Stockton-on-Tees

History

Stockton is an Anglo-Saxon place name with the common ending ton, meaning farm, or homestead. Stock is possibly derived from the Anglo-Saxon Stocc, meaning log, tree trunk, or wooden post. Stockton could therefore mean a farm built of logs. This is disputed because when Stocc forms the first part of a place name, it usually indicates a derivation from the similar word Stoc, meaning cell, monastery, or place. Stoc in place name such as Stoke or Stow usually indicates farms which belonged to a manor or religious house. It is possible the name is an indication that Stockton was an outpost of Durham or Norton which were both important Anglo-Saxon centres. Stockton is reportedly the home of the fossilised remains of the most northerly hippopotamus ever discovered. In 1958, an excavation north-west of the town uncovered a 125,000-year-old hippo's molar tooth. However, no one knows exactly where the tooth was discovered, who discovered it, or why the dig took place. The tooth was sent to the borough's librarian and curator, G. F. Leighton, who then sent it to the Natural History Museum in London. Since then, the tooth has been missing despite efforts to locate it. The tooth dates to the Last Interglacial (130-115,000 years ago), when hippopotamuses were widespread across Great Britain. Stockton began as an Anglo-Saxon settlement on high ground close to the northern bank of the River Tees. Stockton was described as a manor by 1138, and was purchased by Bishop Pudsey of Durham in 1189. During the 13th century, the bishop changed the village of Stockton into a borough; the exact date the borough was founded is unknown, but it was being described as a borough by 1283. When the bishop freed Stockton's serfs, craftsmen moved to the new town. The bishop had a residence in…

Geography

Stockton lies on the north bank of the River Tees. The town's northern and western extremities are on slightly higher ground than the town centre, which is directly on the Tees. Stockton experiences occasional earth tremors. For example, it was the epicentre of a tremor measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale on 23 January 2020. The town has many areas outside of the town centre; Fairfield, Portrack, Hardwick, Hartburn, Elm Tree Farm, Norton, Roseworth, Newtown, Bishopsgarth and Oxbridge. Norton is the second largest centre in the town. {| class="wikitable" !Place!!Distance!!Direction!!Relation |- |London||||South||Capital city of the UK |- |Durham||||North||Historic county town and closest city |- |Darlington||||West||Combined Authority area |- |Hartlepool||||North east||Combined Authority area |- |Middlesbrough||||East||Combined Authority area |} Stockton-on-Tees has an oceanic climate typical for the United Kingdom. Being sheltered from prevailing south-westerly winds by the Lake District and Pennines to the west, and the Cleveland Hills to the south, it is in one of the relatively dry parts of the country, receiving on average of rain per year. Temperatures range from mild summer highs in July and August typically around , to winter lows in December and January falling to around . Seasonal variations are small and both the mild summers and cool winters are far removed from the average climates of the latitude (54.5°N). This is mainly due to the British Isles being a relatively small land mass surrounded by water, the mild south-westerly Gulf Stream air that dominates the British Isles, and the propensity for cloud cover to limit temperature extremes. In nearby Scandinavia, more than ten degrees further north, there are coastal Bothnian climates with warmer summers…

Most-observed species

• Herring Gull

  Larus argentatus Pontoppidan, 1763 · Aves
  5,960
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,643
• Black-headed Gull

  Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  5,558
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,124
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,789
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,141
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,137
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,128

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2020-01-23
  1 km NW of Stockton-on-Tees, United Kingdom
• M 3.6 — 2011-01-03
  5 km S of Masham, United Kingdom
• M 3 — 2004-07-05
  5 km WNW of Lund, United Kingdom