The Cleveland and Teesside Local History Society operates an active and varied programme.
We provide regular talks and day-schools on a wide variety of topics and covering every period of history, from Anglo Saxon and Roman times to Victorian and Twentieth Century developments.
Details of our current programme of talks are provided below.
Winter 2025/26 Programme
Saturday 18 October
Hartlepool Headland Guided Tour & Talk
10am-2pm
Tim Bailey will lead us on a fascinating walking tour of the main features of the Conservation Area on Hartlepool Headland (listed buildings, characterful streets…), as well as a tour of Heugh Battery museum.
Then, we will enjoy a talk from volunteers at the museum who will showcase key parts of the collection (small arms, ordnance, medals and ordinary wartime artifacts).
There will be a lunch break, and we suggest trying the Poppy Tearooms at the museum.
The walking is all on the flat, and not very far. It will be taken at a leisurely pace.
Cost £12 per person. If you’d like to join us, please let us know: mattfalcus@hotmail.com / 07980 660446
Saturday 15 November
Celebrating 200 Years of the Railways
The Frank Elgee Memorial Day School
Saturday 15 November 2025
Preston Hall Museum – Stockton on Tees
To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, the Elgee Memorial Lecture 2025 will take the form of a Day School with contributions from speakers reflecting on the origins, impact, and significance of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.
The venue will be Preston Hall Museum, recently re-opened to great acclaim following a major transformation, within a short distance of where the Stockton & Darlington Railway ran on its opening day.
PROGRAMME
10.00 am Reception and Registration
10.20 am Welcome and Housekeeping
10.30 am Martin F Peagam – Cleveland & Teesside Local History Society
‘The First Railway – The Origins and Significance of the Stockton & Darlington Railway’
11.30 am Dr Emma Watson – Tees Archaeology
‘Revealing the Past – Recent Excavations of the Stockton & Darlington Railway Route’
12.30 pm Lunch Break
1.30 pm Alan Betteney – Cleveland Industrial Archaeology Society
‘The Impact of the Stockton & Darlington Railway on Stockton on Tees’
2.30 pm Michael Thompson – Teesside Archaeology Society
‘Lost Railway Stations Between Middlesbrough and Redcar’
3.30 pm Panel discussion and Q & A Session
4.00 pm Close
HOW TO BOOK
To book a place, please do so via this Eventbrite link
If you have trouble with this, or would prefer to pay by cheque, please contact us.
Saturday 17 January 2026
Venue: Online (Zoom)
Torn from Home and Welcome in Teesside: Jewish Refugees to Teesside
Martin Peagam
To attend, please send your name and email address to mattfalcus@hotmail.com
Saturday 14 February 2026 at 10.30am
Venue: The Chapel, Whitehouse Street, Middlesbrough, TS5 4BY
The Battle of the Standard
Anthony Wood
The Battle of the Standard in August 1138 is one of the best recorded events of the 12th century and yet there are many unanswered questions regarding events leading up to it and the subsequent struggles presented to the contemporary chroniclers many of whom had a vested interest in shifting the blame. If history is truly written by the victors then in this instance victory brought with it a new set of problems. This talk (hopefully) explains the long series of events leading up to the conflict and examines the wider social and political landscape at a time of great change in Scotland and Northern England.
Christopher Dresser and the Linthorpe Pottery
Gill Moore
Christopher Dresser is widely regarded as Britain’s first independent industrial designer. His innovative ideas not only influenced Victorian design but also helped lay the foundations for modernism. In 1876, he became the first European designer to visit Japan, which had been closed to the West for nearly two centuries. Inspired by his travels, he planned to create an art complex in Middlesbrough that would produce groundbreaking new products. His first step was the establishment of Linthorpe Art Pottery.
This talk will explore the fascinating story of Christopher Dresser and Linthorpe Pottery, how the largest public collection of Dresser’s work came to Middlesbrough, and why we should take pride in it.
Saturday 14 March 2026 at 10.30am
Venue: Online (Zoom)
A Place In the Country:- The Castle as Holiday Home
Erik Matthews
Saturday 25 April 2026 at 10.15am
Venue: The Dorman Museum, Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough
Annual General Meeting, followed by
Jet Mining on the North York Moors
Chris Twigg
Revising Pevsner: The Cleveland Experience
Professor Jane Grenville
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