Ask Us

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…

NOTE – Please use the ‘Reply‘ option when answering a query.

2,513 thoughts on “Ask Us”

  1. Any one in Thornaby know a lad called David Harris (Harry we called him?) he worked as apprentice moulder at Head Wrightsons early mid 70s, during one lunch break we went down to the river side because David wanted to look for fishermens floats that used to be found along bank, on or around 25th February 1975 I spotted a large fish in the clear water near bank side, we followed the fish and it went behind a tree trunk, I found a tree branch that had been washed down from further up the river, I managed to approach the fish from behind and carefully put my forked stick under it and give a heave, turned out to be a 27″ salmon in good condition, some chaps phoned the Gazette and they printed story and took a photo, as we all know hindsight would be a wonderful gift! I so wish I’d ordered glossy photo from the Gazette that week, I often wondered if David did, I’m now a fit 75 year old and still kick my self not ordering photo.
    If any one knows David (Harry) Harris please ask if he did get a glossy photo from that time.
    All the best.
    Derek

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    • Derek – Contact the Evening gazette, they may let you have a copy of the photo. You know the date and description… Go on give it a try, or you’ll always wish – what if, what if… Good luck

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        • Derek – Try the library then (in person). When I started Family History I went to the ref library quite a while ago. I knew NOTHING about how to trace my tree – but I did have my gt grandparents name. I was given a copy of the Gazette from 1902! Just to borrow, not keep! My gt granddad had been killed at Stockton Rail Station and I found the obit. Sadly on the same page I also saw the Coroners report which said he had been decapitated and lost an arm. Horrible way to go. At least it was quick! He was working at oiling a train in the sidings when a train ran into him. I thought – why didn’t he just get out of the way? but everyone was so used to horse travel he wouldn’t have realised how quick trains moved. RIP my gr granddad.

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  2. I would like to know
    What school would have been local too Hill St. back in 1914 era
    Hill Street is no longer there
    But my grandad family lived in Hill St. for a few generations , I’m trying to locate the school he might have gone to.
    Thank you

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    • Hi Jacqueline,
      Assuming that your school was near Hill Street in Stockton, then it would have been in Portrack, I would have been known as St James School. It was built, as most schools were pre 1900, for the local Parish Church. In this case St James Church was on the north side of the original Portrack Lane The single story school was built on the south side and I believe still stands (a photo is on this site).

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      • Thank you so much I’ll try to find the pic on here. I’m assuming that it no longer operates as a school. I’m thinking he as born in 1904. So probably went to the school from 1910 on.

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        • I forgot to mention that I posted a couple of class photos of my parents etc taken around 1910 ish (I cannot be certain). They should be still accessible. For what it’s worth, the St James School closed when The Tilery Infants and Juniors was built at the north end of St Ann Terrace. The St James only accommodation infants for boys but up to junior (11) for girls. The boys went on to Bailey St. Pre 1900 (roughly) education for kids was private and usually by the churches. Sometime in the 1890’s (I can’t recall the date) school for kids became mandatory and was enforced by school bobbies. Prior to this it was not uncommon for girls to have no education or leave to go to work at 11.
          Derek

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          • Derek – Compulsory education in England began in 1880 – for girls and boys – until age 12 – thus many adults in the early 1900’s were illiterate. Prior to that date school was paid privately for better off people – or some were taught at home by literate parents. My maternal grandma began school in 1890 and could read and write well. Many girls went into ‘service’ i.e. as housemaids or servants. Indeed boys often worked as servants too – often on farmland. Some got apprenticeships. My own ggg grandmother who was born in 1792 in Acklam was literate as were her many siblings. Personally I’d like to see a return to apprenticeships – earn while you learn.

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            • The attached photographs of two classes at St James School in Portrack came to me through the family. Sadly, I cannot make any positive identifications. I have used the births of my mother and aunts to take a shot at the dates the photographs were taken. Looking at the state of some of the children, it is amazing that enough could pay for a copy and justify the school’s expense. I posted these some years ago but suspect they were lost in the reorganisation.

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                • Hi Jacqueline,
                  I agree. I have checked and I can not find my 2 photos re St James in the schools section (or anywhere else) dated around 1910. All I can think for you to do is for you to contact Laura at Stockton Pictures and explain the problem. The pics may still be in a file awaiting checking? Anyway, I am happy for her to give you my e mail address. This avoids both our address’ being posted. If you contact me I can then send you an e mail with them attached,

                  Derek Wade

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                  • Thanks Derek I’ll do that ….. I just noticed your name Wade
                    That is also in my family as well I come down from Annie Jane Wade married a John Oliver in Stockton wonder if we have a connection

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                • Hi Jacqueline,
                  I’m certain that I posted them but agree that they are not there (unless there is a checking bundle) Suggest you write to Stockton Pictures explaining and tell them that they have my permission to supply you with my email address. If you then write to me I can reply with the pics attached,
                  Regards,
                  Derek Wade

                  p.s I do have a lousy memory!

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    • Hi Jacqueline,

      A link to a map showing the location of Hill St.: https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17&lat=54.56917&lon=-1.30852&layers=168&b=1&marker=54.569344,-1.308570

      From the map you can see the closest will have been Bailey St, School
      https://picturestocktonarchive.com/2013/08/09/bailey-street-school-bath-lane/
      https://picturestocktonarchive.com/2015/11/02/bailey-street-school-stockton/

      But I guess it matters which religious persuasion your great grandparents were (a topic that I really don’t understand).
      St. Mary’s RC school is also very close by.

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      • Thank you so much I really appreciate that, I’ll have a look..
        I know they lived at 11 Hill St for a few generation as it was his grandparents place then his parents.

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  3. My Grandparents lived at 21 Selwyn Street, long since demolished I am trying o find an old map of where Selwyn Street was located. My Grandparents were William and Jane Ann Dawson. William worked for ICI in Billingham. They moved to 2 Cockerton Walk in later life. I used to visit in the late 1950s early 1960s with my parents. Their only daughter Jean Trathan (nee Dawson) was my mother. I would be grateful for your help.

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    • Hello Paul,

      I have sent you an email with a map showing the location of where Selwyn Street used to be in Stockton.

      I hope that this helps.

      Kind regards,
      Hannah, Stockton Reference Library

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      • Thank you Hannah, the map is great. When we used to visit we arrived by train at Thornaby Station which is the other side of the river, I can’t remember how we got from the station to Selwyn Street. Do you have a map which shows a larger area. We lived near Manchester at the time and used to get a train to Darlington and then a local train to Thornaby. My father lived in Darlington as a child.

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      • Hi Hannah
        I have found a link to a larger map from one of your other posts so I can see the bigger picture, please ignore my earlier request. Do you know in which year the redevelopment of the area around Selwyn Street began?

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        • Hi Paul,

          I’m glad you got sorted with a larger map. Looking at the electoral registers, Selwyn Street had disappeared by 1968/69 so this must have been when the redevelopment began.

          I hope this helps,
          Hannah

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      • Thanks Bob. It looks like my grandparents house stood right in the middle of what is now Parkfield Road, skirting the southern boundary of a primary school. I would be interested to know around which years the redevelopment took place.
        Many thanks

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  4. I would like the oldest picture you have of Dobing street, Stockton-on-Tees, preferable in 1871. If you don’t have a photo, I welcome a 1871 map of the area and any surrounding streets images to get an understanding of what the area looked like. The KEIR family lived in 1 Dobing Street. If you have a photo of a KEIR I would also welcome that image.

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  5. Morning, I was in the same class as one of the Bowes Lads, John ?, possibly remembered as having the blackboard rubber thrown at him more times than enough.

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  6. Hello, as a child I lived at 222 Norton Road next door to the fish and chip shop. We moved in about 1956. Mum is 100 in October and we would like to show her some photos of the part of the area she lived in. In particular has anyone got any photos of the houses from 222 up to Jim Turner’s shop? Jim was mum’s grocer and it would be lovely to see a photograph. If there is any information about Jim that would be helpful too. Thank you.

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    • Hello jean, is my memory playing tricks in my old age? Are you related to one of my old school mate’s kieth bowes? We went to tilery school together but! Keith was by far much clever than me other swainby & danby road kids. I used to run up to jim turners shop for a bag of broken biscuits, i would say! Put some chocolate one’s in jim please, he always said! You’ll get what i give you! But jim always, always put broken chololate biscuits in bag, he was a lovely, gentle gentelman. I lived in both swainby & danby road, still remember keith mam & grandparents tom & daisy, tom served in kings own scottish borderes, he would 100% have know my casey grandparents robert & beatrice casey, robert also served in same regiment as tom.
      All the best.
      Derek.

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  7. I have been looking at the photos of Haverton Hill to see if I can find the house I was born in which was on Belasis Avenue. I can find some of Belasis Avenue but not my side of the Street. I was born in No 31 Belasis Avenue which was in the short section of houses on the side next to the railway line.
    Does anyone have photographs, aerial or otherwise of this side of Belasis Avenue?

    Thanks in advance

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  8. My gran was born in Rupert Street in 1913. Looked on street view and there’s a warehouse there. Wondering if there are any photos of how it used to look, or of that area. Thanks.

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    • Hi, Rupert Street is likely to be a bit out of the way to appear in any photos, bit you can see it and the area here in this 1932 aerial photo: https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EPW038901 (If you register, for free, you can zoom in)
      It’s in the bottom-middle part of the image. The houses were only on one side of the street, so they faced onto open ground, later allotment gardens.

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  9. Hello,

    I happened to google my Grandad’s name and came upon a thread on here where his name has come up, his name was Alan Darley and he was from Norton. I’m hoping to learn some family history, and hoping the gentlemen who commented on the other thread, who had known and worked with my Grandad might see this.

    Thanks

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  10. I am doing a project with my grandson from 1950 – 1960 I wanted to let him see what kind of house I lived in Herring Street

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  11. I have a photograph of my ancestors at school and I think that it is Gilbert Street South Shields. I do know that their parents lived in South Palmerston Street in 1901. Any information or photos of this area would be helpful
    Many thanks

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  12. When I left school Christmas 1962 I started work at Head Wrightsons, Eaglescliffe as an apprentice moulder, the whole foundry was making segments, type you see in under ground tunnels etc.
    Labourers would make the drag (bottom mould) others the top for the drag, moulders would put the cores in, moulds put together then molten iron poured into mould, this would go on all day, squads of labourers & moulders turning out segments. I worked along side one group making key segments, one of the labourers was a man called Jobson, I was 15 years old and he said to me when he found out I was a Casey, I think you and I are related, I was to young to ask questions then, but all these years later I think this Jobsen was the son of Hannah & William Jobson, Hannah Lyons Casey, she my great aunt, if this Jobson who worked as a rammer on drags is still alive he would be I think mid 80s, just wondered if any Jobson’s can relate to this, I think he lived in Thornaby. If you can relate to this please get in touch please, I’m sure the Picture Stockton team would pass on my email or just reply here.
    All the very best.
    Derek Casey.

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  13. Tilery boys school, hi all, I left school Christmas 1962, I’d like to ask if any lads who were at Tilery boys at this time remember in the assembly (music) hall a large charcoal drawing of Sir Francis Drakes ship, it hung up on the music sheets that were on pulley’s, its been a very long time since those days and I wondered if any one else can remember the drawing, it was drawn by my late (younger) brother Leonard Casey, I would love to know after all this time some one else remembers it.
    All the very best to all.
    Derek Casey (Decca)

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  14. Does anyone remember a retail shop just past Maxwell’s Corner going towards Norton Road called Midorca House? My mother – Nora Owles – worked there in the early 1960’s
    I seem to remember it stocked a bit of everything. My sister and I would go there to meet mam and have a look around the toy department and I’m sure we were in a fashion show there once. It would be nice to see if anyone has memories of it.

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  15. Is anything known about the old tree that stands on its own in the small enclosed park on the south side of Bradbury Road, near Talgarth Road?

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    • That Tree is on a Plague Pit. When Kendrew Built Bradbury Road in the 1930’s they had to leave the area of the pit so grassed it and left it.
      The old wall at the South side of the area is the original wall to the orchard of Norton House which was pulled down in 1935 and the four houses facing the green built. Before Talgarth Road was built my Father had permission to take fruit from the orchard which he did until the trees were taken out for the houses to be built.
      As a small boy I saw Norton House (not to be mistaken for Norton Hall still standing) torn down they used a Steam Engine with a winch running a wire rope through windows then pulling, quite a spectacle for us nosy kids. The rubble was used as foundation for the house built on the site

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  16. My father (born 1919) lived in Park Road, Stockton around 1932/33. He would be about 13/14 and went to Trinity School. The school seem to have plenty group photos from about that time, but I cant find one for ’32/’33. Can you help? I live in Scarborough. He was Thomas Somerville.

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  17. Hello,

    Does anyone remember an iron house which was built on Eamont Road, Norton? It would have been at the beginning of or near the beginning of the road as you turned in from Norton Avenue. Any information would be greatly received.

    Thanks,
    Hannah

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  18. I am trying to find out about the place my aunt worked in 1921, it was called A.W Scarr & son, Empire Bazaar, Dovecot Street, Stockton. She was actually a florist but it could have been anything. I can find no mention anywhere, can you help?

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  19. Hi, I’m a Building Surveying student at Northumbria University and I’m currently working on my dissertation. The topic is centred around homes built by ICI in Billingham during the 1930s. Do you know where I can find any information regarding materials, spec and construction techniques used?

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  20. Did the Richard Hind School have a primary section in the 1920’s? My father made temporary visits to Tilery, Stockton to stay with relatives and he may have attended Tilery or the Richard Hind Primary school. My uncle said that he went to RH in he 1920’s.

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    • I attended Richard Hind school in the seventies, directly across the road on the junction of Richardson Road and Yarm Road there still stands what I always considered as Richard Hind Primary school although I am not sure if it actually went by that name. It is now some sort of local community hub

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      • Google Earth Street View shows that there is still the original plaque on a gable end of the school facing Richardson Road.
        The plaque states that it is the Junior School – although I do not know whether that included Primary Classes. It certainly included Primary Classes when I attended in the 1950s.

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  22. Hi, I was wondering if anyone knows where John Street used to be in Stockton and if there are any photos of the street out there? My 3rd Great Grandparents are there in the 1841 Census. Thanks in Advance.

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    • Khadim Hussain… Sorry the only advice I can suggest is trying the 1939 ‘register’ but if your family came to the UK later than that, sorry I can’t help. Many came to the UK just after the war when English people realised how tasty Indian food is (as well as Italians for ice-cream and pizza!) Good luck. You could always try the Birth, Marriage, and Death certificates… they usually give father’s name and place of birth

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    • There are Temples in Middlesbrough and Newcastle which may be able to help. Have you asked at the Stockton Reference Library; I would be surprised if they could not turn something up.

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  25. I have an address for my great grandfather but I’m hitting a wall trying to find it. It is 19 The Furness, Norton-on-Tees. The year was 1909. Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

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    • Hello Sharon,

      Mitre Street in Stockton used to be located just to the south of Holy Trinity Church, near to Bowesfield Lane.

      If you copy and paste this link into your address bar (https://maps.nls.uk/view/101100488) and look to the area at the bottom right hand side of the map, hopefully you will be able to see Mitre Street in the area between Holy Trinity Church and Parkfield Works. If you have any problems please contact us at reference.library@stockton.gov.uk and we can email you a copy of the map.

      I hope that this information is of some help to you.

      Kind regards,
      Hannah

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    • Hello Sharon,

      Looking at an 1899 edition of a map of Stockton, the streets opposite the middle of Parliament Street were Bickersteth Street, Chalk Street, Cecil Street, Percy Street, Mitre Street and Lindsay Street.

      I hope that this information is of some help to you.

      Kind regards,
      Hannah

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  28. Hello. I am trying to find a copy of a photo of numbers 9 and 11 Station Road, from the 1920s or 30s. I can send a photo of it which I took on my phone, if I could email it to you somehow?

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  29. Hiya anyone know anything about bus route 33 Wolviston to Billingham? Like when it ran and when it was took off. Also what buses used to stop at the bus stops on Thames Road on the bus stops that say No public services as I know the 35 goes to some of them

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  30. I’m wondering if you have any information about Broadbent & sons Sawmill in Maritime Road, it was owned by my mothers family, I believe it was started by her great grandfather, also do you know where I could get a copy of the photograph of my grandfather & Major Cooper VC taken at the unveiling of the Majors portrait in Stockton library. Thanking you in advance

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    • Hello Susan – My brother worked there until National Service call up, I am unsure if we are distantly related but I do recall the Broadbent name.
      There was also a Broadbent family lived in Headlam Street off Tilery Road, they were not related.
      J.

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  33. 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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      • BabyLou/Retro and Cliff Thornton Re the ‘Proddy Mat’… I remember my late gt grandma making these mats out of old bits of material.. she called them rag mats as they were literally made of out old bits of rag. Some also called them ‘hook mats’ as a big hook was used to poke the piece of rag through. Someone demonstrating them can be seen at Beamish Open Air Museum. Many people used a big wooden frame to keep it in place until it was finished. No one – and I mean NO ONE had fitted carpets in those days.

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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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  35. 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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  36. 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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  37. 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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  38. 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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  40. 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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  41. 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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  42. 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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  43. 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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      • According to my researches, Winifred and Vera are daughters of John McIntyre and Phyllis Johnson Todd. Where have I gone awry?

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  44. 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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    • Don Kinghorn – I can only suggest you look in the local press at the time for the name William Laws, starting with the Evening Gazette. It would be perhaps better to look at the Ref Library in person. If you know the child’s name it would obviously help – as would be place of the accident – say the Duck Pond or where-ever…

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  46. 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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      • 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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        • Photos, albeit as recent as Google, maybe easier. Try searching for Whitehouse Road. Look down the list for 22/0870/LBC-Whitehouse etc Gives a Google run round the road.

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  47. 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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    • Do you know the name of the Batemans’ say Fred, Joe or whatever. My daughter recently married the son of a Bateman who lived in Port Clarence. A time or year could help.

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  49. 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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  50. 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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