Middlesbrough


Middlesbrough, colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, it forms part of the Teesside built-up area and the Tees Valley. In 2021, it had a population of 148,215.

History

Medieval period

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". Some believe the name means 'middle fortress', since it was midway between the two religious houses of Durham and Whitby; others state that it is an Old English personal name combined with burgh, meaning town.
In 686, a monastic cell was consecrated by St Cuthbert at the request of St Hilda, Abbess of Whitby. The cell evolved into Middlesbrough Priory. The manor of Middlesburgh belonged to Whitby Abbey and Gisborough Priory. Robert Bruce, Lord of Cleveland and Annandale, granted and confirmed, in 1119, 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.
After settlement by the Angles, the area became home to Viking settlers. Names of Viking origin are abundant, for example Ormesby, Stainsby and Tollesby. These were once separate villages named after Vikings called Orm, Steinn and Toll; they are now areas of Middlesbrough that were recorded in Domesday Book, of 1086.

Port development

In 1801, Middlesbrough was a small farming township with a population of just 25. From 1829 onwards, it experienced rapid growth. In 1828, the influential Quaker banker, coal-mine owner and Stockton and Darlington Railway shareholder Joseph Pease sailed up the River Tees to find a suitable new site downriver of Stockton on which to place new coal staithes. As a result, in 1829, he and a group of Quaker businessmen bought the Middlesbrough farmstead and associated estate, some of land and established the Middlesbrough Estate Company.
Through the company, the investors set about a new coal port development on the southern banks of the Tees. The first coal shipping staithes at the port were constructed with a settlement to the east established on the site of Middlesbrough farm as labour for the port, taking on the farm's name as it developed into a village.
The port was linked to the S&DR on 27 December 1830 via a branch that extended to an area just north of the current Middlesbrough railway station.
The success of the port meant it soon became overwhelmed by the volume of imports and exports; in 1839, work started on a dock to the east of Middlesbrough. The first water for the dock was let in on 19 March 1842, while the formal opening took place on 12 May 1842.

Victorian era

Iron dominated the Tees area since 1841, when Henry Bolckow in partnership with John Vaughan, founded the Vulcan iron foundry and rolling mill. Vaughan introduced the new 'Bell Hopper' system of closed blast furnaces developed at the Ebbw Vale works. The new system and nearby abundant supply of Ironstone in the Eston Hills in 1850, made the works a success with the area becoming known as the "Iron-smelting centre of the world" and Bolckow, Vaughan & Co., Ltd the largest company in existence at the time.
Middlesbrough's population grew quickly from 40 people in 1829 to 7,600 by 1851. Pig iron production rose tenfold between 1851 and 1856 and, by the mid-1870s, Middlesbrough was producing one third of the nation's pig iron output. During this time, Middlesbrough earned the nickname Ironopolis.
On 21 January 1853, Middlesbrough received its Royal Charter of Incorporation, giving the town the right to have a mayor, aldermen and councillors. Henry Bolckow became mayor, in 1853.
In the latter half of the 19th century, Old Middlesbrough was starting to decline and was overshadowed by developments built around the new town hall, south of the original town hall.
On 15 August 1867, a Reform Bill was passed, making Middlesbrough a new parliamentary borough; Bolckow was elected member for Middlesbrough the following year.
The town's rapid expansion continued throughout the second half of the 19th century, the population reaching 90,000 by the dawn of the 20th century.

Second World War

Middlesbrough was the first major British town and industrial target to be bombed during the Second World War. The steel-making capacity and railways for carrying steel products were obvious targets. The Luftwaffe first bombed the town on 25 May 1940, when a lone bomber dropped 13 bombs between South Bank Road and the South Steel plant. More bombing occurred throughout the course of the war, with the railway station put out of action for two weeks in 1942.
By the end of the war, more than 200 buildings had been damaged or destroyed in the Middlesbrough area. Areas of early- and mid-Victorian housing were demolished and much of central Middlesbrough was redeveloped. Heavy industry was relocated to areas of land better suited to the needs of modern technology. Middlesbrough itself began to take on a completely different look.

Post-war development

Post-war industrial to modern non-industrial Middlesbrough has changed the town; many buildings have been replaced and roads built. The A66 road was built through the town in the 1980s and the Royal Exchange was demolished to make way for it.
Middlesbrough F.C.'s modern Riverside Stadium opened on 26 August 1995, next to Middlesbrough Dock. The club moved from Ayresome Park, which had been their home for 92 years.
The original St Hilda's area of Middlesbrough, after decades of decline and clearance, was given a new name of Middlehaven in 1986 on investment proposals to build on the land. Middlehaven has since had new buildings built there including Middlesbrough College and the Riverside Stadium amongst others. Also situated at Middlehaven is the Boho zone, offering office space to the area's business, to attract new companies and also Bohouse housing. Some of the street names from the original grid-iron street plan of the town still exist in the area today.
The expansion of Middlesbrough southwards, eastwards and westwards continued throughout the 20th century absorbing villages such as Linthorpe, Acklam, Ormesby, Marton and Nunthorpe; it continues to the present day.

Local government

The local authority is Middlesbrough Council, a unitary authority. Middlesbrough also forms part of the Tees Valley Combined Authority.

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since the 2023 election.
Political control of the council since it was re-established in 1974 has been as follows:
Non-metropolitan district
'''Unitary authority'''

Leadership of the council

Since 2002, political leadership on the council has been provided by the directly elected Mayor of Middlesbrough. Prior to 2002, the council was led by a leader of the council and the mayor had a more ceremonial role. The leaders from 1981 to 2002 were:
The directly elected mayors since 2002 have been:

Administrative history

Middlesbrough was historically a township in the civil parish of West Acklam in the Langbaurgh Wapentake of Yorkshire. Despite having no church building, a perpetual curacy of Middlesbrough was created in 1744, also covering the neighbouring township of Linthorpe, and the curacy of Middlesbrough gradually came to be treated as a civil parish.
After construction of the modern town began in 1830, there was a need for more urban forms of local government. In 1841, a body of improvement commissioners was set up covering the township of Middlesbrough and part of the township of Linthorpe. The commissioners were superseded in 1853, when the same area was made a municipal borough. The borough boundaries were extended in 1858, 1866 and 1887. When elected county councils were created in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, Middlesbrough became a county borough. It was then independent from the new North Riding County Council, whilst remaining part of the North Riding of Yorkshire for ceremonial purposes.
By this time, the borough covered the civil parish of Middlesbrough and parts of the parishes of Linthorpe, Marton and West Acklam. The Local Government Act 1894 said that parishes could no longer straddle borough boundaries and so the parish of Middlesbrough was enlarged to cover the whole borough.
The borough was further enlarged in 1913, taking in the rest of Linthorpe and the North Ormesby area from the parish of Ormesby. In 1932, it gained West Acklam and smaller parts from other parishes when the Middlesbrough Rural District was abolished.
In the latter half of the 20th century, Middlesbrough was affected by three reforms in:
In 2011, a local enterprise partnership was formed from the former Cleveland boroughs and the Borough of Darlington called Tees Valley. In 2016, the area appointed a combined authority mayor.

Members of Parliament

Parliamentary constituencies

Middlesbrough is represented in the British Parliament with a member of parliament from each of the following constituencies: Middlesbrough and Thornaby East and
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.
The Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency is represented by Andy McDonald for Labour in the House of Commons. He was elected in a by-election held on 29 November 2012, following the death of previous Member of Parliament Sir Stuart Bell, who had been the MP since 1983.
The Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency is represented by Luke Myer , who replaced Simon Clarke, in 2024.