A photograph of ‘The Manor House’, no.83 The High Street, Yarm. Until the last half of the 19th century this building was two separate properties, the bowed windows and dormer, being only present on the right hand property. At some stage the left-hand property was then purchased and dramatically altered
to form a ‘twin’ double-fronted facade and roofline, thereby placing the main entrance door off-centre. In the rear yard there is a wall mounted sun-dial attached to the offshot of the original right-hand property dated 1715.The building is currently used as offices by legal-firm Merrit & Co.

Photograph and details courtesy of Chris Bailey.

A view of the village Cross, erected in 1893 and the Church School built in the early 19th century, demolished c1950, Billingham Green.

An ‘arty’ photograph of Yarm Town Hall and War Memorial.

The ‘North End Steam Building Works’ on Norton Road, Stockton was once the premises of Stockton born architect and builder, Eugene Edward Clephan.

Georgian architecture at the southern end of Yarm High Street c1979.

This is one of those posts that went missing when we moved to the new site.

It shows the Theatre Royal,Yarm Lane, Stockton.

We have tried to recreate as many of the original comments as possible…

Does anyone have any idea where and when this photograph was taken?  The building looks like Wynyard Hall…

The man presenting awards is definitely Prince George before he was crowned King George VI. The youths were probably members of a Boys Brigade or Church Lads Brigade. Who are the two men standing on the right?  If it is Wynyard Hall, in my mind’s eye, the distance today from the far Corinthian column to the end of the building, is greater than the distance between the same two points in the photograph. If it is Wynyard Hall, has that end of the building been extended since the photograph was taken? My guess is between 1925 and 1935. Is the large house beyond the trees still there?

Details courtesy of Brian Gargate (Original copyright of the photo is held by the Thorpe Thewles History Group.)

The foundation stone of the Castle Theatre was laid on 3rd October 1907 and the first play, ‘The Lady of Lyons’, was performed there on 31st July 1908. The Castle Theatre on Stockton High Street, later became the Empire.

Image and details courtesy of Derek Buttle.

The interior doors of Thornaby Town Hall bearing the Thornaby coat of arms c1983.

The Arms are based upon those of the family of Thornaby in the 16th century. The lion is that of the family of de Brus, who held the manor of Thornaby during the Middle Ages and the ship and anchors refers to the area’s maritime associations.

A view of Billingham’s old cinema, the Picture House on Mill Lane. We believe the building is now home to the Fracture Theatre.

c1977, the Globe opened as a Mecca bingo hall and it continued to be in use until the early 1990s.

Three cottages in a row… A view of the Londonderry Almshouses on Wynyard Road, Wolviston. We believe this building became Grade II listed c1951. The Almshouses bears the inscription, ‘Erected by Frances Anne Vane, Marchioness of Londonderry a.d. 1838’.

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A new ‘street art’ sculpture of Locomotion No.1 was unveiled today at the south end of the town. The steel sculpture was created by artist Steve Tomlinson. This is where the first rail of the Stockton and Darlington Railway was laid on 13 May 1822 near St John’s Crossing on Bridge Road, Stockton. (Contribution kindly sent in by David Thompson).

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Heritage Open Days take place each September and allows people behind the scenes to explore historic buildings and monuments – in particular those normally closed to the public on a day to day basis. As part of the celebrations The Globe Theatre Foundation invited people to take a free glimpse inside Stockton’s iconic Globe Theatre. We were lucky enough to have a tour around part of the theatre and hear from local historian Barry Jones about the history of the building and how the restoration is progressing. Enjoy the snaps!