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Thornaby-on-Tees, commonly referred to as Thornaby, is a town and civil parish on the
River Tees The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has be ...
's southern bank. It is in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. The parish had a population of 24,741 at the 2011 census, in the Teesside built-up area. The town had a royal charter enacted to form a municipal borough in 1892, during the Victorian era, before merging into the
County Borough of Teesside Teesside was, from 1968 to 1974, a local government district in northern England. It comprised a conurbation that spanned both sides of the River Tees from which it took its name. Teesside had the status of a county borough and was independent ...
in 1968. A borough no longer defines a specific settlement's status as a town in England since the
Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
reforms. The modern centre was built on the north eastern part of Thornaby airfield and lies south-west of
Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimated ...
and south-west of Middlesbrough.


History


Prehistoric

There are other signs of Thornaby being a much older settlement. Traces of prehistoric man have been found, the earliest being a stone axe, 8 inches long, dating back to the Mesolithic Period (about 3000 BC). In 1926, a dugout canoe said to date from about 1600 – 1400 BC was found in the mud under of water opposite Thornaby High Wood. An arrowhead of the Neolithic Period (about 3000 BC) was found in a garden on Thornaby Village Green.


Danes

The name Thornaby came into existence about AD 800 when the land was given by
Halfdene Halfdan Ragnarsson ( non, Hálfdan; oe, Halfdene or ''Healfdene''; sga, Albann; died 877) was a Viking leader and a commander of the Great Heathen Army which invaded the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England, starting in 865. One of six sons of R ...
(Halfdan Ragnarsson), King of the Danes, to Thormod, one of his noblemen, hence "Thormods-by" – Thormod's farmstead. Although the -by suffix originally meant a farmstead, many of these grew into villages, taking the -by suffix with them in their names as with other villages in the area, such as Danby, Faceby, Ingleby, Maltby and Ormesby. During the Battle of Hastings (1066), one of William the Conqueror's noblemen,
Robert I de Brus Robert I de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale (–1141) was an early-12th-century Anglo-Norman lord and the first of the Bruce dynasty to hold lands in Scotland. A monastic patron, he is remembered as the founder of Gisborough Priory in Yorkshire, Engl ...
, marched north with a garrison of men and occupied the area of Cleveland. William gave him those lands to control including Thornaby and Middlesbrough. King Sweyn II of Denmark, on 9 September 1069, defeated the Normans at York by killing the entire garrison of 3,000 men. William swore an oath to take revenge on Sweyn by destroying every house and dwelling in the lands under Sweyn's rule, leaving all the land in the north east of Yorkshire barren and bare. In the ''Domesday Book'' Thornaby is mentioned five times, Thornaby's first mention in the ''Domesday Book'' states:- ''"Robert Malet has these lands and they are waste."'' It appears that they remained undeveloped until the early 19th century as ''"Thurnaby waaste"'' is mentioned in a poem by Tennyson called ''"The Northern Farmer."''. Over the centuries there have been a number of different spellings of the name Thornaby including Turmozbi, Tormozbi, Tormozbia and Thurmozbi. The form Thornaby first appears in 1665 and refers to old Thornaby village, south western area of the present town which is near the
River Tees The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has be ...
as it flows north east.


The Five Lamps of St Peter's Church

It is said that Robert de Thormodbi, wounded in the Crusades at
Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...
, swore to raise a shrine to the Virgin Mary if he survived his wounds. He did, and as part of his wish a shrine niche to the Virgin Mary, lit by five
sanctuary lamp file:Malta - Mosta - Rotunda in 57 ies.jpg, Malta - Mosta - Rotunda in 57 ies. A sanctuary lamp, chancel lamp, altar lamp, everlasting light, or eternal flame is a light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many Jewish and Christianity, C ...
s, was placed in St Peter's Church.


A town from the marshes

In 1825 old Thornaby was centred around St Peter's Church and the old village green. Thornaby Carrs (marshes) had been a site of intermittent horse racing before moving to the now former
Stockton Racecourse Stockton Racecourse (September 1855 - 16 June 1981), also known as Teesside Park, was a British horse racing venue near Stockton-on-Tees in the north east of England, once considered "the finest in the north". Although named "Stockton Racecou ...
after the River Tees was straightened in 1810, a short distance down stream. From 1825, industry started to be built south of Stockton's existing port industry as
Stockton and Darlington Railway The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected collieries near Shildon with Darl ...
had been established, old Stockton railway station being just on the other side of the bank. The first site was William Smith's pottery with the area quickly growing with shipbuilding and engineering companies established on the marshes. From 1840-June 1987 heavy engineering firm
Head Wrightson Head Wrightson was a big heavy industrial firm based at Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. It specialised in the manufacture of large industrial products such as fractional distillation columns, which sometimes needed special transport ...
was a major employer in Thornaby. It was not until the local government act of 1863 that the district of South Stockton officially came into being. As Stockton's port industry moved to Middlesbrough, shipbuilding was replaced by iron works. A new railway line opened up the area south of the river for further development, with a South Stockton Railway Station built in 1882. The new settlement grew as a work force for new industry, spreading south down and between Thornaby Road, the new Westbury Street, and Mandale Road (once known as Acklam Road). The settlement's built-up area grew enough down Thornaby to merge with the old village; on 6 October 1892 South Stockton and Thornaby formally merged to form the municipal borough of Thornaby-on-Tees, gaining town status. South Stockton station was renamed to Thornaby and the town hall built nearby for when status was granted.


The airfield, 608 squadron and Spitfires

The earliest known flying in Thornaby took place in 1912 when Matthew Young of the Vale Farm was paid 100 Gold Sovereigns for the use of a field for an airshow. Taking place on a Saturday afternoon in June or July, one of the main events was flying by Gustav Hamel, an early flying pioneer. The next known use was by the
Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...
who used the same fields between 1914 and 1918 as a staging post between Catterick and Marske aerodromes. In about 1925 negotiations began on the opening of a full-time aerodrome and in the late 1920s the Air Ministry constructed an airfield to the south of the town and the station which was the second permanent aerodrome to be built in Yorkshire (the first being Catterick) was opened on 29 September 1929. During the Second World War, Thornaby came under the control of 18 group, Coastal Command, before this however it had come under Flying Training, Fighter and Bomber Commands, and post-war under Reserve and Fighter Commands, at this time (post-war) it was also used by the Royal Air Force Regiment. During the war a variety of tasks were carried out from
RAF Thornaby Royal Air Force Thornaby or more simply RAF Thornaby was a former Royal Air Force Station located near the town of Thornaby-on-Tees, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England. Fighter Command, Bomber Command and Coastal Command all operated fro ...
, such as, attacks on targets in Europe, anti-submarine patrols, operational training, strikes against enemy shipping, leaflet dropping and air sea rescue operations. 608 (North Riding) squadron Of all the squadrons to have been based at RAF Thornaby during its operational period, "Thornaby's own" 608 (North Riding) squadron is probably the squadron best remembered by the townsfolk. It was formed at Thornaby on 17 March 1930 and went on to serve within both Coastal and Bomber Commands during the Second World War. After the war, on 10 May 1946 the squadron was re-formed at Thornaby and carried on in Reserve Command "at home" until the squadron disbanded for the last time on 10 March 1957. 608 (North Riding) Squadron's Standard, which was approved by the Queen and bears their battle honours, can be seen housed in York Minster under the Astronomical Clock where it was laid-up on 14 November 1959. The numerous items of glass and silverware which were presented to the squadron during their service are held by Middlesbrough Council, are housed in Middlesbrough Town Hall and are to be returned to the squadron should it ever re-form.


Acquiring inland areas

The last R.A.F aircraft to leave the airfield ( Hawker Hunter F6s) left on 1 October 1958 and further use of Thornaby as a regional airport on 23 February 1962 ended when all but of land was purchased from the Air Ministry by Thornaby-on-Tees Borough Council. As Thornaby changed hand to the
County Borough of Teesside Teesside was, from 1968 to 1974, a local government district in northern England. It comprised a conurbation that spanned both sides of the River Tees from which it took its name. Teesside had the status of a county borough and was independent ...
(1968–1974) then, on its third attempt, into the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees (this was initially as a district of
Cleveland county Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...
). Development in the 1960s and 1970s on transforming the airfield, demolishing its buildings, into housing, shops, offices, a sport centre and a light industrial estate, the light industrial estate was the first in the wider area and therefore called Teesside Industrial Estate. Many symbols of Thornaby's aeronautical past were placed for prosperity with streets (such as Allensway), buildings and public houses using names of Royal Air Force aircraft, stations and personnel. The Bader School (built on the former airfield) on Kintyre Drive was named after and opened by Sir Douglas Bader on 10 November 1971. In 1976 a stained glass window in St Paul's Church on Thornaby Road was dedicated to the RAF at Thornaby and in 1997 a statue was erected on Thornaby Road, it is dedicated to all who served at RAF Thornaby. In 2007 a full-size replica
Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
aircraft was erected on the roundabout at the junction of Thornaby Road, Bader Avenue and Trenchard Avenue. Hidden beneath the roundabout is part of a runway (one of three) which used to run east to west.


A mature town centre

In the late 2000s, the post war shops, also known Thornaby Pavilion, were designated as the main centre for the town. Shops were built opposite the older shops to form a pedestrian high street. An official relaunch event was held in the now Thornaby town centre on 25 April 2009.


Future

High rises (2 tower blocks and a former hotel) in the town centre have been demolished. With the towns fund, they are plans for the former Npower offices site will also become an indoor baths, replacing Thornaby Pool on Thornaby Road.


Community and culture

Thornaby won a number of awards in 2008; the silver gilt award for best small cities, Northumbria in Bloom, which was repeated in 2011. Thornaby Cemetery had ''Cemetery of the Year'' award in 2006. The cemetery had lost then lost its Green flag award until 2011. On 10 November 2011 an R.A.F. Search and Rescue Sea King Helicopter paid a three-hour visit to Bader primary to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sir Douglas Bader opening the school. The day of activities included a visit by representatives from RAF Leeming, the Commanding Officer at Catterick Garrison, Middlesbrough Armed Forces Careers Office and the
Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team (or Cleveland MRT) is one of five search and rescue teams based in the North East region of England, North East region of England. The team is based in the village of Great Ayton in North Yorkshire. They were called ...
. Thornaby held its eleventh Yorkshire Day event in August 2017. The annual Thornaby Show takes place at the beginning of September, it is estimated that more than 10,000 people turn up over the course of the day. In January 2014 a McDonald's and Asda opened on the site of the former Tristar Neasham site. Teesside Park is the location of a shopping park which occupies a former racecourse.


Governance

Thornaby lies within the historic county boundaries of the
North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...
and was made a municipal borough in 1892. It was amalgamated with other boroughs in 1968 to form the
county borough of Teesside Teesside was, from 1968 to 1974, a local government district in northern England. It comprised a conurbation that spanned both sides of the River Tees from which it took its name. Teesside had the status of a county borough and was independent ...
. In 1974, the town became part of the enlarged Stockton-on-Tees district of Cleveland non-metropolitan county. ''Thornaby Town Council'' was created in 1995. Cleveland county was abolished in 1996 under the
Banham review The Local Government Commission for England was the body responsible for reviewing the structure of local government in England from 1992 to 2002. It was established under the Local Government Act 1992, replacing the Local Government Boundary C ...
. Boroughs of Redcar and Cleveland and Middlesbrough along with six parishes of
Hilton Hilton or Hylton may refer to: Companies * Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc., a global hospitality company based in the United States that owns several hotel chains and subsidiary companies containing the Hilton name ** Hilton Hotels & Resorts, fla ...
,
Ingleby Barwick Ingleby Barwick is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. It is south of the River Tees and north-east of the River Leven. Large scale development of the town started in the late 1970s on farm lan ...
,
Kirklevington Kirklevington (also known as Kirk Leavington) is a village in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 809. The civil parish had a population of 1,361. The village shares it ...
, Maltby, Thornaby-on-Tees and
Yarm-on-Tees Yarm, also referred to as Yarm-on-Tees, is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. It was previously a port town before the industry moved down the River Tees to more accessible settlements ne ...
became a part of ceremonial North Yorkshire and, along with the separate City of York borough, became unitary authorities in the county. Stockton-on-Tees borough, since the abolition, straddles North Yorkshire and county Durham. In 2012 the town council purchased
Thornaby Town Hall Thornaby Town Hall is a municipal building in the Mandale Road in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. The building, which is owned by Thornaby Town Council, is a Grade II listed building. History In anticipation of the proposed merger o ...
from the borough council for restorations. The hall, dating back to 1890–92, had been unoccupied since the 1968 county borough of Teesside amalgamation. It is now the main building used by Thornaby Town Council.


Religion


Church of England

The
Church of St Peter ad Vincula The Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula ("St Peter in chains") is the former parish church of the Tower of London. It is situated within the Tower's Inner Ward, and the current building dates from 1520, although the church was established severa ...
on the village green is of 12th-century origin but a place of worship existed at the time of the '' Domesday Book'' of 1086. The unusual dedication to
St Peter ad Vincula Saint Peter ad Vincula (Saint Peter in Chains) alludes to the Bible story of the Liberation of Saint Peter, when the Apostle Peter, imprisoned by King Herod Agrippa, was rescued by an angel. Frequently seen translations are: *English – St Peter i ...
(''"St Peter in chains"'') is derived from the ancient Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome. The building, with a simple nave and a bell turret with two bells, was originally dedicated to
St Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...
. Grace Pace, the mother of Captain James Cook, was baptised at St Peter's in 1702. The larger St Paul's serves most of the town.


Sport


Acklam Road

Thornaby Cricket Club is situated at Mandale Bottoms ( Acklam Road) and has been in existence since 1892. The main teams are in the
North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League The North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League, commonly abbreviated to NYSD, is the top level competition for recreational club cricket in the north of Yorkshire and south of Durham, England. The league was founded as long ago as 1892, th ...
. Teesside Golf Club opened in 1901. It is in of the Teesside and District Union of Golf Clubs and therefore the Yorkshire Union of Golf Clubs Thornaby FC play in the
Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...
Division one. It was established as 'Thornaby' in 2000. The club play at Teesdale Park ground, Acklam Road.


Thornaby Road

Thornaby and Ingleby Barwick Football Club (TIBS FC) play in the
North Riding Football League The North Riding Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2017 by the merger of the former Teesside Football League and Eskvale & Cleveland League. The league has four divisions – the Premier Division (which stand ...
division one, it was established in 1997. The club play at a grounds off Thornaby Road and train at
Conyers School Conyers School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, in Yarm, Stockton-on-Tees, England. History The Free Grammar School was founded in 1590 by Thomas Conyers of Egglescliffe, who was issued letters patent by ...
.


Transport


Rail

The town is served by Thornaby railway station, operated and owned by Northern, who operate rail services to Newcastle,
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
,
Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
,
Redcar Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located east of Middlesbrough. The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdivision had a population of ...
,
Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...
and Whitby. TransPennine Express provides direct rail services to Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and York.
LNER LNER may refer to: *London and North Eastern Railway, a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1923 until 1947 *London North Eastern Railway, a train operating company in the United Kingdom since 2018 * Liquid neutral earthing resistor, a type ...
also provides a direct rail service to York and
London Kings Cross King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the List of busiest railway stations in ...


Road

Thornaby is served by *the A19 to the town's east heading north–south * A66 to the town's north heading west/ east and * A174 heading south east to Whitby. Public Services
Arriva North East Arriva North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which operates bus and coach services across the United K ...
and
Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
provide bus services to Thornaby and National Express and
Megabus Megabus may refer to: *Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro. *Megabus (North America) Megabus, branded as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/Coach Canada operating in the eas ...
operate coach travel from
Middlesbrough bus station Middlesbrough Bus Station serves the town of Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire, England. It is located around from the town's railway station. History It was opened in 1982, at a cost of £5.3 million, by the actress Pat Phoenix. It stands pa ...
.


Education


Secondary

Thornaby is served by three secondary schools; St Patrick's Catholic College,
Thornaby Academy Thornaby Academy (formerly Thornaby Community School) is a coeducational secondary school located in Thornaby-on-Tees in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. Background The school was previously known as Bassleton School ...
and Westlands Academy.


College

Thornaby is home is Stockton Riverside College, a major provider of further education in the Tees Valley with around 10,000 full & part-time students. It is labelled Stockton due to it being in or near the former Stockton South settlement, which lied on the southern banks of the river Tees (Yorkshire) and merged into Thornaby on Tees.


University

Adjacent to the college is
Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...
's Queen's Campus. Durham University was the second university to be approached due to Teesside University (who were first approached) not having the funds available, at the time, necessary to run the university.


Notable people

* Grace Pace (the mother of Captain
James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
). * Award-winning author Pat Barker lived in Millbank Lane and is best known for her
Regeneration Trilogy The Regeneration Trilogy is a series of three novels by Pat Barker on the subject of the First World War. In 2012, ''The Observer'' named it as one of "The 10 best historical novels". * '' Regeneration'' (1991) * ''The Eye in the Door'' (1993) ...
of books about the First World War, the third of which, " The Ghost Road" won the 1995 Man Booker Prize. *TV-Personality
Holly Hagan Holly Victoria Hagan-Blyth is an English television personality, model and singer from Thornaby-on-Tees. She starred on and is best known from the MTV series ''Geordie Shore''. Early life Hagan was born in the town of Thornaby-on-Tees, in North ...
, one of the original stars from
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
show Geordie Shore was born in Thornaby. * Actor,
Richard Griffiths Richard Thomas Griffiths (31 July 1947 – 28 March 2013) was an English actor of film, television, and stage. For his performance in the stage play ''The History Boys'', Griffiths won a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, the Drama Desk Aw ...
was born in Thornaby and is best known for his role as Vernon Dursley in the
Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
movies and as Uncle Monty in the cult film '' Withnail and I''. He won many awards for his acting in the film ''The History Boys''. * Paul Curran – the championship cyclist was born in Thornaby. * Max Jones, pupil at Robert Atkinson school, was a seven-time Olympic athletics coach and was the GB Team leader at the Sydney and Athens Olympic Games. Max was the Performance Director for UK Athletics 1997 to 2005. * Norma Farnes was born and grew up in Thornaby. She went to London and ended up as Spike Milligan's and Eric Sykes's manager. Norma has edited and written several successful books.


References


External links


Thornaby Town Council

Thornaby Community Information

Thornaby Amateur Swimming Club

St. Patrick's Catholic College

Thornaby Academy

Thornaby Football Club

Thornaby Cricket Club

Thornaby's Mandale and Victoria Resident's Group

Thornaby's Village Park Resident's Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornaby-On-Tees Towns in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Places in the Tees Valley Borough of Stockton-on-Tees