Teesside Archives

26/08/2026

It's that time again, another fabulous record from our extensive ICI collection to mark the company's centenary!
This record is particularly beautiful and in fact, we found it completely by accident following our successful weekend at Billingham last month. During the weekend, there were a number of these long service certificates on display, not something that we'd come across in our collections before though we subsequently found one later when we were looking for something else entirely!
Awarded to W Russell for 40 years service in 1948 (he had worked for one of the parent companies before the formation of ICI), the stunning oak tree artwork features aspects of the company's many products with the roundels showcasing the explosives and fertilisers divisions alongside metal, leather and others. T
he company responsible for the artwork was Alan Tabor Ltd in Manchester, a specialist in calligraphy and illumination style work and whose archive is currently cared for by the wonderful John Rylands Library in the city.
Have you got any certificates like this in your family archive? Please share in the comments below!
Image ref; ICI/BM/4/4/7

25/08/2026

The rain thankfully stayed away for our nature explorer walk at the Headland this morning, giving us lots of opportunities to discover natural treasures using the Hartlepool Community Hubs fantastic explorer packs which you can take out on loan like a book. A big thank you to everyone who joined in with our scavenger and colour hunt activities alongside learning about the bird life, the wonderful world of lichens, ship spotting and a surprisingly rare former lifeboat collecting box hidden in plain sight along the Town Wall, one of only a handful in the country. Thanks again to Cliff for supporting the walk with heritage knowledge, we’re already planning more joint events with the libraries for next year!

25/08/2026

20/08/2026

A massive thank you to everyone who turned out for this morning’s incredibly wet story stroll around a blustery Seaton Carew, organised in partnership with our friends at Hartlepool Community Hubs. Thank you also to volunteers Janet and Irene who helped keep the group together and especially to volunteer Cliff who generously shared his extensive knowledge and research in to notable buildings and the people and families who have left their mark on this growing seaside town. From philanthropic ( though unpopular) industrialists to a rare medieval survivor, an educational legacy to daring sea rescues, we covered a lot of ground! The weather sadly got the better of us in the end so we retreated to the comfort and refreshments of lovely Seaton Carew library where the conversations and stories continued in the warmth. We’re looking forward to running more joint walks from the library in the future, maybe down to Seaton Snook, and on a sunnier day!

19/08/2026

It‘s always nice when people deposit new collections with us but sometimes older collections that have been with us a while but have never been catalogued can yield treasure when examined more closely! At the moment, our archivist and conservator are working on a wonderful series of hand drawn plans dating to 1883 and detailing the extension of Middlesbrough Dock. As with plans of this calibre, the draughtmanship is superb, shadows applied to chain links, wood grain on planks. They are catalogued and will be on the system soon. The work of an archive team is never done!

18/08/2026

Our volunteers have been working hard to help Middlesbrough Council with the research and digitisation on The Old Town Hall and the items found in the time capsule a volunteer has written a very interesting blog with some of the information he has found.

Thank you for all your hard work everyone.

©Teesside Archives CC/PL(2) 2/2-001

An Insight into the history of Middlesbrough’s Old Town Hall

https://teessidearchives.wordpress.com/blog/

15/08/2026

We had a fantastic time at today’s Heritage event in Finkle Square, organised by our friends at Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council . An array of heritage crafts were on display, from woodworking and storytelling to signwriting and blacksmithing alongside our stall showcasing some of our ICI collection, the history of Stockton and the highly skilled work of our conservator. We chatted to so many people about the incredible Riverside Park space and its impact on the town and heard stories of relatives coming to the area to work at ICI from as far afield as India. Thanks to everyone who came to see us!

12/08/2026

As excitement mounts for tonight's solar eclipse, we can take a look back to a previous eclipse which took place in the early morning of 29th June 1927. We have a number of references to the event in our wonderful oral history collection, with people remembering setting off at 3am to join the crowds on the summit of Eston Hills for the best view of what was the UK's first total eclipse in over 200 years. Our interviewees recall being given specially smoked glass through which to watch the sun slowly disappear though we'd definitely not advocate this method today; please only use the approved safety glasses or the pinhole camera technique! They talk about feeling that the end of the world was imminent and remembered people falling to their knees to pray during the total darkness though one lady felt a bit let down when the light returned; the world had survived after all...
However you do it and whatever you feel during the eclipse, take care, do it safely and savour it, we won't see another in the UK until 2090!
Image Reference; U-S-742 photograph album of J H Roberts showing walkers on Eston Hills