Middlehaven

Middlehaven
St Hilda's, Over the Border,
Old Middlesbrough
Middlehaven St Hilda's, Over the Border,; Old Middlesbrough;
	The Old Town Hall
	Middlehaven Location within North Yorkshire
OS grid reference	NZ496210
Unitary authority	Middlesbrough ;
Ceremonial county	North Yorkshire ;
Region	North East ;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MIDDLESBROUGH
Postcode district	TS2
Dialling code	01642
Police	Cleveland
Fire	Cleveland
Ambulance	North East
UK Parliament	Middlesbrough ;
	List of places UK England Yorkshire 54°34′57″N1°14′02″W / 54.5825°N 1.2338°W

Last updated November 22, 2024

Middlehaven is the oldest part of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. It is directly south of the River Tees, and north of the current town centre, separated from it by the railway and A66.

The area has had waves of regeneration since post-war devastation. It currently includes, from west to east: a manufacturing and industrial sector, Boho Zone developments (residential and commercial), the Old Town Hall, the Transporter Bridge, Middlesbrough College, docks, and the Riverside Stadium.

The term St Hilda's for the area relates to the former priory, founded by Hilda of Whitby (the first mention of the town) and later also former church as named after the saint. The railway, and the much later-built A66, separating the area from the rest of the town created the term Over the Border for the area. The name Middlehaven is a back formation from Middlesbrough, combining "Middle" with "haven": the haven relates to Middlesbrough Dock.

History

The area formed what was the original town centre of Middlesbrough after its foundation around 1830,^[1] and was originally known as St. Hilda's after the parish church of the same name.^[2] The district was eventually separated from the southward expansion of the town by the railway in 1846.^[1] The Old Town Hall was completed at that time.^[3]

By the 1930s, the area had become slums, with overcrowding and high crime, and demolitions begun despite protests from residents.^[4] Later, in the 1950s, the clearance continued with sweeping demolitions, and the replacement of the remaining homes by low-rise flat blocks.

Once again, beginning in 1969, there was another wave of demolition, this time replacing the 1950s flats with a suburban housing estate. In the regeneration, St. Hilda's church was demolished.^[4]

In 2004, the homes were mostly vacant and plans were announced to demolish the estate, relocating the remaining 300 residents.^[5] In the following years, the site was levelled as new developments began in the area, and the area became known as Middlehaven.

Middlesbrough Dock

The original dock for the 1830 Port Darlington development became too small within a decade of opening, and needed expanding. From 1839–42 under William Cubitt and George Turnbull's plans, the dock was expanded, and formally opened on the 12 May 1842. The dock was designed to have a 80 feet (24 m) entrance channel from the River Tees to the 1:4.4 rectangular dock. The dock was expanded multiple times, growing from 9 acres (0.036 km²) in 1869 to 25 acres (0.10 km²) in 1902.^[6]

769,000 long tons (781,000 t) of goods went through the dock in 1978, while the wider ports in the area (under the jurisdiction of Tees and Hartlepool Harbour Police) handled 33,000,000 long tons (34,000,000 t). The dock was unable to compete, and closed in 1980.^[6]

In 1994, the training ship Tovarisch was impounded at the dock for being unseaworthy. While moored, the ship was crewed by cadets from the Kherson State Maritime Academy (with crews replaced twice yearly). The Ukrainian sailors played in the local five-a-side football league during this time. The ship left on 29 August 1999 for restoration in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, under funding from the Tall Ships Friends charity and the Ukrainian government.^[7]

Tees Valley Metro

Starting in 2006, Middlehaven was mentioned within the Tees Valley Metro scheme as a possible new station to better serve the Riverside Stadium. This was a plan to upgrade the Tees Valley Line and sections of the Esk Valley Line and Durham Coast Line to provide a faster and more frequent service across the North East of England. In the initial phases the services would have been heavy rail mostly along existing alignments with new additional infrastructure and rollingstock. The later phase would have introduced tram-trains to allow street running and further heavy rail extensions.^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]

As part of the scheme, Markse station would have received improved service to Darlington and Saltburn (1–2 to 4 trains per hour) and new rollingstock.^[8] While never concrete or included in detailed plans, there was also mention of street-running trams being run within Middlesbrough town centre which may have ran throughout Middlehaven.^[10]

However, due to a change in government in 2010 and the 2008 financial crisis, the project was ultimately shelved.^[12] Several stations eventually got their improvements and there is a possibility of improved rollingstock and services in the future which may affect Marske.^[13]

Gallery

Cleveland Police headquarters
Community in a Cube apartment building on the left and the docks in the foreground
Temenos Sculpture, dock clock tower and Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge
Riverside Stadium, home of Middlesbrough FC

Related Research Articles

The River Tees, in England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for 85 miles (137 km) to reach the North Sea in the North East of England. The modern-day history of the river has been tied with the industries on Teesside in its lower reaches, where it has provided the means of import and export of goods to and from the North East England. The need for water further downstream also meant that reservoirs were built in the extreme upper reaches, such as Cow Green.

Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Valley, on the northern bank of the River Tees.

Middlesbrough, colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside built-up area and the Tees Valley. It is located 41 miles (66 km) south of Newcastle upon Tyne, 43 miles (69 km) north of York, 66 miles (106 km) north-west of Leeds, and 217 miles (349 km) north of London. With a population of 148,215 recorded in 2021, Middlesbrough is one of the largest settlements in North East England.

Tees Valley is a combined authority area in North East England, around the lower River Tees. The area is not a geographical valley; the local term for the valley is Teesdale. The combined authority covers five council areas: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees.

Middlesbrough College, located on one campus at Middlehaven, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, is the largest college on Teesside.

Thornaby, originally South Stockton, is a railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington. The station, situated 3 miles 17 chains (5.2 km) south-west of Middlesbrough, serves the market town of Thornaby-on-Tees, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by TransPennine Express.

Middlesbrough is a railway station on the Durham Coast, Esk Valley and Tees Valley lines. The station serves the town of Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by TransPennine Express. Direct destinations include Darlington, Saltburn, Sunderland, Newcastle, York and Manchester Airport. There is a direct service to London Kings Cross once per weekday.

Teesside Park is a retail and leisure park in Thornaby-on-Tees, built in 1988. Located just off the A66 near the A66/A19 interchange, it is split between the unitary authorities of Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough with the line of the Old River Tees, which runs down the middle of the development, forming the boundary between the two authorities. The development has a central building that was constructed in 2008.

Redcar Central is a railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington. The station, situated 7 miles 64 chains (12.6 km) east of Middlesbrough, serves the seaside town of Redcar, Redcar and Cleveland in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Redcar East is a railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington. The station, situated 8 miles 60 chains (14.1 km) east of Middlesbrough, serves the seaside town of Redcar, Redcar and Cleveland in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Billingham is a railway station on the Durham Coast Line, which runs between Newcastle and Middlesbrough via Hartlepool. The station, situated 10 miles 8 chains (16.3 km) north-west of Middlesbrough, serves the town of Billingham, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Teesside Airport railway station is on the Tees Valley line which runs between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington in County Durham, England. The station is 5.5 miles (9 km) east of Darlington and about 1 mile (1.6 km) from Teesside International Airport, which owns the station. It is managed by Northern Trains, which also operated the limited service calling at the station prior to its temporary closure in 2022.

Allens West is a railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington. The station, situated 8 miles 9 chains east of Darlington, serves the village of Eaglescliffe, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

South Bank is a railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington. The station, situated 2 miles 40 chains (4 km) east of Middlesbrough, serves the town of South Bank, Redcar and Cleveland in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Longbeck is a railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington. The station, situated 10 miles 28 chains (16.7 km) east of Middlesbrough, serves the village of Marske-by-the-Sea, Redcar and Cleveland in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Saltburn is a railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington. The station, situated 12 miles 57 chains (20.5 km) east of Middlesbrough, serves the seaside town of Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

The Tees Valley Metro was a project to upgrade the Tees Valley Line and sections of the Esk Valley Line and Durham Coast Line to provide a faster and more frequent service across the North of England. In the initial phases the services would have been heavy rail mostly along existing alignments. The later phase would have introduced tram-trains to allow street running. The project was backed by all the local authorities through which the system would have run: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees. Support was also forthcoming from the Department for Transport. The project was cancelled due to lack of funding, with the focus moving to the Northern Rail franchise.

Tees Valley Regeneration was an urban regeneration company covering the Tees Valley area of North East England and at one time was the largest urban development agency in England. The headquarters were at Cavendish House, Teesdale Business Park in Thornaby-on-Tees.

Middlesbrough started as a Benedictine priory on the south bank of the River Tees, its name possibly derived from it being midway between the holy sites of Durham and Whitby. The earliest recorded form of Middlesbrough's name is "Mydilsburgh", containing the term burgh.

The Old Town Hall is a municipal building in the Middlehaven area of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. The building is on East Street and has been vacant since 1996. It is a Grade II listed building with the adjacent clock tower also separately Grade II listed.

References

1 2 "From the Archive: Middlesbrough St Hilda's". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
↑ "Parishes: Middlesborough | British History Online". british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
↑ Historic England. "Clock Tower c. 5 metres south-west of Old Town Hall, Market Place (1312502)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 17 July 2022.
1 2 "How St Hilda's grew up - then gradually died. - Free Online Library". thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
↑ Live, Teesside. "Got to go". TeessideLive. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
1 2 Delplanque, Paul (17 November 2011). "Middlesbrough Dock 1839–1980". Evening Gazette . Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
↑ "Tall ship to leave after 5 years in British dock". 28 August 1999. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
1 2 Tees valley Unlimited (18 May 2010). "Tees Valley Metro: Phase 1 - Project Summary" (PDF). Stockton-on-Tess Borough Council.
↑ Tees Valley Unlimited (April 2011). "Connecting the Tees Valley - Statement of Transport Ambition" (PDF). Retrieved 11 November 2024.
1 2 LOWES, RON; PARKER, IAN (18 September 2007). "Executive Report - Tees Valley Metro" (PDF). Retrieved 11 November 2024.
↑ "Metro system hope for Tees Valley". 9 November 2006. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
↑ "When the Tees Valley was set to get its own £220m metro system and what went wrong". The Northern Echo. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
↑ "Tees Valley authority unanimously backs £1bn transport plan". BBC News. 27 January 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.

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[:0-1] 1 2 "From the Archive: Middlesbrough St Hilda's". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.

[2] "Parishes: Middlesborough | British History Online". british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2022.

[3] Historic England. "Clock Tower c. 5 metres south-west of Old Town Hall, Market Place (1312502)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 17 July 2022.

[:1-4] 1 2 "How St Hilda's grew up - then gradually died. - Free Online Library". thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 15 July 2022.

[5] Live, Teesside. "Got to go". TeessideLive. Retrieved 15 July 2022.

[BoroDock-6] 1 2 Delplanque, Paul (17 November 2011). "Middlesbrough Dock 1839–1980". Evening Gazette . Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2023.

[7] "Tall ship to leave after 5 years in British dock". 28 August 1999. Retrieved 25 February 2023.

[:4-8] 1 2 Tees valley Unlimited (18 May 2010). "Tees Valley Metro: Phase 1 - Project Summary" (PDF). Stockton-on-Tess Borough Council.

[:9-9] Tees Valley Unlimited (April 2011). "Connecting the Tees Valley - Statement of Transport Ambition" (PDF). Retrieved 11 November 2024.

[:8-10] 1 2 LOWES, RON; PARKER, IAN (18 September 2007). "Executive Report - Tees Valley Metro" (PDF). Retrieved 11 November 2024.

[11] "Metro system hope for Tees Valley". 9 November 2006. Retrieved 11 November 2024.

[:12-12] "When the Tees Valley was set to get its own £220m metro system and what went wrong". The Northern Echo. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2024.

[:02-13] "Tees Valley authority unanimously backs £1bn transport plan". BBC News. 27 January 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.

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