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Eaglescliffe

Eaglescliffe is a small town in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in North East England. It is on the north bank of the River Tees and for ceremonial purposes is in County Durham. The bridge at Eaglescliffe on the border with Yarm marked the last crossing point of tidal section of the River Tees until the Tees Barrage was built in Stockton. The town is divided by railway lines which lead from Yarm to Stockton and can only be crossed by vehicles at the North and South of the town, although there are a number of pedestrian bridges and underpasses.

History

The name of the town is thought to be derived from a miss-spelling of the name of the nearby village of Egglescliffe meaning a church on a hill.

Bishop Skirlaw of Durham built a stone bridge across the Tees in 1400 which still stands. An iron replacement was built in 1805, but it fell down in 1806.

The Stockton and Darlington Railway passed through the grounds of Preston Hall in Eaglescliffe, and on the opening day there was a famous race between a stagecoach traveling down Yarm Road, and the Locomotion No. 1.

Geography

Eaglescliffe adjoins a small village called Egglescliffe, and legend says that the name Eaglescliffe came about when a mistake was made on the railway station's sign. The village lies in the civil parish of Egglescliffe, as does Urlay Nook, to the west. The north part of the village, to the west of the A135, lies in Preston-on-Tees. There are many estates in Eaglescliffe including Millfield, Kingsmead, Sunningdale, Hunters Green and Orchard Estate.

The main road through the town is the A135 Yarm Road which was part of the old route of the A19 until the 1970s when it was diverted near Thornaby-on-Tees to the east. Nearby towns include Stockton-On-Tees to the north northeast, Middlesbrough to the northeast and Darlington to the west.

Location

Latitude and longitude: 54°31′N 1°21′W / 54.517°N 1.35°W / 54.517; -1.35 (54.51, −1.35)

Road access: A67 from North and South, A66 from East and West.

Rail access: Eaglescliffe Station, Allens West

Nearest airport: Durham Tees Valley Airport

Events

Many events are held in Eaglescliffe every year, mostly in Preston Park which is situated to the north of the town on the Tees. Many of these events are run by Stockton Council.

Many local groups gather at the community centres and village halls within Eaglescliffe and its neighbouring village, Egglescliffe. Egglescliffe Community Centre is the largest, and plays host to two amateur dramatics groups - Cliffe Theatre (who produce at least two plays every year), and Centre Stage (who produce a pantomime every January, as well as a musical every summer). Egglescliffe Community Centre also hosts many other community groups including a Ladies Section, a weight loss group, dance classes, a weekly church service, and many others.

Sport and leisure

Within Eaglescliffe, sited on Yarm Road, is Eaglescliffe Golf Club - a course which occupies the land on the eastern side of Eaglescliffe bordered to the south by the Sunningdale Estate, to the north by Preston Park, and to the east by the River Tees. Many street names in the Sunningdale Estate, as well as the name of the local 'Links Primary School', reflect the location of this golf club.

Education

Eaglescliffe has one secondary school called Egglescliffe School. This is in the east of the town. There are also four primary schools: Junction Farm, Durham Lane, The Links, and Preston. Egglescliffe village has a primary school called Egglescliffe C of E Primary School. As well as these there is also Teesside High School, an independent preparatory and high school, originally an all girls school, it is now introducing boys within the framework of a diamond model of education. It closed for a week in June 2009 because of swine flu.

Egglescliffe School

Egglescliffe School is a large mixed-sex comprehensive school and sixth form.^[1] Beginning as a small rural secondary school of 200 pupils in 1962,^[2] Egglescliffe became a comprehensive school in the 1970s, gradually growing to its current size of over 1400 pupils (277 of which are sixth formers).^{[citation needed]} There have been four headteachers who have run the school since it opened: Frank Davison, Alan Basset, David Oliver and the current headteacher Angela Darnell.^{[citation needed]} Egglescliffe has been awarded with the Specialist Schooling title combined with Science and Art Commendations

Egglescliffe School has held Specialist Arts status since 1999 and was nationally well known for music and orchestral work under the direction of Keith Hewson (retired head of music). The school was featured in an episode of the South Bank Show (19/12/2004, ITV) subtitled a Musical Nation which explored Britain's musical provision for young people.^{[citation needed]} Under the Specialist Arts status, a specialist theatre was built to host the many Drama & Theatre productions throughout the school year. It also homes Egglescliffe Youth Theatre, one of Britain's longest-running youth theatres, which hold weekly sessions and yearly summer productions. Anthony Gears is Director of Performing Arts at the school, and is joined by a team of eight in teaching Drama & Theatre.

Economy

Tetley Tea have had their only tea bag factory in the western world here since 1969 on Sowerby Way. It is the largest tea bag factory in the world, on the Durham Lane Industrial Park, having a floor area of 220,000 square feet and makes 18 billion tea bags a year. Their tea is appropriately made on the Tees. Warburtons have a bakery outside of the village to the north-east on the Preston Farm Industrial Estate. The Elementis Chromium site closed in June 2009.^[3]

Notable residents

Matthew Bates, defender for Middlesbrough FC, raised and schooled in the area.^[4]

Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE, paralympic athlete lives in Eaglescliffe

Gary Havelock, speedway rider place of birth

Frank Middlemass, actor

Lauren Bremner,Director

Sir Samuel Alexander Sadler (1842-1911), industrialist, Mayor and M.P. for Middlesbrough resided in Eaglescliffe