Norton is a market town in the
Borough of Stockton-on-Tees
The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees is a unitary authority with borough status in the counties of County Durham and North Yorkshire, England. The borough had a population of 191,600 in 2011.
The main settlement and namesake of the borough is Stock ...
,
County Durham,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
It stands on higher ground to the south, further away from the
River Tees than Stockton town centre. They are small areas west of the area called
Roseworth
Roseworth is an area of Norton in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is ...
and Ragworth. Billingham Beck is to the area's east, the beck flows south-east to join the river.
Wolviston
Wolviston is a village and civil parish within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 877. It is situated in the north of Billingham. The ...
and
Wynyard are the nearest places to the north. They are three wards with the area's name. Combined the two former 2011 wards had a population of 20,829.
[
*6,286 for
*7,843 for
*6,700 for ]
The area's centre dates back to at least the
Anglo-Saxon period
Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from the end of Roman Britain until the Norman conquest in 1066, consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom of ...
. It was the centre of an
ancient parish that once included the
chapelry of Stockton, which became its own ancient parish in 1713 which was three years after Stockton was granted a
market charter
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
. It became a part of
Teesside County Borough in 1968, which was abolished in 1974, it has not been parished since.
History
In 1982, the chance discovery of human bones by school children playing on a rope swing near the Mill Lane area of the town, led to the unearthing of an Anglo-Saxon
pagan cemetery. Excavations in 1984 revealed 120 burials (117
inhumations
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
and 3
cremation
Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre is ...
s) in graves that contained assorted personal items such as spears, belt buckles and brooches. The remains and objects collected suggest the site was dated to around AD 540–610.
To the south end of High Street, the Victoria Jubilee Memorial Cross stands where the market place was once situated. The red sandstone Anglian style cross commemorates Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Further along, and on the opposite side of the High Street are the Fox
almshouses, also founded in 1897 at the bequest of local brewer John Henry Fox.
Geography
![The_Green,_Norton,_County_Durham,_England](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/The_Green%2C_Norton%2C_County_Durham%2C_England.jpg)
At the north end of Norton centre there is a large
village green
A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle t ...
with a duckpond, surrounded by mostly Georgian houses and cottages. The ancient parish church of St. Mary the Virgin stands on the west side of the village Green.
Norton's wide and tree-lined
High Street
High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...
had a number of shops,
hairdressers
A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be re ...
,
boutiques
A boutique () is a small shop that deals in fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek ἀποθήκη (''apothēkē'') "storehouse".
The term ''boutique'' and also ''de ...
, cafés, a library,
photographic studio
A photographic studio is often a business owned and represented by one or more photographers, possibly accompanied by assistants and pupils, who create and sell their own and sometimes others’ photographs.
Since the early years of the 20th ce ...
and a traditional
fish & chips shop, as well as a mixture of 18th century and 19th century
townhouses
A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...
, cottages and modern
apartments
An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are man ...
. Away from the village lie the housing estates of Albany, Glebe, Crooksbarn and Norton Grange (originally Blue Hall).
St Mary's Church
St Mary the Virgin, the ancient parish church that stands on the village green, is the only cruciform Anglo-Saxon church in northern England. Its
crossing tower
A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church.
In a typically oriented church (especially of Romanesque and Gothic styles), the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, ...
with eight triangular head windows has a
battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...
ed top of later date, and there is a 14th-century
effigy of a knight in
chainmail
Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...
. Residing under the church floor there is claimed to be an escape tunnel used by the Saxons and priests when in danger, though it is more probably a drainage culvert. The tunnel leads under the church floor and Norton Green, eventually surfacing in the Albany housing estate. The church floor was recently renovated and Saxon remains and artefacts were discovered in the tunnel entrance. St Mary's was until the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
a Catholic Church – which is true of all English churches pre-dating the Reformation.
The grave of
John Walker, the inventor of friction matches, is located in the churchyard.
Norton's Catholic population now worship at St Joseph's in Darlington Lane. The church opened in 1933 and is part of the St Hilda Partnership within the Hexham and Newcastle Diocese.
Red House School
Located in the town is
Red House School
Red House School is a co-educational independent school in Norton, Stockton-on-Tees, in the north-east of England.
Nursery, Reception and Year 1 are located in a purpose-built unit, whilst Years 2, 3 and 4 are in a Georgian Vicarage. The Pr ...
, an independent school established in 1929. Adjacent to St. Mary's Church is Red House Nursery & Infant School, which combines state of the art modern buildings with classrooms in the former Old Vicarage. On the opposite side of the village green resides Red House Preparatory and Main School. In May 2012, the school announced its intention to relocate to nearby
Wynyard Park stating that it had outgrown its existing site in Norton. This, however, did not occur as the school decided to improve the existing site.
Public houses, cafés and restaurants
![Harland Place, Norton village, County Durham](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Harland_Place%2C_Norton_village%2C_County_Durham.JPG)
Norton is home to several pubs: Norton Tavern, The Moline Cross (known as Norton Cricket Club by locals), The Centenary, The Unicorn (known as The Top House by locals), The George and Dragon, The Highland Laddie, The Malleable Social Club, Connections, Red Lion, Norton Working Men's Club (aka The Village Club), The Head of Steam, Hydes Bar, Alitheos and Canteen and Cocktails. The village also has several restaurants and cafés including Scrann, Levan, Cafe Maison, The Norton Cafe, The Open Jar, Jolsha, Options, 12 Harland Place, Cafe Lilli, Cafe Maison and Bahn Mi.
Sport
The Norton (Teesside) Sports Complex is situated on Station Road and dates back to 1847 when it was the home of Norton Cricket Club. At the Club's Centenary Dinner in 1947, the members decided to buy the ground (and a further twelve acres surrounding it) with a view to developing it into one of the finest sports complexes in the north of England. During the past few decades further land was acquired and now as well as being home to Norton Cricket Club (which play in the
NYSD cricket premier league), it provides facilities for a number of other sports, including:
squash
Squash may refer to:
Sports
* Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets
* Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling
* Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...
, tennis,
hockey
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
,
bowls,
five-a-side football
Five-a-side football is a version of minifootball, in which each team fields five players (four outfield players and a goalkeeper). Other differences from football include a smaller pitch, smaller goals, and a reduced game duration. Matches are ...
, archery and boxfit.
The complex is also home to the
Billingham Synthonia Football Club and is now again home to
Norton & Stockton Ancients Football Club, reinstated in 2019 having folded 3 years previously in 2016.
Notable events
6 August 1856,
John Warner and Sons
John Warner and Sons was a metalworks and bellfoundry based in various locations in the UK, established in 1739 and dissolved in 1949.
Previous businesses
A company was founded by Jacob Warner, a Quaker, in 1739 and originally produced water pu ...
cast the first bell for
Big Ben, but it cracked beyond repair while being tested at
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
. Another bell was later recast at the
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells ...
in London.
14 July 1977,
Queen Elizabeth II passed through Norton by car, in front of spectators during her
Silver Jubilee royal visit to the region.
11 November 2006, ''
Dragon's Den
''Dragons' Den'' is a reality television program format in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it is k ...
'' businessman
Duncan Bannatyne
Duncan Walker Bannatyne, (born 2 February 1949) is a Scottish entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author. His business interests include hotels, health clubs, spas, media, TV, and property. He is most famous for his appearance as a business a ...
(who owned a house on the High Street at the time, later moving to nearby
Wynyard Park) was married at St Mary's Church in Norton. Celebrities at the ceremony included
Anna Ryder Richardson
Anna Caroline Ryder Richardson (born 29 January 1964) is a British interior designer and television presenter. She is known for being a designer on the BBC shows '' Changing Rooms'' and the subject of ''Chaos at the Zoo'', which documents he ...
,
Cherie Lunghi
Cherie Mary Lunghi (born 4 April 1952) is an English film, television, and theatre actress, known for her roles in many British TV dramas. Her international fame stems from her role as Guinevere in the 1981 film ''Excalibur''. Her long list of ...
,
Gary McCausland, Dragons' Den presenter
Evan Davis
Evan Harold Davis (born 8 April 1962) is an English economist, journalist, and presenter for the BBC. He has presented ''Dragons' Den'' since 2005.
In October 2001, Davis took over from Peter Jay as the BBC's economics editor. He left this ...
and fellow Dragons
Theo Paphitis
Theodoros "Theo" Paphitis ( el, Θεόδωρος Παφίτης; born 24 September 1959) is a Greek-Cypriot British retail magnate and entrepreneur. He is best known for his appearances on the BBC business programme ''Dragons' Den'' and as former ...
,
Richard Farleigh
Richard Bruce Farleigh (born ''Richard Buckland Smith'', 9 November 1960) is an Australian private investor and reality television personality. He is currently a member of the ''Business Review Weekly'' Rich 200 list, a list of the 200 wealth ...
,
Simon Woodroffe and
Deborah Meaden
Deborah Sonia Meaden (born 11 February 1959) is a British businesswoman and TV personality who ran a multimillion-pound family holiday business, before completing a management buyout. She is best known for her appearances as a 'Dragon' on the ...
Image gallery
Norton Village Green - June 2012.JPG, Village Green
File:Fox almshouses, Norton village, County Durham.jpg, Fox Almshouses
File:Victoria Diamond Jubilee Memorial Cross, Norton, Stockton on Tees.jpg, 1897 Jubilee Memorial Cross
File:Norton Road Methodist Church - geograph.org.uk - 657668.jpg, Methodist Church
Notable people from Norton
*
Geoff Deehan
Geoff Deehan is a film and television producer who has worked on projects such as '' The Heist'' and ''Equinox''. He is also the creator and producer of the ''Plane Crash'' Documentary on Channel Four.
Early life
Geoff Deehan was born on 14 Jun ...
– television and film producer
*
Thomas Jefferson Hogg
Thomas Jefferson Hogg (24 May 1792 – 27 August 1862) was a British barrister and writer best known for his friendship with the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Hogg was raised in County Durham, but spent most of his life in London. ...
– barrister and writer
*
Stevie Lynn – professional wrestler
*
Christopher Middleton – navigator
*
Gary Pallister
Gary Andrew Pallister (born 30 June 1965) is an English former professional footballer and sports television pundit.
As a player, he was a defender from 1984 to 2001 and is most noted for his nine-year spell at Manchester United from 1989 un ...
– professional footballer with Middlesbrough, Manchester United, and England
*
Franc Roddam
Francis George "Franc" Roddam (born 29 April 1946) is an English film director, businessman, screenwriter, television producer and publisher, best known as the creator of '' Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' and the director of ''Quadrophenia'' (1979). He i ...
– film director
*Dean Stobbart – creator of the
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
football cartoon channel
442oons
*Rear-Admiral
Polycarpus Taylor
Rear admiral (Royal Navy), Rear-Admiral Polycarpus Taylor (1706/07 – 23 January 1781) was a Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century, most notable for his service commanding ships in the West Indies during the War of the Austrian Success ...
*
David Townsend – Test cricketer
*
Peter Townsend – cricketer
*
John Walker (1781–1859) – inventor of the
friction match
A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...
, buried in the grounds of St Mary's Church, Norton
References
External links
{{authority control
Areas of Stockton-on-Tees