To the rear of Acklam Road, by the old River Tees there’s a collection of sheds and buildings. Some in use, some not.
Some old, some look newer. Waterside buildings here appear on maps from the 1890’s, and the above selection are certainly on maps published in 1915. These are near the Harewood Pleasure Gardens which can be seen in the background and I believe one of these sheds was used by the gardeners for the park.

Slightly higher, at the level of Acklam Road are these houses which sit affront the sheds by the old river.
Where Acklam Road curves slightly to the left now if travelling toward Stockton it would have originally carried on past these houses.

The construction of the A66 meant that Thornaby was in essence cut in two, actually more than that a lot of it was destroyed. The view above would have been quite different, a large building would have been occupying the scene here, with more terrace houses behind and garages and further workshops to the right.

In the above image it’s hard to imagine how just to the left is the old River Tees… Equally difficult to envisage now is the sight of sloops and other coastal craft moored or making the passage to Stockton. One of the reasons this is no longer the course of the Tees is that making passage to Stockton was very difficult, this tidal stretch was said to be riddled with hazards and became silted up regularly.

I leave you with an image taken of the buildings closer to the hill back up to Acklam Road, I love the flowing lines of old buildings, in some cases no longer conforming to right angles.