A view of Victoria Bridge, Stockton, seen from Thornaby. The bridge was opened in 1887 to replace the earlier stone bridge.
Victoria Bridge c1984
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Category Archives: River, Bridges, Ships and Boats
Transocean No.2 Drilling Rig
Head Wrightson made the legs for this drilling rig.
Photograph and details courtesy of Tony Campbell.
Erimus Paddle Steamer Ferry c1900
Paddle Steamer ‘Erimus’ at work on the Tees around 1900.
Photograph and details courtesy of Ian Pooley.
Boats at Tees Barrage International Water Centre, December 2015
A good collection of old working boats in front of the cafe at the Tees Barrage International Water Centre. Taken December 27th 2015.
Photograph and details courtesy of Anthony Bonner.
A view of the Tees from Victoria Bridge, 1984
A general view of the River Tees and its banks from Victoria Bridge, Stockton. On the Thornaby bank the site occupied by the Cleveland Flour Mills and North of England Pure Oil Cake Co., premises can be seen. c1984.
Sail Training, Castlegate Quay
Sail training alongside the Castlegate Quay, Stockton.
Photograph and details courtesy of Stan Hilton.
Castlegate Marine Club
Castlegate Marine Club on the banks of the River Tees c1993.
The Bishop Auckland to Stockton Canal, 1770
The survey to build a canal from Bishop Auckland to Darlington by canal, travelling onward to Stockton using the River Tees was commissioned by the leading coal merchants of Darlington and district, who wished to transport coal by barge from the Bishop Auckland coalfields to Stockton. The intended canal when built linked with the nearest navigable section of the River Tees, allowing the barges to complete the journey by river. Brindley and Whitworth were the surveyors commissioned to prepare the initial feasibility study, they submitted their report and outline plans in 1770. The scheme collapsed due to the low density of population in this area and, therefore, of a sufficiently large market for the coal transported. After a few unsuccessful attempts at reviving Brindley and Whitworth’s plans in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century, they became the basis for the famous Stockton and Darlington Railway in the 1820s. The canal was never built. It was designed by James Brindley, the engineer responsible for the Bridgewater Canal, with Robert Whitworth’s assistance.
Map reproduced with the kind permission and consent of the copyright owners, the British Library, London. Details courtesy of Bob Wilson.
Michaelson Road Bridge built by Head Wrightson
The Michaelson Road Bridge in Barrow-in-Furness was built in two stages to replace the old Lift and Roll bridge by Head Wrightson c1960s. Due to submarines being built in the same area, the bridge was constructed in a vertical position and once complete it was maneuvered into its horizontal position.
Photograph and details courtesy of Tony Campbell.
HMS Kellington c2008/9
Believe I took these photographs of the HMS Kellington maybe 6-10 months before she was scrapped c2008/9.
Photograph and details courtesy of Stephen Dobson
Heavisides – The Gondolier
Extract taken from Heavisides Almanac (part 2)…
‘Reaching now the last few miles of the river, I come to the end of my rambles, if one can ramble on the water. It is a bright afternoon, as the mater and I step on board a fine-lined steam yacht called the Gondolier, lying alongside a Stockton landing. At the appointed time, all being in readiness, our little vessel is soon speeding along in good style. Old Stockton is best seen from the river, and is said to be Dutch-like in character. Centuries ago history tells us the district traded a great deal with the Dutch, and our forefathers no doubt gathered many ideas from their intercourse with the Hollanders. We interestingly watch the movement of the numerous workmen busily engaged in the shipbuilding yards of Messrs. Craig, Taylor & Co., Messrs Ropner & Son and Messrs. Richardson, Duck & Co. Several leviathans are in the river nearing completion, and will soon proceed on their voyages to various parts of the world’.
Photograph taken with a No. 5 Poco Camera by Michael Heavisides.
Liss Oil Tanker c1921
The Liss with a gross tonnage of 5853 was built by the Furness Shipbuilding Company, Haverton Hill for A/S Krezimasko. The keel was laid on 18 February 1920 and the ship was launched on 26th May 1921.
The building of the Princess Diana Bridge c1991
The building of the Princess Diana Bridge in Stockton. It was opened on 23rd September 1992 and provides a road crossing between the Riverside Road, Stockton and the Tessdale area of Thornaby.
River Tees from the Castlegate Shopping Centre
Two views taken from the top of the Castlegate Shopping Centre, Stockton. February 2015.
In the foreground is the replica HM Bark Endeavour and across the River Tees is Teesdale Business Park. On this clear and bright day you can see all the way to Roseberry Topping!
HMS Kellington
I took this photograph of the HMS Kellington M1154 minesweeper prior to the listing/sinking/scrapping of this nice ship.
Photograph and details courtesy of Norman Smith.
Picture Stockton Archive 