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Middlesbrough

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Town & Borough of Middlesbrough
Geography
Status: Unitary, borough
Region: North East England
Ceremonial County: North Yorkshire
Area:
- Total		 Ranked 296th
53.87 km²
Admin. HQ: Middlesbrough
ONS code: 00EC
Demographics
Population:
- Total (2006 est.)
- Density		 Ranked 137th
134,730
2,501 / km²
Ethnicity: 93.7% White
4.6% S.Asian
Politics
Middlesbrough Council
http://www.middlesbrough.gov.uk/
Leadership: Mayor & Cabinet
Mayor: Ray Mallon
(Independent)
MPs: Stuart Bell, Ashok Kumar

Template:GBmap Middlesbrough is a town and district in North-East England, with a resident population in 2001 of 134,855. 2005 midyear estimates suggest a population of 144,823. However, the total unofficial population for the Middlesbrough urban area (including the greater Eston area) is closer to 190,000.

Historically, the areas of Eston, Grangetown, Normanby, Ormesby, South Bank and Teesville were all part of the urban area and municipal borough of Middlesbrough, but the current boundaries of Middlesbrough (set in 1974) were more tightly drawn than the pre-1968 limits, and they are now included in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland. Middlesbrough lies at the heart of the Teesside and Tees Valley urban area which has approximately 657,000 residents. A further 100,000 live on the outskirts, dependent on the income and council of the area.

It is historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, but in 1974 became part of the new non-metropolitan county of Cleveland. In 1996 Cleveland was abolished, and Middlesbrough became a unitary authority, though it remained part of the North Yorkshire ceremonial county.

Unlike most English districts, its council is led by a directly-elected mayor, currently Mr. Ray Mallon. Mr. Mallon was previously a senior officer in Cleveland Constabulary, and was noted for a zero-tolerance approach to crime, adopted from the New York system, during his time as head of Middlesbrough's CID.

Middlesbrough is situated on the south bank of the River Tees on the edge of the North York Moors National Park, recently featured on television as "Heartbeat Country". The Yorkshire Dales are only a short distance away.

Teesport, the 2nd largest port in the country and the 10th largest in Western Europe, lies 3 miles to the East, and Durham Tees Valley Airport (one of the fastest growing airports in the country) lies 8 miles to the West. 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

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 and the element 'burgh' denotes an ancient fort or settlement of pre-Saxon origin. The burgh may have included a monastic cell and was probably situated on the elevated land where the Victorian church of St Hildas (demolished in 1969) was later built, while the 'Mydil' or middle could be either a person's name or a reference to Middlesbrough's location, half way between the great Christian centres of Durham and Whitby.

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'Middlehaven' regeneration project

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.

In 1801 Middlesbrough consisted of just four farmhouses, but during the latter half of the 19th century experienced a growth unparalleled in England. It was famously dubbed by Gladstone 'an infant Hercules' in 'England's enterprise'.

Development began with Joseph Pease the Darlington industrialist, who saw the possibilities of Middlesbrough as a port for North East coal, but the great leap forward began with the discovery of ironstone in the Eston Hills in 1850. In 1841, Henry Bolckow (pronounced Belko), who had come to England in 1827, formed a partnership with John Vaughan of Wales, 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. The rapid growth of the town, from a few thousand in the 1840s to over 91,000 in 1901 saw the prophetic words (probably spoken by Pease), of '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 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.

File:TransporterBridgeMbro.jpg
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 Billingham, and at 850 feet long and 225 feet high, is the largest of its type in the world, remaining in daily use (although 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 is twinned with the German city of Oberhausen, Masvingo in Zimbabwe and Dunkerque in France.

Middlesbrough today

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Middlesbrough Town Hall

Middlesbrough is not naturally abundant in ancient buildings, and the townscape is largely workaday. There are however some relatively old buildings still to be found, such as Acklam Hall which was built c.1680 by Sir William Hustler and is a Grade I listed building. Ormesby Hall a Palladian mansion was largely built around 1740, but an older wing dating from around 1599, still exists. The Town Hall, a Grade II Listed Building, is equally a most imposing structure, while the Old Town Hall of 1864 has undeniable charm. The Empire Theatre next to the Town Hall is also a very grand building, and the Little Theatre in Linthorpe was the first new theatre built in England after World War II. There are some interesting churches for example at Acklam, Marton and Stainton (c.12th century), a modern Roman Catholic Cathedral at Coulby Newham, and some of the modern schools are worthy of note. The city can also boast this country’s only public sculpture by the celebrated modern American artist Claes Oldenburg, the "Bottle O' Notes", which and relates to Captain James Cook. Based alongside it today in the town's Central Gardens is the town's art gallery (The Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) and education suite. The Dorman Long office on Zetland Street is the only commercial building ever designed by Philip Webb, the great architect who worked for Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell.

Middlesbrough is no longer a heavy industrial town, though there are areas around which still support chemical, fertiliser and iron and steel production. It has 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', '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, most notably the multi-award winning Psyche, regularly scooping accolades over the likes of the Selfridges, Harvey Nichols & Libertys stores in London, and hence regarded as one of the finest of its kind in the United Kingdom.

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. Accompanying cultural attractions include the century-old Dorman Museum on Linthorpe Road and the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum in Marton.

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 it's £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. 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.

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.

Sport

File:RiversidesStadium.jpg
The Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough

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. In the coming 2005/2006 season, Middlesbrough will be the only North Eastern team being represented in European competition, namely the UEFA Cup, having finished 7th in the 2004/2005 Premier League.

Education

Middlesbrough has been a university town since 1992. With almost 20,000 students it is home to the University of Teesside which, along with ARC at Stockton-on-Tees, UGC Cinema in Middlesbrough, and the Riverside Stadium, hosts the annual Animex International Festival of Animation. The University of Teesside is internationally recognised as a leading institute for computer animation and games design. The university also houses Teesside Business School as well as other specialised Schools of Arts & Media, Computing, 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.

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 The King's Academy in Coulby Newham, 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.

Eminent residents

Captain James Cook was born in Marton, which is in the south-east of Middlesbrough. Other famous people from the town include:

Other eminent sons and daughters of Middlesbrough and its environs include 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'.

Smoggy

The derogatory label Smoggy (or Smoggie) has from the late 20th century onwards been applied to people from Middlesbrough and the rest of surrounding Teesside area, due to the past concentrations of particularly steel and chemical industries (and the pollution from them). However any such worries about Middlesbrough's air quality today are unfounded, with air quality matching the standard of most British towns and cities - and exceeding many. The more correct term for a local would be Teessider.

Middlesbrough also had the misfortune recently to be listed in The Idler magazine's book of Crap Towns, an index of the supposed 'worst places to live in the UK' submitted via a website. It should be noted however, that not many towns and cities were not included in the list, which included such diverse places as London, Brighton, Chester and Bath. Unluckily enough for the town, this was not the last time it was to feature in such inauspicious circumstances - for in 2005 it was then declared the '5th worst place to live in Britain' in a controversial Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer Channel 4 programme of the same theme.

Indeed, the combination of town pride over the exploits of Cook, and the notoriety of some of the present-day town's less affluent districts, has been thought to inspire the quip: "Middlesbrough is a great place to come from, as long as you come a long way from it".

Crime

Over the past decade Middlesbrough was ranked amongst the 10 worst districts for acquisitive crime rates in England, peaking at 4th place and sometimes behind Manchester, Nottingham, Kingston upon Hull and parts of Inner London. However recent efforts from Ray Mallon and an increase of community service officers has helped crime, particularly property crime and robbery, nose dive and as a result Middlesbrough has gained the largest reductions in crime in England over the last two years.

See also

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