Middlesbrough
In 1829 the area surrounding Middlesbrough had changed little. Stockton north of the Tees had developed into a large market town and port. South of the river village life continued as it had done for many years.
The site of Middlesbrough was still a hill rising out of river and marsh. The hill itself consisted of no more than a farm and 13 houses, a village of 40 people. A most remarkable industrial explosion was about to take place that would change the landscape forever.
A Vision of a New Seaport
In 1829 Joseph Pease and a group of Quaker businessmen bought the site of Middlesbrough farm for £30 000. Pease was the son of Edward Pease the backer of the worlds first commercial railway between Darlington and Stockton. In viewing his new purchase he predicted, "...the bare fields would be covered with a busy multitude with vessels crowding the banks of a busy seaport."
Plans where laid down for the construction of a new town. In 1830 the Darlington to Stockton railway was extended to Middlesbrough. By 1851 the population had grown to 7 600 and it boasted everything you'd expect in a new industrial town. Within another ten years the population had topped 20 000 and then 40 000 in a further ten; by 1900 it had had reached 90 000.
Iron and Steel
Initially the ports principle industry had been coal export. Coal from Durham was transported to Middlesbrough via the railways.
In 1850 Iron Ore was discovered in the Cleveland hills. The ironmasters John Vaughan and Henry Bolckow had already established an iron foundry in Middlesbrough for processing iron from Durham and Yorkshire.
Iron had now been discovered within sight of the town and it was set to become its principle industry. The Bolckow and Vaughans Company became Britain's largest company with a capital of 2.5 million.
In 1862 Gladstone visited the town; commenting on its sudden growth he said, "This remarkable place, the youngest child of England's enterprise, is an infant, but if an infant an infant Hercules."
Salt deposits in the local area meant a large chemical industry developed which along with steel continues to the present day. The steel lead to ship and bridge building with the Sydney harbour Bridge being the most famous construction.
The making of Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough centre is new in historical terms but many of the outlying villages, which it swallowed, date back many centuries. The site of Ormesby church for instance has been found to contain artefacts dating back to the Romans and one of the walls in the current building is perhaps 1000 years old.
The massive expansion lead to an influx of people from the rest of the northeast and Yorkshire. The town developed a strong Catholic continent with immigrants from Ireland joining the workforce. The developing town saw massive industrial growth and great wealth for a number of its citizens. The wealth was unfortunately unbalanced with severe poverty and poor conditions for the majority of its workforce.