Gathering at the Nab

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The Friends of the Eston Hills invite ALL to a ceremonial toast marking the return of Eston Nab to public ownership after 1000 years !

A site tour with Craig Hornby explaining the boundaries and the history, a proclamation of public ownership, a ribbon cutting ceremony with 2 guests of honour and a collective popping of the corks ! And a walk to Pit-Top if anybody fancies it!

Bring picnic, tipple of choice or good ol tea and biscuits! More info here www.estonhills.info

Gathering at Nab webAter

Eston Mystery Millstone (solved)

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Once again I turn to my readers having drawn a blank on this.
Mystery Millstone, Eston
The millstone is on Eston Recreation Ground, but I cannot find any link between the area and a mill and my internet searches have drawn a blank on when and why it was placed.
Mystery Millstone, Eston
Any ideas ?
The only thing of note on old maps appear to be a Fever Hospital on the opposite side of the road.

UPDATE : The mystery has been solved by Cllr Sheelagh Clarke.
The millstone was purchased from the stone merchant attached to the kennels in Guisborough as part of the landscaping of the Church Lane Pocket Park. It was placed there purely as a decorative item to enhance the landscaped areas rather than representing something specific.

Upsall Pit

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The remains of Upsall Pit are now heavily covered in undergrowth, although the outline of the reservoir and spoil heap can still be identified

The pit was 564ft deep and sunk in the 1850s – 1860s, it is the lowest point of the Eston Mines so was used in pumping water from the mine and ventilation as well as providing access for men and tubs.
The row of houses know as Barnaby Moor or Pit Top (now demolished) were still in existence but deserted in the late 1940s.
Upsall Well
This concrete cover marks the location of the village well.

This extract from ‘A Century is Stone’ by Craig Hornby gives much more detail.

1884 Bible Christian Church, Eston

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The ‘Bible Christians’ were a Methodist denomination formed in 1815 and centered on Devon and Cornwall.
1884 Bible Christian Chapel, Eston
I think there’s a very strong possibility that miners from that area migrated to Cleveland to work in the mines and brought this specific brand of religion with them, as emigrants from Devon and Cornwall also took the religion to America and Canada.
1884 Bible Christian Chapel, Eston
The church name ceased to exist in 1907 when they merged to become the United Methodist Church which itself merged in 1932 to become the Methodist Church of Great Britain.

Charles Acklam Tyreman Grave, Kirkleatham

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Charles Acklam Tyreman was killed in the Eston Ironstone mines on September 2nd 1907 aged 23
Charles Acklam
He was kirving (a coal mining term for undercutting) in the bottom part of the seam when a piece of stone suddenly burst away from a natural break in the upper part of the seam, and, falling upon him, caused fatal injuries.

Memorial to Private William Short VC, Eston

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William Short from Eston was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery on 6th August 1916 at Munster Alley, Contalmaison, France, during the Battle of the Somme.

Memorial to William Short VC, Eston

At the time it was reported :-
He was foremost in the attack, bombing the enemy with great gallantry, when he was severely wounded in the foot. He was urged to go back, but refused and continued to throw bombs. Later his leg was shattered by a shell and he was unable to stand, so that he lay in the trench adjusting detonators and straightening the pins of bombs for his comrades.
He died before he could be carried out of the trench. For the last eleven months he had always volunteered for dangerous enterprises, and had always set a magnificent example of bravery and devotion to duty.

Short had worked as as craneman at Bolckow, Vaughan & Co Steelworks in Eston. The upper part of the momument looks very much like local ironstone, having weathered in much the same way as the ironstone obelisks in the area.

Ironstone Obelisks, Normanby Road.

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Since the demolition of the old Town Hall on Fabian Road the ironstone obelisks have been moved to this new location at the City Learning Centre on Normanby Road.
Eston Ironstone Obelisk
Eston Ironstone Obelisk

I don’t think this will be the final home of the 2.5 tonnes items as its just a temporary home for the council.

I’m adding these comment by Dave into the main article as I think its important given the current council squabbling about where they should be.

“I think it wrong to say that the Fabian Road Town Hall pillars originally came from Eston Hospital, as they were there some 20 years before the hospital was closed and demolished. I gather they originally came from a set of four or more pillars sited on the entrance drive at Bolckow Vaughan’s old mine and works offices – Cleveland House – on Middlesbrough Road E in South Bank, a building that was bought from BV, when the firm went into post WW1 decline, by the old Eston Urban District Council.

I gather the pillars were originally crafted for the building and used as a motif for BV’s trade exhibitions. This, of course, means there were more pillars in the beginning and there were definitely a set at Eston Hospital These are now back. Whether they also originally came from Cleveland House, I don’t know. I expect they did”

A total of five pillars are currently in existence with two more at the old Eston Hospital site and one in South Bank.

Having checked OS maps from 1915 and 1929 for Cleveland House it looks like the pillars are no strangers to movement as they change position there when the Fire Station is built.

Demolition of Town Hall and James Finegan Hall, Eston

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By pure chance I happened to drive past on the 24th of July and find the demolition taking place, here are some before and after shots.


Eston Town Hall, Demolition


Eston Town Hall, Demolition

The James Finegan Hall was already gone by this point.

James Finegan Hall Demolition, Eston
This hall was the home of a Mighty Wurlitzer organ from 1981 (having arrived there from Redcar pier after it’s demolition, although originally from the Granada Theatre in Bedford)