Hundreds of people attend the races at Stockton Racecourse in 1962.
Photographs courtesy of Bruce Coleman.
Crowds at Stockton Racecourse c1962
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A view from Hume House
Another view taken from the top of Hume House in 1995 showing Harkers Engineering, the Cricketers Arms and Newport Bridge in the distance.
Photograph courtesy of John Corney.
Robinsons, Stockton High Street
A view of Robinsons Department Store – now Debenhams at the north end of Stockton High Street.
Dredger on the Tees
The wash form the steam tugs was believed to wear away the bank side. It was the task of the TNC to maintain the riversides. The TNC turned to dredging the river to allow larger vessels, especially at the coal staithes, to move along the river unaided.
Dredging was used to create more depth to the river and allow ships easier passage. Between 1845 and 1900 upwards of 34 million tons of material had been removed by dredging of the bed of the river.
The Queen, Stockton High Street c1956
A photograph of the Royal Car at the junction of Finkle Street as it proceeds down Stockton High Street towards Thornaby in 1956.
Clevo Flour Mill and the Victoria Bridge
Looking up-stream from Stockton quayside towards the Clevo Flour Mill and the Victoria Bridge c1967.
Advert for Metro Vickers c1959
This is an interesting advert from a 1959 Railways Illustrated magazine, showing how Stockton on Tees, was part of the modernisation plan for British Railways. the Metro Vick, CO-Bo’s, with their unusual wheel arrangement, built in the Bowesfield area, some former railway colleagues related to me that they could remember them brand new waiting for dispatch in the siding at Bowesfield Junction, though the design proved to be a poor one and did not last in service due to poor reliability.
The claim to fame with them was working the CONDOR freight service from Glasgow to London along the West Coast Main Line, which was highly publicised, even an oil painting was produced by Cuno the artist. Sadly they finished their days mostly at Carlise Upperby 12B and Carnfoth 10A, during 1966/68, I in fact saw a couple before they vanished at these depots, shame really.
Image and details courtesy of Bill Adams.
Flooding at Newtown c1900
The first photograph is taken from the site of the present Newtown Schools and shows Wren’s Mill on the left. The third photograph is taken from the end of Newtown Avenue.
Photographs and details courtesy of Chris Firth.
Hills Door Factory c1976
A view of Hills Door Factory possibly taken from Tilery Road…
Photograph taken in November 1976 by Len Toulson. Courtesy of Neal Toulson.
East Grid: Belasis Lane Track Diagram 1983
This photograph shows the signal diagram of Belasis Lane signal box c1983.
Photograph and details courtesy of Gordon Armes.
Unknown – Any ideas?
Can anyone help identify the building in this photograph? The photograph was found in a box belonging to Sarah and Alice Walker. They were baptised in the Methodist Church chapel in Regent Street, Stockton-on-Tees, in 1884 and 1886. My grandmother, Emily Thorpe, was baptised in the Methodist New Connection Zion Chapel, again in Stockton, in 1888. I am sure this photograph predates them as ladies are dressed in crinolines.
Their father, Joseph Finkell Walker, also lived in Osmotherly and Yarm, and there are census records showing family members being born at Hornby, Guiseborough, North Allerton and Kirklevington. Their mother, Elizabeth Thorpe, was born in Norton, Durham. Any help would be much appreciated.
Photograph and details courtesy of Pat Moss.
Class R1, Billingham South Modern Infants
Class R1, South Modern Infants in 1953. I am on the second row far right. My nickname at school was Decca, which most people knew me by.
Photograph and details courtesy of Derek Appleton.
Victoria Buildings c1895
A view of the “Victoria Buildings” – it is a crying shame such a beautiful building should be knocked down. The architect has ranged far and wide for his ideas, some of the windows have Greek style arch decorations above them others have Roman style, the facade is topped off with Dutch style gables, these appear to be purely decorative because there doesn’t seem to be any structure behind them, if this is so then presumably the windows in the gables are false as well.
The two octagonal corner towers flare out from the building in a similar fashion to the castles seen in Hungary and Bavaria, the two domes don’t seem to be the normal copper clad variety as they seem to have a slight sheen as if painted instead of the matt look of the copper types. The shop fronts are terrifically high by modern standards, they are at least twice the height of the people in front of them, this would make them at least 12 feet high and possibly higher, I remember the frontages being made with highly polished dark wooden frames and glass which on the odd occasion would be curved.
Other things I have noticed are, directly behind the main building is a hip roof with a chimney stack, to my eye this doesn’t seem to be part of the main building but another building behind it, the chimney stack doesn’t have the black decorative band around it that the main building has and also the chimney pots vary in size unlike the main building.
Slightly to the left of the building is a bay windowed building with words across it just below the eaves, are there any sharp sighted visitors that can make out what the words are?.
The house behind the church has a strange looking object that appears to be perched on the top of the chimney, I have no idea as to what it could be, if it had been 50 years later I would have thought it to be a telegraph pole. Slightly to the left and in the distance is a curved roof box van of the type often seen being towed by steam rollers, these vans carried the tools and equipment used by road repair gangs, they were still in use when I was a child in the 1950s, this one appears to be horse drawn.
Some of the lamp post have cast iron bollards around them, were they hitching posts for the many horses to be seen in that era?, I have seen similar hitching posts in Europe and America where they often have a cast iron horses head perched on top of the post.
In the foreground is a young boy with another child on his back, I remember carrying my many brothers and sisters around in that fashion.
Just in front of the canopy of the leftmost shop is a black sign with two white ovals on it, surely it’s not ‘Specsavers’ circa 1895?
Photograph and details courtesy of Bruce Coleman.
Stockton High Street c1970s
Probably taken during the mid 1970s – a view of Stockton High Street.
Diagram of Haverton Hill South Box
A diagram of Haverton Hill South Box.
Photograph and details courtesy of Denis I.Gilbert.