Middlesbrough

This is the article on the town, for the article on the football club see Middlesbrough F.C.

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Middlesbrough is a large town in The North East Of England, and is the principal location in the borough of Middlesbrough. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, in 1968 the town became the centre of the county borough of Teesside, which was absorbed by the non-metropolitan county of Cleveland in 1974. In 1996 Cleveland was abolished, and the Middlesbrough borough became a unitary authority, within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire.

Middlesbrough is different from the other districts in the Tees Valley, as the borough is almost entirely urbanised, thus making it the largest town in terms of area and population, but the smallest district. However, what is locally regarded as Middlesbrough also includes a wider area, including South Bank and Eston, in the neighbouring borough of Redcar and Cleveland.

Middlesbrough is situated on the south bank of the River Tees, a few miles from the edge of the North York Moors National Park.

Teesport, is one of the UK's 3 largest ports, lies 3 miles to the East, and Durham Tees Valley Airport lies 8 miles to the West, near Darlington. North East of Middlesbrough, the Tees estuary with its colony of breeding seals, has extensive sandy beaches in both directions. Some 7000 salmon and 13,000 sea trout migrated upstream through the estuary in 2000. Saltburn boasts some of the best and most challenging surf in Britain, and beyond, sheer cliffs rise to Boulby Head, the highest point on the east coast of England.

History

Early

Although often thought of as a settlement with no early history, the name Middlesbrough can trace its roots back a long way. Mydilsburgh is the earliest recorded form of the name. The element '-burgh', from Old English burh, meaning 'fort' denotes an ancient fort or settlement of pre-Saxon origin (this being the term on which Middlesbrough Football Club's ardently chanted nickname, 'The Boro', plays). Maturing into brough gave this extension individuality in a country more customarily associated with the alternative borough in its town names. It is solely by retrospective conjecture that the first element of the name, Mydil, has come to be identified as a development of the Old English middel (subsequently morphing into middle and supposedly a tribute to the settlement's position between the great Christian centres of Durham and Whitby). The burgh, though, may have included a monastic cell and was probably situated on the elevated land where the Victorian church of St Hilda's (demolished in 1969) was later built.

In 686 a monastic cell was consecrated by St Cuthbert at the request of St Hilda Abbess of Whitby and in 1119 Robert Bruce granted and confirmed the church of St Hilda of Middleburg to Whitby. Up until its closure on the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in 1537, the church was maintained by 12 Benedictine monks, many of whom became vicars or rectors of various places in Cleveland. The importance of the early church at “Middleburg”, later known as Middlesbrough Priory, is indicated by the fact that in 1452 it possessed four altars.

After the Saxons the area became home to Viking settlers and it is argued by some that 'old' Cleveland has the highest density of Scandinavian parish names in Britain. Names of Viking origin are abundant in the area - for example, Thornaby, Ormesby, Stainsby, Lackenby, Maltby, Normanby, Tollesby and Lazenby which were once separate villages that belonged to Vikings called Thormad, Orm, Steinn, Hlakkande, Malti and Toll, but now form suburbs of Middlesbrough. Lazenby was the village belonging to a Leysingr - a freeman; Normanby, a Norseman's village and Danby (in neighbouring North Yorkshire), a Dane's village. The name Mydilsburgh is the earliest recorded form of Middlesbrough's name and dates to Saxon times (400 to 1000 A.D.), whilst many of the aforementioned mentioned villages appear in the Domesday Book of 1086.

Industrial and after

In 1801 Middlesbrough consisted of a population of just 25 people across four farmhouses, but during the latter half of the 19th century experienced a growth unparalleled in England. Development first began with the purchase of the farm in 1829 by a group of Quaker businessmen, headed by Joseph Pease the Darlington industrialist, who saw the possibilities of Middlesbrough as a port for North East coal. Four initial streets, leading into the Market Square, were duly laid out. Their cause was facilitated by an 1830 extension of the Stockton and Darlington railway to the site that all-but erased any existing logistical woes threatening to act as the last block to the more indefinite development of the town.

All that remained to be partaken was the visit of one William Ewart Gladstone to the town, who was, once under the roof of the original (1846) Town Hall promptly, and famously to dub it 'an infant Hercules' in 'England's enterprise.'

At the very moment when early fortunes showed signs of giving way to decline, did another great leap forward take place, with the discovery of ironstone in the Eston Hills in 1850. In 1841, Henry Bolckow (pronounced Belko), who had come to England in 1827, had formed a partnership with John Vaughan of Worcester, and started an iron-foundry and rolling mill at Middlesbrough. It was Vaughan who discovered the ironstone deposits. Pig-iron production rose tenfold between 1851 and 1856. Bolckow became mayor in 1853 and Middlesbrough's first MP.

Middlesbrough was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1853. It extended its boundaries in 1866 and 1887, and became a county borough under the Local Government Act 1888. A Middlesbrough Rural District was formed in 1894, covering a rural area to the south of the town. It was abolished in 1932, partly going to the county borough; but mostly going to the Stokesley Rural District.

The rapid growth of the town saw the prophetic words (probably spoken by Pease), 'Yarm was, Stockton is, Middlesbrough will be' come true. Indeed, the motto chosen by the first body of town councillors was in fact 'Erimus'; Latin for 'We will be'. The population of Middlesbrough as county borough peaked at almost 160,000 in the late 1960s but has been in decline since the early 1980s. From 2001 to 2004, the recorded population jumped significantly, from 134,000 to 142,000, then to 147,000 in 2005, with 2006 estimates stating approximately 150,000, suggesting the population is increasing rather than decreasing as estimated by Tees Valley Partenership.

The Bell brothers opened their great ironworks on the banks of the Tees in 1853. Steel production began at Port Clarence in 1889 and an amalgamation with Dorman Long followed. After rock salt was discovered under the site in 1874, the salt-extraction industry on Teesside was founded. By now Bell Brothers had become a vast concern employing some 6,000 people. Isaac Lowthian Bell's own eminence in the field of applied science, where he published many weighty papers, and as an entrepreneur whose knowledge of blast furnaces was unrivalled, led to universal recognition. He was the first president of the Iron and Steel Institute, and the first recipient of the Bessemer Gold Medal in 1874. Bell was Lord Mayor of Newcastle in 1854-1855, and again in 1862-1863. He served as MP for Hartlepool in 1875-1880.

Middlesbrough gained a "twin" in 1890 when the town of Middlesborough, Kentucky was incorporated in the United States; it was named after its English namesake due to the discovery of ironstone deposits in the region.

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Transporter Bridge at night

For many years in the 19th century Teesside set the world price for iron and steel. The Sydney Harbour Bridge (1932) was designed and built by Dorman Long of Middlesbrough, and has MADE IN MIDDLESBROUGH stamped on the side. The company was also responsible for the earlier New Tyne Bridge across the river at Newcastle.

Via a 1907 Act of Parliament the Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company also built the great Transporter Bridge (1911) which spans the Tees itself between Middlesbrough and Port Clarence. At 850 feet long and 225 feet high, is one of the largest of its type in the world, and one of only two left in working order in Britain (the other being in Newport). The bridge remains in daily use and it is worth noting, that unlike as is suggested by the plot of popular BBC drama/comedy Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, the bridge was not at any point dismantled and removed to Arizona. It is, indeed, a Grade II* listed building.

The great steelworks, chemical plants, shipbuilding and offshore fabrication yards that followed the original Middlesbrough ironworks, have in the recent past contributed to Britain's prosperity in no small measure and still do to this day.

Middlesbrough has the distinction of being the first major British town and industrial target to be bombed during the Second World War when the Luftwaffe visited the town on the 25 May 1940. Most notably in 1942 a lone Dornier 217 picked its way through the barrage balloons and dropped a stick of bombs onto the railway station. It is a local tale that one or two fish and chip shops also came a cropper to the raids.

Middlesbrough is twinned with the German city of Oberhausen, Masvingo in Zimbabwe and Dunkerque in France.

Middlesbrough and The Green Howards

The Green Howards was a British Army infantry regiment very strongly associated with Middlesbrough and the area south of the River Tees. Originally formed at Dunster Castle in Somerset to serve King William of Orange, later King William III, this famous regiment became affiliated to the North Riding of Yorkshire in 1782. As Middlesbrough grew, its population of men came to be a group most targeted by the recruiters. The Green Howards are now part of the King's Division.

Middlesbrough today

Panoramic view of Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough is, naturally, not abundant in ancient buildings, and the townscape is largely workaday. There are, however some relatively old buildings still to be found. MIddlesbrough Council however is busy allowing contractors to demolish old buildings, sometimes in the dead of night i.e. The Scientific Institute, and replace them with cafe's, bars and nightclubs. Located in the suburbs and by some distance the town's oldest domestic building is Acklam Hall of c.1680-3. Built by Sir William Hustler, it is also Middlesbrough's sole Grade I listed building. The Restoration mansion, accessible through an avenue of trees off Acklam Road, has seen progressive updates through the centuries, such that it makes for a captivating document of varying trends in English architecture.

Ormesby Hall, a Palladian mansion actually technically located within the neighbouring borough of Redcar and Cleveland, but within one of the town's seven conservation areas, was largely built around 1740, but an older wing dating from around 1599, still exists.

Not to be ignored either are a clutch of interesting churches, for example at Acklam, Marton and Stainton (c.12th century), or the modern St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral at Coulby Newham, replacing in the 1980s the previous structure on Sussex Street that was left gutted at the mercy of arsonists in 2000.

Middlesbrough is no longer a heavy industrial town, though there are areas around which still support chemical, fertiliser and iron and steel production.

In 2004, Middlesbrough was voted the 10th 'crappiest' town in the UK in the book Crap Towns II edited by Sam Jordison and Dan Kieran (Luton was the winner).

Neighbourhoods

• Acklam
• Beechwood
• Berwick Hills
• Brambles Farm
• Brookfields
• Coulby Newham
• Easterside
• Eston
• Grangetown
• Grove Hill
• Hemlington
• Linthorpe
• Marton-in-Cleveland
• Marton Grove
• Netherfields
• Normanby
• North Ormesby
• Nunthorpe
• Ormesby
• Pallister
• Park End
• Priestfields
• Saltersgill
• South Bank
• St Hildas
• Stainton-in-Cleveland
• Teesville
• Thorntree
• Town East
• Town Farm
• Town West
• West Lane
• Whinney Banks

Television

Middlesbrough has been featured in many television programmes such as The Fast Show, River City Blues, Spender and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.

Tyne-Tees Television used to broadcast its news for the South regions from its studios located in Corporation House (now Walkabout bar), before moving to its new premises in Billingham.

Town Centre

Architecture

Middlesbrough does not have an abundance of old architecture due to its youth as a town; it was not incorporated until 1853. Even so, the urban centre is home to a variety of architectural buildings and structures such as the new art gallery (MIMA) and 'Spectra-txt'. Many believe that there is a beauty to be found in the surrounding landscape of industry along the Tees from Billingham to Wilton. The terraced Victorian streets surrounding the town centre are characterful elements of Middlesbrough's social and historical identity. The vast streets surrounding Parliament Road and Abingdon Road are a reminder of the area's wealth and rapid growth during industrialisation.

Middlesbrough Town Hall

The Town Hall, built between 1883 and 1887 is a Grade II Listed Building, and a very imposing structure. Of comparable grandeur alongside these municipal buildings is the erstwhile Empire Palace of Varieties of 1897, the finest surviving theatre edifice designed by Ernest Runtz in the U.K. The first artist to star there in its guise as a Music Hall was Lily Langtry. Later it became an early nightclub (1950s), then a bingo-hall and is now once again a night club in the form of 'The Theatre'. It has recently, as of 2005, had the missing ornate glass and steel over-canopy to the front entrance fully restored. Further afield in Linthorpe, can be found the Little Theatre (now Middlesbrough Theatre), the first new theatre built in England after the Second World War.

The town can also boast this country’s only public sculpture by the celebrated modern American artist Claes Oldenburg, the "Bottle O' Notes" of 1993, which relates to Captain James Cook. Based alongside it today in the town's Central Gardens is the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, the successor to previous art galleries on Linthorpe Road and Gilkes Street. The nearby Scientific Institute was recently demolished in the dead of night, and all council officials denied knowledge that they knew it was going to happen. This despite the fact that the building was in clear view of the main Council Offices. Despite much faux hand wringing by Mayor Ray Mallon, no-one outside of the Labour group believed him. Recently refurbished is the Carnegie library dating from 1912. The Dorman Long office on Zetland Road, constructed between 1881 and 1891, is the only commercial building ever designed by Philip Webb, the great architect who worked for Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell.

The town's centre has been undergoing a modernising makeover in recent years, including the addition of 'Spectra-txt,' a 10 metre high interactive tower of metal and fibre-optics inspired by Blade Runner. 'Spectra-txt' allows the public to send an SMS (text) message via mobiles phones to change the colours of the lights. Texting various codes, such as 'Chromapop' produce a display of changing colour lights.

Shopping

There is a large and comprehensive shopping district made up of several separate shopping centres, which include 'The Mall Cleveland' renamed in 2005 from 'Cleveland Shopping Centre,' which has undergone a major refurbishment. 'Dundas Street Shopping' renamed in 2005 from 'Dundas Shopping Arcade,' 'Hill Street Shopping Centre' and 'Captain Cook Square.' Linthorpe Road is home to several independent and national fashion shops. One of these, Psyche, is regularly scooping accolades over the likes of the Selfridges, Harvey Nichols & Liberty stores in London, and hence regarded as one of the finest of its kind in the United Kingdom. A recent four-part BBC documentary was made about the store, which highlighted how seriously Teessiders take fashion.

Nightlife

During university term time Middlesbrough is busy throughout the week with student nights taking place throughout the towns bars and clubs. During the holidays the town is predominantly busy from Thursday to Sunday. The most popular venue is the Empire in the centre of town. A range of events are played here which include music from dance and hip-hop.

Club Bongo is another popular weekend venue located near Middlesbrough Train Station and what is commonly referred to as the Red Light District. The Crown on Linthorpe Road, Cornerhouse, Barracuda are also popular. It also has a Cineworld Cinema on the leisure park on The old Stockton Road.

Middlesbrough: the Future

The Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) is an impressive £19 million gallery for contemporary visual art, and has been designed by one of Europe's top architects Erick van Egeraat (Rotterdam and London). It is due to open in 2006.

As part of its £1.5 billion investment programme, Tees Valley Regeneration has started work on reclaiming Middlesbrough Docklands with the £500 million Middlehaven scheme to bring new business and homes to a 250 acre (1 km²) area.

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Middlehaven regeneration scheme

The first phase around the former docklands has already begun and is visible from the Riverside Stadium. The master plan drawn up by Will Alsop in 2004, includes proposals for the relocation of Middlesbrough College, the building of a virtual reality centre by Teesside University (part of the Digital City development), in addition to numerous offices, hotels, bars, restaurants and leisure attractions. Tees Valley Regeneration now has a shortlist of five developers seeking to build at Middlehaven, the list includes some of the most prestigious and groundbreaking names in development and regeneration, and a decision on the chosen developer is due to be made in the next few months.

In July 2005 the Middlesbrough Executive, led by Mayor Ray Mallon announced the demolition of 1500 homes in the Gresham and Middlehaven Wards within the town centre. The houses and the people inhabiting them, likened by Mayor Ray Mallon to a cancer that needed to be cut out, would be demolished to make way for something unspecified, in fact over a year later there is still no announcement as to what is to be built in place of the town centre terraces. Meanwhile these houses are being allowed to devalue along with the communities inhabiting them, whilst other properties in the Middlesbrough area benefit from the housing boom the properties within the "redevelopment" area remain blighted. The initial timescale for demolition has been put back for some areas by as long as 10 additional years, although Middlesbrough Council are confused by this and the timescale varies depending on which department or individual you may seek information from, unless of course you own a business and donate the cost of a road crossing, in which case Middlesbrough Council fall all over themselves giving you whatever you want. As for the population of central Middlesbrough, those in areas destined for demolition are left to fend for themselves as councillors avoid the areas in the run up to the May 2007 Council elections, preferring instead to concentrate their efforts winning votes from the unnaffected areas of wards and hoping nobody will notice

The Stockton-Middlesbrough Initiative is a 20 year vision for regenerating the urban core of the Tees Valley, the main focus being the area of 30 km² along the banks of the River Tees between the two centres of Stockton and Middlesbrough. The master plan has been drawn up by environmental design specialists Gillespies, the eventual aim being to create a distinctive high-quality city of over 320,000 citizens at the heart of the Tees Valley, by connecting both Middlesbrough and Stockton along the Tees corridor. The project will include not only the existing developments at Middlehaven and North Shore Stockton, but many others over a 15-20 year period.

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Knocking down the old building to make way for skyscraper

Middlesbrough has also recently announced plans to build a 120-metre tower on the site of the old Odeon Cinema (more recently Jumping Jaks nightclub) in Central Middlesbrough at the eastern end of Newport road and will be the tallest building in the North East, surpassing the existing record already held by Middlesbrough's own Centre North East building. Some people have commented on the design of the building and seem to think that it will have a rather eccentric look, this "eccentric" look however, seems to be the general direction building design has gone in the region. For example, Tyneside recently opened the Sage, this according to many seems to resemble a giant condom. [1]. The new development will be the first of such skyscrapers proposed in Middlesbrough with two more visioned for Middlehaven. The second one on the Middlehaven site is the most unlikely but still being considered and could see either an American or Dubai based company to build a skyscraper 250-300 metres in height, showing Middlesbrough is progressing into the future and is a growing centre for commerce and development and backhanders. The idea for such skyscrapers is the result of limited land area in Middlesbrough. Instead of building outwards and subsequently having to apply for boundary extension, it makes sense to build up. It sees Middlesbrough a participant in the Skyscraper Boom currently hitting the UK which the U.S. experienced in the early 1900s.

Culture & Leisure

Dorman Museum

Long-awaited flagship art gallery project, the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art is taking shape and is poised to open in Winter 2006. Its considerable arts and crafts collections span from 1900 to the present day. Surrounding it is the town's overhauled Victoria Square and Central Gardens, in tandem producing "the largest civic space in Europe".1

Middlesbrough can boast two major recreational park spaces in Albert Park and Stewart Park, Marton. Originally dubbed in its conception as 'The People's Park' and donated to the town by Bolckow in 1866, to be formally opened by Prince Arthur, youngest son of the monarch, on 11 August 1868, the former comprises of a 30 hectare (70 acre) site accessible from Linthorpe Road. It underwent a considerable period of restoration from 2001 to 2004, during which a number of the Park's most vaunted landmarks, including a fountain, bandstand and sundial saw either restoration or revival. Alongside these two respectively are two of the town's premier cultural attractions, the century-old Dorman Memorial Museum and the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, in close proximity to which is a granite urn marking the spot of the supposed birthplace of the noted explorer.

Newham Grange Leisure farm in Coulby Newham, one of the most southerly districts of the town, has operated continuously in this spot since the 17th century. Now a burgeoning tourist attraction, the chance to view its various cattle, pigs, sheep and other perennial farm animals is complimented by exhibitions of the farming history of the area.

Back in the 'Old Town' or St Hilda's, is the Transporter Bridge Visitor Centre, opened in 2000 and offering its own exhibitions charting the high-octane past of the heart of the surrounding industrial powerhouse, as well as that of the singular structure it commemorates.

Sport

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Riverside Stadum 2006

The Premiership football team, Middlesbrough F.C., owned by local entrepreneur and Bulkhaul boss Steve Gibson, is based at the Riverside Stadium by the River Tees, having moved from its traditional home at Ayresome Park during the 1990s. Having endured 128 years without a major trophy, Middlesbrough finally won the Carling Cup in 2004, beating Bolton Wanderers 2–1 in the final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

In the 2005–2006 season, trying for the UEFA Cup, Middlesbrough was the only North Eastern team represented in European competition, having finished 7th in the 2004–2005 FA Premier League. Having beat FC Basel and Steaua Bucureşti 4–3 in previous rounds and come back from 0–3 down in both games, Middlesbrough FC arrived at its first ever UEFA Cup final. Unfortunately they lost 4-0 at the hands of Sevilla FC at the Philips Stadion on 10 May 2006, although the scoreline was not particularly representative of the game - three of Sevilla's four goals were scored in the last 14 minutes. The efforts of then manager, Steve McClaren, though, were recognised in his appointment to succeed Sven-Göran Eriksson at the helm of the England national team after that summer's World Cup. Taking the helm at Middlesbrough is long-serving defender Gareth Southgate, to the chagrin of various FA officials.

Education

Middlesbrough has been a university town since 1992. The University of Teesside has more than 20,000 students, and a history dating back to 1930 as Constantine Technical College.

The University of Teesside is internationally recognised as a leading institute for computer animation and games design and along with ARC at Stockton-on-Tees, Cineworld cinema in Middlesbrough, and the Riverside Stadium, hosts the annual Animex International Festival of Animation.

The university also houses Teesside Business School as well as other specialised Schools of Arts & Media, Computing & Mathematics, Health & Social Care, Science & Technology and Social Sciences & Law. During Middlesbrough's past the University, as Teesside Polytechnic, was a highly regarded institution for the teaching of such disciplines as chemical engineering. It has fared well as of late in the 2005 National Student Survey, with its Law, English and Design departments amongst the nation's 25% most highly regarded. Although by 2006 it could still only muster a rank of 91st out of 100 UK universities in that year's Times Good University Guide, a more promising showing was in evidence in the league table of its Sunday Times equivelent where was rated 75th of 119 institutions. It came a very respectable 25th overall in the 2005 National Student Satisfaction Survey, while it was via the same survey that the University's Art & Design students were formally deemed the nation's most satisfied in 2006.

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Unity City Academy

The University is not alone in providing further and higher education in the town. There is the usual selection of modern schools and sixth forms, such as St. David's School (Middlesbrough) in Acklam and Macmillan Academy on Stockton Road and is in the top 25 non-private secondary schools in the country, while with a further 16,000 students Middlesbrough College covers the four campuses of Acklam, Kirby, Marton and Longlands, including the one-time Acklam Hall. Also on offer in Linthorpe, are two of three campuses of the Cleveland College of Art and Design, the only such college remaining in the North-East. The college offers several BA (Hons) degrees in art and design, as well as many other further education courses in art, design and crafts.

The £17 million Unity City Academy which replaced the Langbaurgh and Keldholme secondary schools in east Middlesbrough was one of the first schools to open as part of the government's £5bn programme for transforming failing comprehensives. In 2005 an unusually large proportion of pupils gained no GCSEs and only a mere 14% of pupils gained 5 A*-C grades compared with a national average of 51%. However in 2006 the school has had a new managment in place and achived pass rates of 33%.

Eminent residents

The world famous explorer, navigator, and map maker Captain James Cook was born in Marton, which is now a suburb in the south-east of Middlesbrough.

James Cook, portrait by Nathaniel Dance, c. 1775, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

Other famous people from the town include:

• Sports
  • Rugby union player Rory Underwood
  • Footballers Don Revie, Wilf Mannion and Brian Clough
  • Current Middlesbrough and England national football players Stewart Downing and Jonathan Woodgate
  • Olympic swimmer Jack Hatfield and Commonwealth Games swimmer Alyson Jones
  • British long jump record holding athlete Chris Tomlinson
• The Arts
  • Comedians Dave Morris, Bob Mortimer and Roy Chubby Brown
  • Musicians Chris Rea, Paul Rodgers, David Coverdale and Vin Garbutt
  • Actors Wendy Richard, Thelma Barlow, Christopher Quinten Liz Dawn aka Vera Duckworth and Elizabeth Carling.
  • Visual artists Mackenzie Thorpe and Robert Nixon
• Other Entertainers:
  • Magician Paul Daniels
  • TV Presenter Kirsten O'Brien
  • X Factor Contestants and third place runners up Journey South

Other eminent sons and daughters of Middlesbrough and its environs include Martin Narey, chief executive of Barnardo's, E. W. Hornung, the creator of the gentleman-crook Raffles (who was fluent in three Yorkshire dialects, and Naomi Jacob novelist. Florence Easton, the Wagnerian soprano at the New York Met and Cyril Smith, the concert pianist, were also natives. The famous M.P. Ellen Wilkinson wrote a novel Clash (1929) which paints a very positive picture of ‘Shireport’ (Middlesbrough). Florence Olliffe Bell's classic study At The Works(1907) gives a striking picture of the area at the turn of the century. She also edited the letters of her step-daughter Gertrude Bell which have been continuously in print since 1927. Pat Barker's debut novel Union Street was set on the thoroughfare of the same name in the town, its central theme of prostitution still associated with the area around it to this day. Ford Madox Ford was billeted in Eston during WWI and his great novel sequence Parade's End is partly set in Busby Hall, Carlton-in-Cleveland.

Adrian 'Six Medals' Warburton, air photographer, was played by Alec Guinness in 'Malta Story'.

Crime

Over the past decade Middlesbrough was ranked amongst the 10 worst districts for acquisitive crime rates in England (with the TS1 area ranking 1st most deprived area in the UK), peaking at 4th place often behind Manchester, Nottingham, Kingston upon Hull and parts of Inner London. This is surprising considering the town's size in comparison to the other cities. However, over the last two years recorded crime rates in Middlesbrough have declined including a 50% reduction in robbery. Whilst violent crime has risen with national trends it is important to emphasise the influence of recording methods rather than an actual surge in violent crime. The most serious violent offences within Middlesbrough have declined in the past two years.

Middlesbrough uses combined installations of CCTV cameras and loudspeakers to reprimand their citizens when they're commiting infringements (chucking away butts etc.) in public places.

Image gallery

• The Bottle O’ Notes sculpture
  The Bottle O’ Notes sculpture
• 
  Middlesbrough combined court
• Old Town Hall
  Old Town Hall
• The Thorntree public house
  The Thorntree public house

See also

• Middlesbrough Music Live
• List of bands/musicians from North East England
• A66 road
• Middlesbrough Football Club
• mima

External links

• Official Middlesbrough Council Website
• Community Guide for residents and visitors
• Statistics about Middlesbrough from the Office for National Statistics Census 2001
• Genuki - History of Eston parish & District Descriptions from Bulmer's History and Directory of North Yorkshire (1890), retrieved 8th February 2006