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Thornaby is said to have come into existence about 800 A.D. when the land was given by Halfdene, King of the Danes, to Thormod, one of his noblemen, but there are other signs of Thornaby being a much older or even prehistoric settlement. First of all, traces of prehistoric man have been found here, the earliest being a stone axe, 8" long, dating back to the Vesolithic Period (about 6,000 B.C.). An arrow head of the Neolithic Period (about 3,000 B.C.) was found by Mr Campbell while digging in his garden on Thornaby Village Green. In 1926, a dug-out canoe said to date about 1600-1400 B.C. was also found. It was lying in the mud under 8 feet of water opposite Thornaby High Wood. 12 feet long, with a pointed bow and stern, it is said to have been used as a coffin for Bronze Age burial. Its lid and contents have long since disappeared.
There are many other possible reasons for there having been a Bronze Age, or earlier, settlement at Thonaby. Firstly, of course, there is the river, a source of drinking water, food, a means of transport and a convenient ford. In the Middle Ages, Thornaby in common with the rest of the Tees, was well-known for its excellent salmon and other fish.
The Green, situated as it was on high ground, would have offerd good protection to Prehistoric man. Next the soil, which Graves stated in his "Historyof Cleveland" (1808) to be rich and fertile in Thornaby, and lastly, there are other definite traces of Bronze Age settlements in the area.
For instance, at Middlesbrough, a Bronze Age sword has been found and just south of Thornaby, at Inbleby Barwick, a Tumulus (Round Barrow) has been found.
The next definite period in history, indicated by objects found in Thornaby, is the Roman Period. John Walker Ord in his "History of Cleveland" (1846) says:- By some writers it is supposed to have been one site of a Roman Camp, of which, however, we are unable to discover the faintest traces".
Three Roman coins have been found in Thornaby, one in some allotment gardens and the other on the Green, all dating from more or less the same period. One shows ANTONINUS PIUS and is dated between 136 A.D. and 161 A.D. Another shows CONSTANTIUS I. CHLORUS and is dated betwen 293 A.D. and 306 A.D. The other is of the AUGUSTIAN PERIOD 131 B.C - 4 A.D. and was found in blue clay under the old Jolly Farmers Inn.
At first the Danes only came to pillage and destroy the local villages, but in 834 A.D. they visited the eastern coast more and more frequently until, in 865 A.D. they conquered East Anglia.
In 866 - 867 they moved north and occupied the Cleveland area where they named Cliffland. The conquest continued until, in 876 A.D. Ralfdan (or Haladene) was proclaimed the ruler of Northumbria.
It was in this year that the area of Thornaby was said to have been given to Thormod a Danish nobleman, by Halfdan.
This was confirmed in the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" for the year 876 which told in this year Haladene shared out the land of the Northern Tribes and they proceeded to plough it and to support themselves.
The history of the period from the Danish occupation to the Battle of Hastings (1066) is a matter of conjecture there being no record. It seems therefore safe to assume that the races lived and worked together in harmony. This is borne out by the inclusion of many words of Danish or Norse origin in local dialects.
After the Battle of Hastings more parts of the land were conquered and in about 1067-68 one of William the Conqueror's noblemen by the name of
ROBERT DE BRUS I, marched north with a garrison of men and occupied the area of Cleveland. As a prize, William gave him control of 51 manors in the Cleveland area including those of Thornaby and Middlesbrough, and the area of Annandale in Scotland. He also had a castle built at Castleton.
Sweyn, King of Denmark, was not happy with the idea of the Normans ruling over him in the north and so, on the 9th September 1069, fought and defeated the Normans at York by killing the garrison of 3,000 men.
William I was so angry at this that he swore an oath to avenge Sweyn.
He routed his opponents by destroying ever house, so leaving all the land in the north-east of Yorkshire barren and neglected. As a result the inhabitants, mostly Danes, were reduced to the greatest destitution many of them being glad to eat horse, cat, dog, and even human flesh. Many thousands of them perished from hunger. This is why in Thornaby's first entry in the Domesday Book it states "Robert Malet has these (lands) and they are waste".
These lands appear to have stayed waste until the early 19th century as
"Thurnaby waaste" is mentioned in a poem by Tennyson called the "Northern Farmer".
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South Stockton (Thornaby) became the site of a pottery in 1825 and quickly grew with the establishment of shipbuilding and engineering in the area. Gradually South Stockton grew so much that it swallowed up the little village of Thornaby.
On the 6th October 1892 South Stockton and Old Thornaby merged into one to form the municipal borough of Thornaby on Tees.
The same year, Thornaby Town Hall was completed. Designed by James Garry of West Hartlepool and constructed of brick and stone by W. C. Atkinson, it took 2 years to build. With its red bricks, ashlar stone dressing and slate roofs, it had an appearance of grandeur and was a great source of pride. Two prime features are the superb Council Chamber and a 70ft clock tower.
The clock, donated by Alderman William Anderson, was set in motion on January 27th 1892. The first floor is accessed by an impressive circular staircase with a domed, cupola window above. A tiled floor in the entrance and staircase were in keeping with this grandeur. Extensions of 1892 and 1940 are of much lower architectural quality.
Thornaby Borough Council's final meeting took place in March 1968 before being swallowed up by the new Teesside County Borough Council, based in Middlesbrough. This short-lived arrangement ended in 1974, when Thornaby became part of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. Stockton Council, which inherited the Town Hall, achieved unitary status in 1996 and is responsible for most local services.
The previous year, Thornaby Town Council was formed, helping maintain and improve the town's identity.
By 1978, the Town Hall had ceased to have any civic function and fell prey to vandalism and the elements. Although dilapidated, today it remains as a Grade II listed building. Repairs have been carried out and Thornaby Town Council is now based in an office on the ground floor, holding their meetings and administrative centre there.
Future Plans: Project planning, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, is underway to ensure that a sustainable future use can be found for the building,s ecuring it for future generations.
Click on the picture below to go to an updated picture file showing the current disrepair in the Town Hall.
A new non political Thornaby Heritage group are now exploring ways to save the old Hall and convert it into a museum/heritage centre with education facilities although this looks doomed if SBC sell the building as planned.
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