Guisborough facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Guisborough
Town
The town's market cross
Guisborough
Population	16,979 (town 2011)
OS grid reference	NZ610159
• London	255.1 miles
Civil parish	Guisborough
Unitary authority	Redcar and Cleveland
Ceremonial county	North Yorkshire
Region	North East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	GUISBOROUGH
Postcode district	TS14
Dialling code	01287
Police	Cleveland
Fire	Cleveland
Ambulance	North East
EU Parliament	North East England
UK Parliament	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
List of places UK England Yorkshire 54°32′06″N 1°03′23″W / 54.5350°N 1.0563°W / 54.5350; -1.0563

Guisborough ( ghiz-BƏR-ə) is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. It lies north of the North York Moors National Park. Roseberry Topping, midway between the town and Great Ayton, is a landmark in the national park. At the 2011 census, the civil parish with outlying Upleatham, Dunsdale and Newton under Roseberry had a population of 17,777, of which 16,979 were in the town's built-up area. It was governed by an urban district and rural district in the North Riding of Yorkshire.

History

Guisborough was formerly part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, from 1974 to 1996 part of the County of Cleveland and now in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland. Gighesbore is recorded in the Domesday Book and the ruined Gisborough Priory dates to the 12th century. The priory and Gisborough Hall (16th century, demolished and rebuilt) are spelt without the first U. Some other old sites and names use that same spelling.

Some theories date the town to the Roman occupation of Britain, when it may have been a military fortification. Discovery of a few Roman artifacts support this, such as the elaborate ceremonial Guisborough Helmet (see below), but the theory remains unproved.

Extensive residential development occurred in the 1960s and 1970s with the expansion of the chemical industry at Wilton and the steel industry at Redcar.

Guisborough market, held every Thursday and Saturday with a few stalls on Tuesday, has long been a focal point for the surrounding area. Originally selling cattle and other livestock, the market developed into a general market for fruit and vegetables, clothing and flower stalls. It is open from early morning to late afternoon on the recently restored cobbles that line Westgate, the principal shopping street.

Guisborough Museum, behind Westgate's Sunnyfield House, exhibits photos of Guisborough's history and inhabitants. There is a working watermill at Tocketts Mill.

Guisborough from Highcliff Nab

The Guisborough Helmet

The Guisborough Helmet is a Roman cavalry helmet found near the town in 1864. It was originally fitted with protective cheek-pieces, which have not survived; the holes by which they were attached can be seen in front of the helmet's ear guards. It is lavishly decorated with engraved and embossed figures, indicating that it was probably used for displays or cavalry tournaments, although it may have been worn in battle. The helmet was found in what appears to have been a carefully arranged deposition in a bed of gravel, distant from any known Roman sites. After it was recovered, during road works, it was donated to the British Museum, where it was restored and put on display.

St Nicholas's Church

The Church of St Nicholas

The Anglican Church of St Nicholas is home to the de Brus cenotaph. A church was possibly in existence in 1290, although the chancel dates from the late 15th century. Its nave and interior have been altered. The church in its present form is the result of major rebuilding between 1903 and 1908 to a design by the architect Temple Moore.

Gisborough Hall

Gisborough Hall, a Victorian mansion, was built in the Jacobean style in 1856. It is the former home of the family of Lord Gisborough. The estate was owned by the Chaloner family from just after the dissolution of Gisborough Priory until the 1940s. It is a Grade II listed building converted into a hotel, as part of the Macdonald Hotels chain. It is popular for wedding receptions.

Guisborough Town Hall

Guisborough Town Hall (Grade II Listed) was built in 1821 and initially comprised two storeys, being extended to three in 1870. The Town Hall is located on Westgate and is a prominent building. The ground floor served as a shambles, or meat-market, with rooms above, some of which were used from the building's earliest days as solicitors' offices (Lewis 1831, 286 & Baines 1823, 3). The ground floor also contained a cell or vault (Harrison & Dixon 1981, 131). The town hall was last occupied by two firms of solicitors who vacated in 2014. Its proprietor, a limited company, entered receivership and the building was purchased by Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council due to local concern for its future. A community group has been constituted to keep the building in use while maintaining its historic integrity.

Industry

The town shared in the prosperity of the Industrial Revolution through its proximity to the ironstone mines of the North York Moors. One of Teesside's leading ironfounders, Sir Joseph Whitwell Pease, chose as his country seat, the Alfred Waterhouse-designed Gothic revival Hutton Hall, situated at Hutton Lowcross, near Guisborough. It had its own station on the Middlesbrough-Guisborough branch of the North Eastern Railway, but this closed in 1964.

Groups and societies

Guisborough is the home of the Orion Explorer Scout Unit for young people aged 14 to 18. It is affiliated to the Scout Association. Activities include DofE, Young Leaders volunteering and over 200 different adventurous activities. It has about 30 members from the district. The Third Scout Group on Belmangate was established in 1974. Guisborough is also home to a group of volunteer trailbuilders, whose aim is to provide free motorcycle trails in the local forest for the community to enjoy and work together.

Local musicians are catered for at a local open mic/jam session held every Tuesday night.

Access

Highcliff Nab

Two main roads cross at Guisborough, the A171 and the A173. The A171 leads west to Middlesbrough and east to Whitby whilst the A173 goes south-west to Stokesley and north-east as far as Skelton, where it joins the A174 coast road. Before the bypass was built, the A171 ran along Westgate, the town's main street, crossing the A173 at Chapel Beck Bridge. Just outside the bypass to the north-east, a B-road heads north from the A173 to Redcar. Another minor route out of the town, Wilton Lane, is a windy almost single-track road northwards to the village of Wilton and onto the ICI Wilton chemical works. In addition, there are two lanes that lead out of town into the hills. Hutton Lane ends at Hutton Village, a tiny settlement built mostly for local mining, agricultural and estate workers. Belmangate is an ancient funeral route.

Until 1964, Guisborough was served by trains from Middlesbrough; the Middlesbrough & Guisborough Railway had its terminus at the now-demolished Guisborough station. Before 1958 it had been possible to travel from Guisborough to Whitby and Scarborough, along the scenic North Yorkshire coast railway.

The south of the town is bounded by the North York Moors National Park. Guisborough Forest, which is Forestry Commission land, clothes the edge of the moors. Through the forest, the ground rises sharply, climbing from the plain below to the height of the moors behind. There are several rocky outcrops on this steep slope, including Highcliff Nab and the Hanging Stone. The woods are crossed by several rights-of-way, including the Cleveland Way, though other paths and commission tracks are open to walkers. Beyond the woods, the ground levels out to form Gisborough Moor.

Sport

King George V Ground

Guisborough Town FC, founded in 1973, play in Northern League Division One as of the 2018–19 season. The King George V Ground, which hosts the club's home matches, is named after the king.

King George's Fields, adjacent to the football club, is a playing field with a small playground and a skate park. There is a swimming pool, built in 1968, at the fields. An eight-year campaign led by the late MP, Dr Ashok Kumar, secured the pool's refurbishment, which was completed in 2008–2009.

Guisborough Rugby Union Football club plays in Durham/Northumberland 2 division in the 2021–22 season. The area's constituent body is the Yorkshire Rugby Football Union, able to compete in the region's Silver Trophy.

Guisborough Cricket Club plays in the NYSD cricket league. In 2001–04 it equalled its record of four successive league wins. Past players have included the professionals Murray Goodwin (Sussex and Zimbabwe), Desmond Haynes and Phil Simmons (both West Indies), Imran Jan (Trinidad and Tobago), Sean Clingeleffer (Tasmania) and Greg Todd (Otago).

Climate

Economy

Sunnyfield House

Guisborough market is held on Thursday and Saturday with a few stalls on Tuesday. Originally selling cattle and other livestock, the market developed into a general market for fruit and vegetables, clothing and flowers. It opens from early morning to late afternoon on the restored cobbles of Westgate, the main shopping street. Guisborough Museum, behind Westgate's Sunnyfield House, shows photographs of Guisborough's history and inhabitants.

One main employer in the town was The Shirt Factory. Towards the end of its existence it was acquired by Montague Burton of Leeds, but it closed in 1999. Other former employers were Blackett Hutton and Co., maker of medium high-integrity castings, and the civil engineering firm Henderson Campbell.

There is a working watermill at Tocketts Mill. On 15 January 2004, Guisborough was granted Fairtrade Town status. It is a commuter town for nearby Middlesbrough and has many working in the chemical plants around Teesside.

Education

The Waterhouse Building, Prior Pursglove College

Primary education is provided at Belmont, Galley Hill, Highcliffe, St Paulinus (Roman Catholic) and Chaloner Primary. Laurence Jackson School, an amalgamation of the earlier Northgate Junior and Park Lane schools at the eastern end of the town, is the only secondary school, and doubles as a Specialist Sports College. It marked its 50th anniversary in 2008.

Prior Pursglove College, a sixth-form college for GCSE, A level and AS level students, stands next to the parish church and priory ruins on the former site of Guisborough Grammar School, which it replaced after changes in the education system. It had been founded in 1561 by Robert Pursglove, the last Prior of Gisborough, as a charitable school for poor boys. It was accompanied by a set of almshouses for twelve pensioners.

Askham Bryan College of Agriculture has opened a Guisborough Centre on the same site as Prior Pursglove College. It consists of an animal management centre and a modern building, the Priory Centre, which the two colleges share.

Transport

Road

Arriva X56 Bus to Middlesbrough

Two main roads cross at Guisborough, the A171 leading west to Middlesbrough and east to Whitby, and the A173 south-west to Stokesley and north-east as far as Skelton, where it joins the A174 coast road. Before the bypass was built, the A171 ran along Westgate, the town's main street, crossing the A173 at Chapel Beck Bridge. Just beyond the bypass to the north-east, a B-road heads north from the A173 to Redcar. Another minor route out of town, Wilton Lane, is a winding, almost single-track road running north to the village of Wilton and on to the ICI Wilton chemical works. There are two other lanes that lead out of town into the hills. Hutton Lane ends at Hutton Village, built mostly for local mining, agricultural and estate workers. Belmangate is an ancient funeral route.

Paths

Guisborough Branch Walk, the former railway line

The south of the town is bounded by the North York Moors National Park. Guisborough Forest, which is Forestry England land, clothes the edge of the moors. Through the forest, the ground climbs sharply from the plain to the moors behind. There are several rocky outcrops on the steep slope, including Highcliff Nab and the Hanging Stone. The woods are crossed by several rights of way, including Cleveland Way, but other paths and commission tracks are also open to walkers. Beyond the woods, the ground levels out to form Gisborough Moor.

Railway station

The site of the former station, now a car park

Until 1964, Guisborough was served by trains from Middlesbrough – the Middlesbrough & Guisborough Railway had its terminus at the now-demolished Guisborough station. Before 1958 it was possible to travel from Guisborough to Whitby and Scarborough, along the scenic North Yorkshire coast railway.

Notable people

• Willie Applegarth (1890–1958), Olympic track and field athlete
• John Gilbert Baker (1836–1920), botanist
• Mark Benton (born 1965), character actor
• Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale (died before 1138), Norman baron and knight, founder of the Bruce dynasty of Scotland and England
• John Bulmer (1867–1917), first-class cricketer
• Bob Champion (born 1948), steeplechase jockey who won the 1981 Grand National, despite being recently diagnosed with cancer
• Henry Savile Clarke (1841–1893), dramatist and critic
• James Coppinger (born 1981), professional footballer with Doncaster Rovers
• Ralph Gaudie (1876–1951), professional footballer, notably with Arsenal
• Sean Gregan (born 1974), professional footballer
• Lawry Lewin (born 1985), television actor
• Rod Liddle (born 1960), journalist, at school in Guisborough
• Katy Livingston (born 1984), Olympic modern pentathlete
• Richard Milward (born 1984), novelist
• Elinor Lyon (1921–2008), children's writer born in the town
• Alan Ramage (born 1957), cricketer
• Mark Robinson (born 1981), footballer with Guisborough Town
• Selina Scott (born 1951), head girl at Laurence Jackson School, later newsreader and presenter of The Clothes Show
• J. Denis Summers-Smith (born 1920), Scottish-born ornithologist and tribologist
• Walter of Guisborough (fl. 13th c.), medieval chronicler
• Thomas Ward (1652–1708), author who converted to Catholicism
• Joseph Whitehead (1814–1894), Canadian railway pioneer and political figure

Images for kids

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  Guisborough Helmet

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  Gisborough Priory

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  Gisborough Hall

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  Guisborough Town Hall

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  Chaloner Street