Loftus Primitive Methodist Chapel

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This Primitive Methodist chapel dates from 1870 and was just across the road from the 1876 Wesleyan chapel.
Loftus Methodist Chapel
Sadly this building is currently disused, vintage photos of it are uncommon as most seem to be looking past it in both directions.

Newton Memorial Chapel, Loftus

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Newton Memorial Chapel was built in 1876, it was named after the Reverand Robert Newton of Roxby (1780 – 1854) who was a travelling Wesleyan minister.

Newton Memorial Chapel, Loftus
The chapel was hit by a German bomb on Saturday March 15, 1941.

A house stands on the site now, but parts of the graveyard can still be seen on the land behind that.
Newton Memorial Chapel, Loftus

Loftus Stonemason Sculpture

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Mayor Olwyn Peters unveiled the sculpture on Wednesday 18th April. Designed by artist Steve Tomlinson of Stokesley and cast by Geoff Robinson in Liverton Mines.
Loftus Stonemasons Yard
The location was the site of Arrowsmiths Monumental Mason Yard from 1905, owned later by Edgar Colbeck until the late 1960s
Loftus Stonemasons Yard
Against the neighbouring buildings are a number of fragments of carved masonry from the site.
Loftus Stonemasons Yard

Loftus War Memorial and Fountain

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Loftus War Memorial was unveiled on 11th November 1922, it was designed by B J Wormleighton and erected by C Hebditch.
Loftus War Memorial
Two panels list the casualties of World War 1
Loftus War Memorial
Loftus War Memorial
A third panel holds the World War 2 additions.
Loftus War Memorial

Interestingly the first name Herbert Armsby has been erased because he actually returned home 8 years later having claimed he lost his memory (although he did return home shortly after an amnesty was declared on deserters)

The fountain below carries the inscription “THESE LAID THE WORLD AWAY AND POURED OUT THE RED SWEET WINE OF YOUTH, GAVE UP THE YEARS TO BE OF WORK AND JOY AND THAT UNHOPED SERENE THAT MEN CALL AGE” which is a line from The Dead by Rupert Brooke.
Loftus War Memorial Fountain
There is an additional plaque from 2002 dedicated to Stanley Hollis who was the only person to be awarded the Victoria Cross on D-Day 6th June 1944.
Loftus War Memorial

He is also commemorated as one of the only three locals to be awarded the VC on a memorial in Middlesbrough Town Hall

Captain Cook Pub, Middlesbrough

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The Captain Cook is a little lonely at the moment, stuck out in the partially redeveloped St Hildas area of Middlesbrough it closed in 2010.
Captain Cook, Middlesbrough
The pub is said to date from around 1840 and was designed by Robert Moore.
Captain Cook, Middlesbrough
The current facade is dated 1893 and features the Vaux breweries blackbird motif.
Captain Cook, Middlesbrough

Oddfellows Hall, Loftus

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Oddfellows is a 200 year old friendly society still in existance today.
Bringing together people from different guilds and trades  they were important in the days before the welfare state.

Oddfellows Hall, Loftus

The hall dates from 1874 but was unused for many year and has since been converted to flats

Skinningrove Merman Mosaic

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This mosaic depicting the merman legend on Skinningroves Riverside Building was unveiled by Mayor Olwyn Peters in March 2012
Skinningrove Merman
It was created by the Whitecliffe Primary School children under the supervision of Glynis Johnson
Skinningrove Merman
Theres also a nice set of tiles showing a row of local cottages.
Skinningrove Mural

Update : Looks like this was incomplete on my first visit as a dog has been added looking at the mermans fish.
Skinningrove Flood Mosaic

Lingdale Mining Heritage Park

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I have previously covered some of the Ironstone Reminders around Lingdale, but since that post in 2009 some additional items have appeared such as this plaque.
Lingdale Mining Heritage Park
This Lingdale Junction train sculpture was unveiled on 1st December 2011 and funded by Lingdale Liftoff
Lingdale Mining Heritage Park

Also new is a plaque commemorating the mine workers from 1873 – 1962, including the 8 men killed in an underground gas explosion on Monday 24th August 1953

John Butcher (48), Jack Breckon (65), Tom Breckon (34), Anthony Carter (19), William Grayson (16), Jack Ward (28), Charles Bottomley (26) and Jack Davison(52)

Lingdale Mining Heritage Park

7 of the 15 men in the explosion survived and I recently saw the grave of Anthony McCormick who was 18 at the time. His grave in Redcar cemetary records the event.

Brittania Test House – Middlesbrough

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The 1250 Ton Testing Machine in this building was used by Dorman Long to test the girders for the Sydney Harbour Bridge amongst many others.
Brittania Test House
Brittania Test House
The site is now run by Durham Lifting and their website carries the following detail :-

The largest testing house in the UK holds Lloyds approval to undertake tensile and compressive testing up to 1250 tons. Its 50ft long bed can accept specimens 30ft wide and up to 4ft deep. The recent manufacture of a 1.6 mechanical advantage lever assembly for the test machine now allows tensile testing of 2000 Ton to be carried out.