weighing man painting by Ian Graham and if so how and where
thanks
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Does anyone have any information on the mill that used to be in Norton between Keithlands and Greylands Avenue? One old derelict building remains visible from Albany Road
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At Albany Road turn left. (Albany road was originally called Mill Lane). You will see a bungalow on the left-hand side. This was originally the site of the windmill. Continue to the end of Albany Road then turn left onto South Road. Continue past the fire station then cross over and turn right as you reach the roundabout onto Billingham Road.
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I’m writing a piece for an exhibition on aviation in Manchester and wondered if anybody had any details or photos of the F Hills & Sons factory in Trafford Park Manchester?
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Only one I’m aware of Frank was at Tilery on main road to Norton from Stockton.
Dave.
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Does anyone know why the Davis Bridge at Billingham was thus named. Thank you
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Hello, Billingham Beck Bridge. Old drawings or photographs available. It is the first bridge you cross coming from Potrack interchange into Haverton Hill crossing Billingham Beck
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I’m trying to find 9 Ash Street, Stockton-on-Tees, it was mentioned in a Sunderland newspaper many years ago
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Hi, Ash Street was just off Bath Lane (formerly part of Portrack Lane). It looks like it didn’t have many more than 9 properties in total 🙂 The area has redeveloped twice since Ash Street last existed (YMCA/St Mary’s Church & now houses).
See an old map here: https://tinyurl.com/252ns7a9
or on google maps here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/d52TvvWtKRTJJuBk8
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Excellent reply, many thanks.
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Can anyone help? I’m trying to locate a photograph of Tarring Street in Stockton dated in the 1950s. 1955-60 would be ideal. It is for a book I am researching. There was a fish and chip shop at one end of the street I believe. Any help would be much appreciated.
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Hi wondering if any one can help ,it is about the playing field at the top of Grosvenor Road which was used by the whole of the Fairfield community there used to be kissing gates there but since they have been ripped out and a gate and lock put on and the Stockton Rugby Club have taken it over so we can no longer use it, the people that back on to the field from Whitton road can and the residents of Grosvenor have a code which to gain entry ,my children used to play on this field has it was a safe enviroment for them ,what l am asking does anyone know if the Rugby club can legally do this ,l know someone said that behind the fence was a right of way , hope somebody with history knowledge can help , l have heard the field was gifted to the community form the Ropner family for recreational purposes but then the club said the lease had ran out so they have taken over ,so sad that my grandchildren and all of the community can not use it anymore it is locked up most of the year , just looks like a land grab to me , anyway here is hoping someone can help.
kind regards Mrs Walker
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Hi, please can any ex Newham Grange pupils who sang in school choir at durham cathedral remember if any photo’s were taken at the event, my wife casually mentioned she with school choir sang in cathedral around early 1968? Durham Cathedral has always been my favourite cathedral and I was shocked to learn of this event 54 years after we married. My wife went to Newtown School then onto Newham Grange, sadly she has no photos from her school days. If any group photos were taken at Newtown or Newham Grange I would love to purchase a copy or copies for my wife. My wife was then Rita Taylor, she lived in Northbourne Road, Eastbourne. Please if any one can help ask pictures@stockton.gov.uk for my email.
All the best to all.
Derek
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Hi everyone
I am looking for any old photos of St Patrick’s Catholic College in Thornaby on Baysdale Road. We are looking at celebrating the school as it turns 60 and want as many photos as possible.
Can anyone help with this or point me in the direction to find anything please.
Thank you in advance
Rachel
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would you know who the Mayor of Stockton on tees was in 1945?
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Hi Carol, Alexander Ross was the Mayor of Stockton-on-Tees in 1945. He was also Mayor the year before.
Kind regards,
Hannah
Stockton Reference Library
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Hello there, would anyone please have a old photo or details of when/history of the houses on Preston Lane, Eaglescliffe, Stockton were built? Many thanks in advance. Clare
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Preston Lane was built well before 1954. Two girls who lived in that street attended the Grangefield Grammar school that year onwards. Our group of school friends spent a lot of time in Preston Park, which is adjacent to Preston Lane. Cannot say whether they are post or pre-war houses as we always met in the Park, so never called for them.
Hope this helps.
Dave Williams.
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I went to Grangefield with Colin Reed whose dad ran the Parkmore Hotel. Don’t know if this was close by.
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From the Stockton direction, Preston Lane is the street on left immediately before Preston Park. Parkmore Hotel is well passed the Park opposite the Golf Club. Possibly 0.5miles away.
Dave.
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Preston Lane with Preston Farm alongside it is on the 1912 O.S. map. This should give you a starting point.
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Do you have any photos of the lads of the 5th battalion dli from 1937-45 ?
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Hi all, just like to ask about group photo’s taken at Newham Grange School, my wife left school 1968, before we married she was Rita Taylor, she lived in Northbourne road, Eastbourne, if any one can help it would be much appreciated.
Thanks.
Derek.
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I should add, if any one has school group photo with Rira on it could I possibly have a copy.
Many thanks.
Derek.
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I am trying to find the name of the Mayor of Stockton-on-Tees for years 1913/14/15/16?
Also a list or directory of Building contractors in Stockton-on-Tees around 1890 to 1920 in particularly to the iron & steel industry and Furness building?
The name I’m looking for as Mayor is Richard Gaunt.
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Hi Austin,
According to Tom Sowler’s ‘A History of the Town and Borough of Stockton-on-Tees’, Richard Gaunt was Mayor in 1921. Edward Stephenson was Mayor for 1913 and 1914, John Bertrand Watson was Mayor in 1915 and John Harrison was Mayor from 1916 – 1918.
With regards to a list of building contractors in Stockton-on-Tees, we do hold Ward’s trade directories in the Reference Library. I shall email you a copy of the relevant pages.
I hope that this information is of some help to your research.
Kind regards,
Hannah
Stockton Reference Library
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Hi Austin. I live on Austin Avenue in Stockton – I think the road was possibly named after a relative of yours? Kind regards Karen
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I am trying to find an old school friend Anita Vilnitis, who lived on Hartington Road Stockton and went to Hardwick sec mod girls school with me. Should be about 66/67 now I would think. Her father was from Latvia… Susan Hamill/Harker
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Hi Susan, I managed to trace a marriage of an Anita Vilnitis. She married in Corby, Northants, in 1980 to an Ian Scales.
The following year they had a son, Kevin Andrew Scales. Kevin was still living in Corby in 2010, so you might find about about Anita if you can trace her son.
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Anita Vilnitis married Ian Scales in the third quarter of 1980 in Corby district, Northamptonshire
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Hello, my dad worked at Anderson Foundary in the 60’s, Ben Nicholson from Middlesbrough, probably a big stretch for any one to remember him. We immigrated to Canadian 1964. I would be very interested to know anything about that time at the Foundary, thanks!
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Was there a street called Millton St or something similar 1950s I was born there, also where was the local graveyard as my brother was buried there 1954, I moved down south at the age of 5, as have little memory of it….
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Email Stockton register office Bereavement Services. They used to, (I’m not totally certain that they still do), have a free service to tell you where someone is buried if you know the year of burial. They used to charge a fee if you weren’t sure of the date. Milton Street was to the East of The Gasworks about equidistant from St. Mary’s Church to the East of that. Have a look at https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=17.0&lat=54.57058&lon=-1.31416&layers=168&right=ESRIWorld
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I have never heard of a Milton Street in Stockton-on-Tees. There is one in Middlesbrough. Tom Sowler wrote a history of the town, and Minnie Horton wrote the History of Cleveland which includes the Stockton area.
The cemeteries in use at the time you are interested in are still in use. One is in Oxbridge Lane and the other is in Durham Road. The Chrem would be in Acklam Road, Middlesbrough, near to the Blue Bell hotel.
Best wishes,
Dave.
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There is a Mill Street West and East in Stockton, a Mill Street in Norton and a Milton Street in Darlington. I have not managed to find an Milton Street in old street directories but this is an area for potential further searching, as it would also show up other two-syllable streets beginning with Mil or Mill.
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Could your street be Mill Street? Definitely in Stockton.
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I see that Milton Street was off Thompson Street to the south, and is now partly under Thompson Street West car park.
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Does anyone have photos of Furness ship yard, Haverton Hill. My father worked there in the 1940s. Thanks
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If anyone has photo’s of shipyard, please let me know. My father, Arthur Williams, was the Personnel Manager. He started in 1927 as an Apprentice Plater and retired on 30.4.64. There is a photo of the annual bus trip of staff in the “Now & Then” magazine dated Nov/Dec 2021, page 59. It would be taken in the 1950’s. Father is on front row ?4th left – in the very smart suit.
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Hi Seadogdavesenior
My name is Craig, I am also looking for pictures from the Furness Yard in the 1940s. Specifically for the ss Empire Gold which was built at the Haverton Hill yard in 1941 originally under the name Eppingdale.
My uncle served on the ship and was lost when it was torpedoed on April 18th 1945.
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Hello Craig,
Sorry, cannot help re. 1941 launch. Apart from the bus trip photo [1950’s I think], I only have a few showing my Father at functions where he was awarding prizes plus two cartoons of him drawn by one of the workmen.
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Thank you for taking the time to reply I really appreciate it.
Kind regards
Craig
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For general views of the Furness shipyard there are a few aerial photos on the Britain from Above website. This one is a good start: https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EAW030449
(If you register (it’s free) you can zoom in)
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I have over 50 photos relating to the Furness Shipyard at Haverton Hill. I am more than happy to share them with you.
Many of them are shots of ships built at the yard but there are a number showing staff members, the photos cover a period from the early 1920s up to the 1970s.
I also have two films, one is the 1933 launch of the MV Houston City and the other is of MV Ceres during her sea trials off the Northumberland coast, this includes footage of the River Tyne.
I had family members who worked at the Furness yard, my paternal Grandfather, Father, Mother and two Brothers all worked there as well as a number of motorcycling mates from the 1960s and 70s.
If you are interested email Picture Stockton (pictures@stockton.gov.uk) and they will pass my email address on to you.
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Hi Bruce. I will drop you a line via the contact in the link. I am also looking for pictures from the 1940’s generally but specifically for the ss Empire Gold which was build in 1941 under the name Eppingdale.
Doing some research for my Uncle who was lost when the ship was torpedoed on Aril 18th 1945.
Kind regards
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Hello Craig
There are three or four pictures of Empire ships in my collection, unfortunately Empire Gold is not among them.
Regards Bruce
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Hello
I am making models of local buildings, some of which have already been demolished and I am trying to find images to work from. My curent project is my old school, Holly Trinity Higher Grade School for Boys which was situated on Yarm Lane, which I attended from 1951 -54. I have borrowed a copy of “A History of Holy Trinity School Stockton on Tees” by B G Bucknall and this has provided an excellent starting point but I really need to find more images of the building. Aerial Views are particularly useful to determine roofscapes etc. Any advice you are able to provide would be most useful.
Regards
Keith Thompson
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I’m looking for pictures of Tynedale Stores, Tynedale Street, Stockton on Tees. My Nanna, Doris Tavolieri, owned the shop in the 1950’s but I don’t have any photos of it.
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I’m wonder if anyone has any info regarding the Leeds Hotel, especially around 1910. I believe my mother’s Cousin was the Licensee.
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Hi,
Looking at the 1910/11 Ward’s Directory there is an for a T. Lees at the Leeds Hotel. I have also found a Thomas Lees at the Leeds Hotel on the 1911 census which I shall send to your email.
I hope that this information is of some help to your research.
Kind regards,
Hannah
Stockton Reference Library
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Hello. I was a pupil at Holy Trinity School for Boys from 1949-1953 and I am trying to find images of the school from that period. My interest is in making a model of the school using Lego. I have already made several local buildings using this method and would like to add Holy Trinity to my collection. Any images, plans or drawings would be most useful.
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Hi there does anyone have a photo of Lenny’s butchers on Leven Road, Norton. Lenny gained his angel wings yesterday we would love to have a photo of the shop thank you.
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Hi, we visited Stockton last week to see if we could find out anything about my husband’s family and where they were living between 1870 and 1950. Unfortunately we discovered that most of the addresses we had to investigate, no longer exist as the streets were demolished. Would anyone know of any photos, facts etc about the following addresses please?
1 Langley Street
12 Inkerman Street
12 Agnes Street
3 Barrett Street
15 Bottomley Street (this may be Middlesbrough?)
They are all that are places that are relevant to birth addresses and census records for David John Williams and his wives, Mary Ellen and Elizabeth, their children Samuel, Horace Eva and Norman.
Thanks in advance.
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My wife’s family, Lanes, lived in 36 Inkerman St, they are on the 1936 list.
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Hi Julie, Inkerman and Langley Street were both with 400 ft east of the railway station and ran roughly parallel to the railway lines. Agnes Street and Barret Street were both on Portrack (St. James Ward). Bottomley is off Linthorpe Rd in Middlesbrough (you can pick it up on your search engine).
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Where are you now Chris Simpson, Ann Shepherd, Mary Rattray, Judith Whitticker all good people Stuart White
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Hi Stuart, I remember all those girls from my school… I was in Wm Newton school, Junction Rd, Norton. I spotted Judith in Stockton High St a year or two ago. She hadn’t recognised me, but not surprising at it had been 60 years since we had last seen each other. We chatted and she told me she was still friends with Christine nee Simpson and they had been at each others wedding. I live in Billingham now. My birth name was Marilyn Miller.
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Does anyone know Gilbert Street School in the 1900s I have a photo of my dad and his brothers at school in that time but not sure which school. They went to Gilbert Street before moving to Ovington. They lived in South Palmerston Street, which I believe is no longer there.
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Kathleen, this website relates to Stockton on Tees and surrounding areas. I am not aware of a Gilbert Street School in Stockton. There was a Gilbert Street School in the town of South Shields on Tyneside in the early 1900s.
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Thank you Cliff, yes I did realise this and have asked on South Shields sites but there are no recent posts. My gggrandparents moved from Whitby to Stockton but not got into that ad yet. My grandfather moved from Stockton to apprentice at the Coop boot & shoe makers on South Shields where he met his wife. I was just hoping that someone somewhere would remember those places.
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Robert Rankin was born in Stockton on 1864, but whereabouts in the town? His parents were Robert Rankin and Janet Nelson. He was an engine fitter. The family moved to Lanarkshire in 1871 and emigrated to Australia in 1883. Can anyone throw any more light on the family before they moved north?
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The only way to find out where the Rankin children were born in Stockton, is to purchase copies of their birth certificates from the Registrar’s Office in Stockton.
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Out of interest , I did a Firefox search for Lanarkshire Industry in 1871. The result is lots of pictures mainly around mining. Are the family on the 1871 census perhaps with Robert the elder being something like a winding engine/water pump etc fitter. There isn’t an awful lot of coal in Australia. Alternatively and just a guess based on the family living in Stockton. Robert the elder could have worked at Blair’s engine factory and been employed to fit the engines into the ships at Ropner’s shipyard. (I have a relative that did just that and died there)–but it is a guess.
Cliff’s suggestion of a birth cert may just give you more precise info.
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I am seeking confirmation of the location of “The Open Air School” in Stockton which existed in the years post WW2. I have been advised of William Newton School and of Ragworth area (about were the St Johns school is now). I attended it for 6 months as a child but memory gets in the way of were it was. Can you help please??
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I think you may be referring to Ragworth Open Air School which was next to St Joseph’s Primary School in Norton. It could be accessed at the top of Mill Lane in Norton or off Ragworth Road. The classrooms were individual and more or less floor to ceiling windows and doors that opened onto the outside so the pupils could access fresh air. In later years the school became a school for pupils with physical disabilities (nursery to 16 years) and was called Summerhouse School (I believe due to the proximity to Summerhouse Square. It closed in the mid 1980s. Most of the primary pupils went on to a specially resourced provision at Whitehouse Primary School (opened 1987 – I worked there when it opened) and the secondary pupils to a similar provision at Bishopsgarth secondary school a bit later. My mum Joyce Bailey worked at the school from some time in the 1970s till it closed. The headteachers I remember were Alan Burke and David Woolley. Houses now stand where the school used to be.
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I remember the open air school from when I went to St Joseph’s, some times we’d see the pig come out of the small wood that divided the two places, that would be around 1953.
I remember the people you referred to who worked at Summerhouse before it closed.
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Thanks a million Jane, You have opened another piece of window into my forgotten past; you are wonderful!
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Could this be Summerhouse School, which I think was Summerhouse Square. It was near St Joseph’s Catholic School.
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Almost there Pat. Thanks for replying. See the reply from Jane above, who hit the nail on the head!
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Right here:
https://maps.nls.uk/view/120938841#zoom=5&lat=7334&lon=9579&layers=BT
https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EAW024092 (a bit blurry, but you can see it if you zoom in)
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The open air school was at the top of Mill St. Norton it’s now a housing estate I went to that school in the 1950s.
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Thanks David,
I already have a map snipped from another responder thanks. Am I correct in believing that we kids went there for “Failing to thrive” – I was a skinny little thing at the time. Also I believe that we went for six months? Did we go home each evening or just at weekends. From my questions I am sure you can see that much the memory lost when I was a kid, still has not recovered at 78?
Derek
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Hi Derek it was a normal day school for children with heath problems. I had a bad hip at the time when I left there after about 12 months I went to Frederick mattress school I am 79 now.
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I went there after coming out of hospital
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