Port Clarence is a small village now within the borough of
Stockton-on-TeesStockton-on-Tees is a unitary authority area and borough in the Tees Valley area of north east England, with a population in 2001 of 178,408, rising to 185,880 in 2005 estimates....
and ceremonial county of
County DurhamCounty Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is situated on the north bank of the
River TeesThe River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...
, and hosts the northern end of the
Middlesbrough Transporter BridgeThe Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge or Tees Transporter Bridge is the furthest downstream bridge across the River Tees, England. It connects Middlesbrough, on the south bank, to Port Clarence, on the north bank. It is a transporter bridge, carrying a travelling 'car', or 'gondola', suspended from...
.
History
Formerly known as
Samphire Batts, it is situated on the River Tees. As the
Industrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
took shape and ships got bigger, access to Stockton became harder, and so colliery owners needed better access to the
North SeaIn the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
.
19th century
Investors created the
Port Clarence Railway, which connected Stockton to the newly developed port at Samphire Batts, and also
Haverton HillHaverton Hill is an area within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of County Durham, England.It is situated to the north of the River Tees, near Billingham. The A1046 is the main road linking to Stockton and the A19 in the west and Port Clarence and the A178 in the east.- History...
, a 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) upstream. The village was hence renamed after the port. Meanwhile, its great rival the
Stockton and Darlington RailwayThe Stockton and Darlington Railway , which opened in 1825, was the world's first publicly subscribed passenger railway. It was 26 miles long, and was built in north-eastern England between Witton Park and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, and connected to several collieries near Shildon...
extended to
MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
, on the opposite side of the river. The S&DR extension was completed by 1830, while the PCR was completed by 1833. The opening of the railways provided the stimulus for the growth of both Middlesbrough and Port Clarence. Prior to the opening of the railway, ship access to Port Clarence was very slow and difficult, often taking as long to carry the coal to the port, as it had to sail from the port to
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
However,the PCR shared rail track owned by the S&DR near to the County Durham coal mines and never made a profit due to the restrictions and fees imposed by the owners of the S&DR and eventually the PCR was taken over by the Stockton and Hartlepool Railway, a subsidiary of the Hartlepool Docks and Railway Company, to allow quicker onward shipment via new docks at
HartlepoolHartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
.
20th century
The area has a strong history of immigration from
IrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, with many travellers settling in the village between 1900 to 1920, particularly from counties
TyroneHistorically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
,
MonaghanCounty Monaghan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Council is the local authority for the county...
and
WicklowCounty Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
. They arrived to work in the local steel and chemical industries, as well as the local Furness Shipyards.
Present
The village has a high crime rate as some derelict houses have been set on fire by
arsonArson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
ists and other houses have been boarded up. Such an example was the
Queen's Head pub that was destroyed by arsonists in 2005. The village also has a high unemployment rate but it has few amenities and residents need to travel to nearby
BillinghamBillingham is a town in the unitary authority of Stockton on Tees, in north east England, with a population of 35,765 . It was founded circa 650 by a group of Saxons known as Billa's people, which is where the name Billingham is thought to have originated...
,
MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
or
StocktonStockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
. It is served by the
StagecoachStagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
service 1 between
HartlepoolHartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
and Middlesbrough. The A1046 links the village to Stockton and Middlesbrough (via the
Newport BridgeOpened to traffic on 28 February 1934 by the Duke of York, the Tees Newport Bridge spans the River Tees a short distance upriver from Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge, linking Middlesbrough with the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, England....
) in the west and the A178 links to Hartlepool and Middlesbrough (via the
Transporter BridgeThe Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge or Tees Transporter Bridge is the furthest downstream bridge across the River Tees, England. It connects Middlesbrough, on the south bank, to Port Clarence, on the north bank. It is a transporter bridge, carrying a travelling 'car', or 'gondola', suspended from...
) in the east.
External links
54°35.32′N 1°13.8′W