Place-name
“Estate associated with Leofa”. Levingtorp c.1138 (from the Whitby Cartulary). Levingthorp 1160-80 (from Early Yorkshire Charters). Linthropp 1614 (from the Quarter Sessions) Old English personal name Leofa + ing + thorpe.
Based on “The Place-names of the North Riding of Yorkshire” A.H.Smith (1928)
Domesday Book
Under the heading “Land of Earl Hugh” there are several lines relating to Acklam, without naming Linthorpe. The entry says “The whole manor (has) 2 leagues in length and 1 in breadth.”
Part or all of the lands of Linthorpe may have belonged to the manor of Acklam that stretched 6 miles in length and 3 miles in breadth, assuming a league measured 3 miles (it was sometimes shorter). However, the name of the settlement does not appear anywhere in the Domesday Book, either as “Linthorpe” or “Levingthorp”.
Based on William Farrer’s translation in “The Victoria History of the County of York” vol.2 (ed.) W.Page (1912)
Early Landowners
During the reign of Henry I, a great tract of land south of the lower River Tees was granted to Robert de Brus of Skelton. This included Linthorpe. The overlordship remained with the Brus family until 1272. In the 14th century the Darcy family were the overlords, and later the Conyers. The local lords of the manor in the Middle Ages were the Boyntons of Acklam.
See “The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Yorkshire North Riding” vol.2 (ed.) W.Page (1923)
An Early Mention
From “Calendar of the Fine Rolls” vol. xviii, (ed.) P.V.Davies (1939)
“July 14th 1447: Commitment . . . to George Scalby . . . of the keeping of 14 acres of land in Leventhorp and a cottage and 5 acres of land in Middelesburgh, co. York, late of William Cosyn, which came into the hands of Henry IV, and are still in the king’s hand, by the forfeiture of the said William who was adherent to the king’s enemies the Scots . . . “
The Lay Subsidy of 1301
This tax on movable goods was applied to 12 properties under the heading “Leventhorpe”. It’s likely that another two dozen or so houses were exempt as was usual amongst the records from this tax. There are clues in the list of taxpayers that the village of Ayresome was included in Linthorpe. The first clue is that tax was charged on the grange of Guisborough. This was Ayresome Grange, which stood near the end of what is now Ayresome Street. The second clue is that William Le Passour was named as a taxpayer. “Passour” is an old word for “ferryman” and in the Middle Ages there was a ferry across the River Tees near Ayresome. The grange had the highest assessment on the list, at over 11 shillings. The total tax for Linthorpe was just over 40 shillings.
Selected Buildings
Albert Park Hotel (1868)
St. Barnabas’ Church (1892)
Linthorpe Assembly Rooms (1924)
Linthorpe Junior School. (1874)
The Industrial School (1875)
Dorman Memorial Museum (1904)
Avenue Methodist Church (1908)
Middlesbrough Theatre (1956)
Sjomanskyrka (1963)
A Few Lost Buildings
Blue Hall (17th c.) demolished 1870, replaced by another Blue Hall, demolished in 1927.
Marsh House Farm (17th c.) demolished circa 1937.
Holgate Workhouse (1875) main buildings demolished in the 1980s.
Cemetery chapels (1870) demolished in the 1970s.
Olympia Skating Rink (1909, closed 1914, converted to a tram shed in 1920, became a garage in 1922) demolished in 2004.
West Lane Hospital (1872) demolished in the late 20th century.
Some People of Note
William Fallows (1797-1889) A Middlesbrough councillor and mayor who was born in Sleights and went to school in Linthorpe. He became known as “the father of Middlesbrough and of the Tees”.
Minnie Levick (1871-1961) A Londoner who became a Doctor of Medicine in 1901. She spent her married life as a doctor in Linthorpe and was an important figure in the establishment of the Middlesbrough Maternity Home.
Marion Coates Hansen (1872-1947) A suffragist and socialist politician, born in Osbaldwick, who grew up in Linthorpe. In 1819 she was the second woman to be elected a councillor in Middlesbrough.
Chris Rea (1951- ) A singer from Linthorpe who had several million-selling albums in the late 1980s, and topped the album charts in 1989 and 1991.
Martin Narey (1955- ) A civil servant born in Linthorpe. He became the head of the English Prison Service and chief executive of the charity Barnardo’s.
Bob Mortimer (1959- ) A comedian who was born in Linthorpe and educated in Acklam. He is best known for his work with Vic Reeves in the television show Shooting Stars which ran for 8 series between 1995 and 2011.
The Hearth Tax of 1673
27 houses in Linthorpe had 1 or 2 hearths in 1673. There was a 3-hearth house owned by “Ellice Jackson” but the largest property belonged to “Mr Wm Hobman” and had 6 hearths. There were no non-payers in Linthorpe.
Census
1801 214
1851 262
1901 417
Directories
White’s Directory of 1840 described Linthorpe as “a small village . . . S.S.W. of Middlesborough” which had “in its township 229 inhabitants, and about 1300 acres of land, including the hamlet of Airsholme, and the village of Newport on the river Tees”. The directory named only Robert Halliday Dobson Esq. of Toft-House, a tailor and a handful of farmers.
Whellan’s Directory of 1859 forecast a rapid expansion of the village. “Linthorpe is a small scattered village, 1½ miles S.S.W. of Middlesborough, and judging from the building now going on, it bids fair at no very distant day, to form part and parcel of that wonderfully rising town.”
A Selection of Dates
1133 Some of the lands of Linthorpe were part of a dispute between Whitby Abbey and Guisborough Priory.
1837 The first mention of New Linthorpe in a written document, although the village does not appear on the Ordnance Survey map of 1856. New Linthorpe was a small industrial village about half a mile east of the original Linthorpe village.
1855 Isaac Sharp and Henry Doughty opened the first two brickworks in New Linthorpe.
1860 Land in Simpson Street was given to the Wesleyan Methodists to build a chapel.
1861 The Primitive Methodist Chapel in Mary Ann Street was dedicated.
1869 Linthorpe Cemetery was laid out.
1871 William Oliver operated a horse-drawn bus service from the Park Hotel to Middlesbrough town centre.
1872 West Lane Hospital was built.
1874 Linthorpe Board School was opened.
1875 The Industrial School was opened on the corner of Roman Road and Linthorpe Green. Although the school was closed in 1925, the building is still standing.
St. Barnabas’ Mission Church on New Cemetery Road was consecrated.
1878 Middlesbrough Workhouse was opened at the corner of Ayresome Green Lane and New Cemetery Road.
1879 John Harrison established the Linthorpe Art Pottery.
1886 Linthorpe police station was opened at the corner of Binks Street and Linthorpe Road.
1889 Linthorpe Pottery ceased production.
1892 St. Barnabas’ church on Linthorpe Road was consecrated.
1898 The tram service from Linthorpe to the ferry landing was inaugurated.
1899 The Phillipsville Estate was developed by Theophilus Phillips.
Broomlands children’s hospital was opened.
1908 Avenue Methodist Church was dedicated.
1912 Kirby Girls’ Grammar School opened. Linthorpe School was enlarged with the addition of a new block.
1919 Work began on the Acklam Garden City housing estate.
1923 Linthorpe Assembly Rooms were built.
1926 The Carter Bequest Hospital on Cambridge Road was opened. Linthorpe police station was closed.
1928 St. Martin’s church in Barker Road was dedicated.
1930 The Workhouse was adapted to become Middlesbrough General Hospital.
1932 St. Philomena’s church was consecrated. It was later known as Sacred Heart.
1934 The tram service from Linthorpe to the Transporter Bridge was replaced by a motor bus service.
1937 Work began on the construction of Whinney Banks Housing Estate
1938 The Holy Name of Mary church was consecrated. The Jewish synagogue was built.
1939 In November an R.A.F. Hudson aircraft crashed into a house on Cambridge Road killing all the crew.
1954 The ambulance station was built on Ayresome Green Lane.
1957 The Little Theatre was opened on the Avenue.
1960 The new Cleveland College of Art was opened on Roman Road.
1961 The Society of Friends moved to a new meeting house on Cambridge Road.
1963 The Swedish Church was opened on the corner of Park Road South.
1966 St. Edward’s School opened on Eastbourne Road.
1986 Linthorpe Community Centre was opened.
2003 The General Hospital was closed.
2012 Linthorpe Cemetery was awarded a green flag by the Keep Britain Tidy campaign.
This list of dates was based on information from “Linthorpe and its Village” P.Stephenson (2001) and other secondary sources.
Suggested Further Reading
“Linthorpe Art Pottery” C.Hart (1988)
“Linthorpe Road and Linthorpe Village” P.Stephenson (2000)