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Eaglescliffe

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Eaglescliffe
Population7,900 (2001) [1]
OS grid referenceNZ421139
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSTOCKTON-ON-TEES
Postcode districtTS16
Dialling code01642
PoliceCleveland
FireCleveland
AmbulanceNorth East
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
County Durham

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 in Stockton made the section non-tidal. 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 two pedestrian bridges and an underpass.

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 travelling down Yarm Road, and the Locomotion No. 1.

Allens West

Up until the early 1990s there was a small military base situated at Allens West in Eaglescliffe. After World War 2 the base was Metal Reclamation Unit No 2, and was used to dismantle aircraft that were downed in the north of England. It later became the Royal Navy Supply Depot (RNSD) Eaglescliffe until its closure in 1992. Aerial photographs show that the site used to have railway sidings and a small runway. The area where the runway was situated is now the Urlay Nook Admiralty ecology park.

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 Eaglescliffe, to the west of the A135, lies within the parish of Preston-on-Tees. Several housing estates combine to form 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 and Middlesbrough to the north and north-east and Darlington to the west.

Location

A map of Eaglescliffe showing main roads and estates.

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. From 1999, Anthony Gears was Director of Performing Arts at the school, and was 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 (20,000 m2) 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

References

  1. ^ "Egglescliffe School - Stockton-on-Tees School Finder". Retrieved 5 January 2008.
  2. ^ Egglescliffe School, School Governor's Meeting Minutes, Durham County Council
  3. ^ "Jobs hit as chemical plant closes". BBC News Online. BBC. 29 April 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  4. ^ http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/borofc/homegrownheroes/tm_headline=matthew-bates%26method=full%26objectid=17694181%26siteid=109975-name_page.html

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