is a town in
North East England . It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and
Borough Of Stockton-on-Tees . For
Ceremonial purposes, the town of Stockton-on-Tees is in
County Durham .
Stockton began as an
Anglo-Saxon settlement on high ground close to the northern bank of the
River Tees .
The
Manor of Stockton was created around 1138 and subsequently purchased by
Bishop Pudsey of
Durham in 1189 and since then has undergone many changes. Stockton's
Market can trace its history back to 1310, when
Bishop Bek of
Durham granted a market
Charter - 'to our town of Stockton a market upon every Wednesday for ever'. Stockton
Castle is first referred to in 1376. It was captured by the
Scottish in 1644 and was occupied by them until 1646, but was destroyed on the orders of
Oliver Cromwell at the end of the
Civil War . There is now a shopping centre, aptly named the Castle Gate Centre, where the original castle stood.
Major industries in Stockton have included ship-repairing, steel and chemicals.
The town is most famous for its associations with the
Stockton And Darlington Railway on which ran the world's first steam hauled passenger
Train in 1825. The town also has the world's oldest
Railway Station building, and also contains much
Georgian Architecture , one notable example being the worlds oldest Georgian
Theatre , constructed in 1766.
During the twentieth century the town's heavy industry declined dramatically, along with the that of the surrounding Teesside area. Since the 1980s the town has seen an increase in service industries.
It was the birthplace and early home of furniture designer
Thomas Sheraton . It was also the home of
John Walker , who invented the
Friction Match in 1826.
Other famous people born in Stockton include
Will Hay and
Jimmy James the comedians;
Ivy Close Miss Great Britain;
Brass Crosby Lord Mayor of London;
Joseph Ritson waspish critic and editor;
'Flying' Freddy Dixon the record-breaking racer; the actors
Richard Griffiths and
Stephen Tompkinson ;
Francis Bainbridge the great physiologist and
Margaret Nicholson would-be assassin of
George III . She appears in the film
The Madness Of King George .
The Member of Parliament for many years was
Harold Macmillan , later
Prime Minister . He was created
Earl Of Stockton on his retirement. Coincidentally, another Prime Minister,
Tony Blair , represents
Sedgefield , which is the portion of
County Durham surrounding Stockton-on-Tees.
Author
George Orwell also resided for a year in Greystone, near
Carlton , a village in the borough, from
1944 -
1945 .
The town's
High Street is reputed to be the widest in
Europe .
Stockton-on-Tees has many suburbs with individual identities:
Hartburn ,
Fairfield ,
Hardwick ,
Norton ,
Eaglescliffe and
Thornaby being a select few.
Stockton town centre has undergone many developments in recent years including the spectacular, albeit wobbly, Millennium Bridge, the Queens Campus of
Durham University , several acres of office buildings erected along the South bank of the
River Tees within the
Teesdale development and Wellington Square a modern shopping arcade erected upon the old
Wellington Street area of the town centre.
Whilst Stockton has its own railway station near to the town centre,
Stockton Railway Station , more and longer distance services operate from
Thornaby Railway Station across the River Tees.
Work is under way to develop The North bank of the
River Tees as part of the North Shore development, which will include new offices and housing.
The
Stockton-Middlesbrough Initiative is a 20 year vision for regenerating the urban core of the , but many others over a 15-20 year period.
