Henry Bolckow is acknowledged as one of the founding fathers of Middlesbrough, having been its first mayor. The statue by D.W.S.Stevenson dates from 1881 and was unveiled to a crowd of 65,000 by Lord Frederick Cavendish
His statue stands with its back to the flyover that caused the demolition of the Royal Exchange, although it is now near its original position having been in Albert Park between 1924 and 1986
Around Exchange Square are some other remnants of the former Royal Exchange building.
If anyone is interested the Alan Godfrey (?) maps of Middlesbrough, dated around the turn of the century, provide more information as to the history of the town. The origins of Exchange Square and the Ironmasters district are accuately shown and make for a fascinating resource.
There’s an excellent Godfrey map of Eston from 1927 showing lots of mine workings etc. Web address is http://www.alangodfreymaps.co.uk
Would you like a picture of the Green Man from the Royal Exchange?
Aswell as saving the datestone and these decorative stone carvings above, M/bro Borough Council also saved one of the doorways of the Royal Exchange with a view to re-erect on Exchange Square. For some reason this never happened and presumably it remains somewhere in storage.