Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough Unitary district in ceremonial (not administrative) North Yorkshire
Middlesbrough is 4 miles east of Stockton-on-Tees, 8 miles west-north-west of
The Middlesbrough of today owes its existence to its massive expansion in the Victorian era as a port for exporting coal and for the many iron works that were developed beside the River Tees at the end of an extended Stockton and Darlington Railway.
For many centuries there had been a tiny settlement and chapel at the middle of the route between Durham and Whitby Abbey, but when it was bought by a small group of Quaker businessmen in 1829 it amounted to little more than a farm and a few houses. One of those businessmen was Joseph Pearce, who had taken over the management of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, first promoted by his railway pioneer father Edward Pearce.
It was only in the latter part of the 19th century that any development started to spread south of the railway line but by the start of the 20th century a large town had been laid out to a grid iron street plan between the railway, where the station was rebuilt in 1877, and Albert Park, which had been opened in 1868. At the centre of this area was a new Town Hall, completed in 1889, with a 170-foot high clock tower. Today this is dwarfed by the 19-storey Centre North East office block across the road, which was built in 1974 and previously named Corporation House.
Like many port and industrial cities with much better resources, the town of Middlesbrough now faces the challenge of regenerating some of its disused dockland, land cleared of older housing and vast areas of industrial sites which have become disused. The industrious town which has shown in the past how rapidly it can develop has shown it can sow the seeds for future investment with landmark developments, new business parks, good transport links and enhancements to the landscape.
Although having around 200 years of heavy industrial history Middlesbrough is also close to the scenic beauty of the Cleveland Hills and its farming. This was reflected in the Cleveland Show, a big annual agricultural show which was staged in Stewart Park, Marton, around 3 miles south-south-east of Middlesbrough town centre. The show had origins as the Stockton Show but moved to Stewart Park in 1963 as the Teesside Show, becoming the Cleveland County Show in 1974. After first been cancelled due to Covid in 2020, the show has now come to an end with the winding up of its organising society in 2021.
Another major event in Middlesbrough is its long-established annual Mela, celebrating the town's cultural diversity. The event in Albert Park (August 13-14 in 2022) has been held since 1990.
More information about the Mela can be found at the
Middlesbrough MelaTown features
Middlesbrough is on the River Tees.
Middlesbrough has all the usual big high street shopping names, spread around its partly-pedestrianised streets, the Hillstreet Shopping Centre and Cleveland Centre. The Dundas Shopping Centre offers a variety of smaller traders, holds the only indoor market in Middlesbrough town centre and hosts monthly food and craft markets. 
The main Post Office in Middlesbrough is in the Centre Mall of the Cleveland Centre. There are also branch offices in a number of districts around the town.
The town has bank and building society branches.
Many pharmacies can be found in Middlesbrough and around its districts.
The town has a broad selection of pubs from small traditional street corner locals to popular student hangouts. A careful choice will find you real ale, bar snacks and live music, depending on your taste. Some popular national chain pubs are well-represented and it's only a few miles into the Cleveland Hills where you'll find village pubs and country dining.
The town has in recent years staged an annual Middlesbrough Restaurant Week, celebrating new arrivals on the local food and drink scene. This includes Italian and French style restaurants as well as American diners and burger, kebab, Chinese, Indian and pizza eateries.
Middlesbrough Central Library is in Victoria Square. There are also several branch libraries in districts around the town.
Entertainment and museums in Middlesbrough can be found below.
Places of worship: Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, United Reformed, Islamic, Sikh, Hindu, other.
Middlesbrough CathedralSaint Mary's Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic diocese of Middlesbrough, which extends across the former North and East Ridings of Yorkshire, including York and Hull. The modern cathedral in the suburb of Coulby Newham had its foundation stone laid in 1985 and was consecrated in 1998. It replaced the earlier Church of St Mary in Sussex Street, Middlesbrough, which was dedicated in 1878. The Diocese of Beverley, which covered the whole of Yorkshire, was split in two that year, and St Mary's became the Cathedral of the See of Middlesbrough with the consecration of its first bishop in 1879. The cathedral itself was not consecrated until 1911. That earlier building was destroyed in a fire in 2000 and the site is now covered by the new headquarters of Cleveland Police.
Entertainment
Middlesbrough TheatreThe Avenue
The theatre opened in 1957 as the independently-run Middlesbrough Little Theatre, but has been run by a local authority-led charitable trust since 1974, changing its name in 1996 to Middlesbrough Theatre. It still hosts community-based drama and musicals, but also attracts leading comedy, music and dance performances, tribute acts and pantomime.
Sport
Middlesbrough FC Boro play at The Riverside Stadium
Middlesbrough FC
University
Teesside UniversityThe university is based on a main campus close to the centre of Middlebrough. It traces its history back well over 80 years to when it was formed as Constantine College, where teaching began in 1929. It became Teesside Polytechnic in 1969, left local authority control 20 years later and gained university status in 1992. Since that time there has been massive investment in developing the campus. The university also operates a campus in Darlington, County Durham.
More information at the
Teesside University Museums
Dorman Museum
Linthorpe RoadThe museum provides a record of the industrial, social and geological history of the Middlesbrough area together with temporary exhibitions and educational resources.
Dorman Museum Captain Cook Birthplace Museum
Stewart Park, MartonReknowned explorer Captain James Cook was born in 1728 in the village of Marton, around 3 miles south of what is now the larger Middlesbrough. Although the birthplace cottage is no longer there, a purpose-built museum tells the story of the world-famous Yorkshire navigator.
More details at the
Captain Cook Birthplace Museum
Ormesby Hall
Ladgate Lane, Ormesby (B1380)Situated around 4 miles south-east of Middlesbrough and 7 miles south-west of Redcar, Ormesby Hall is a fine Georgian mansion set in 250 acres of parkland and farmland with a formal Victorian garden and stories of the life of the family who bequeathed the property to the National Trust.
More information at the
National Trust - Ormesby Hall
Places to visit
Mima - Middlebrough Institute of Modern Art
One of the UK's leading galleries for modern and contemporary art and craft is in Middlesbrough town centre. Collections include American drawing, fine art, ceramics and jewellery. The Institute, run by Teeside University, regularly hosts visiting exhibitions and events. Admission is free.
Further details at the
MIMA
Tees Transporter Bridge
An iconic symbol of Middlesbrough, the Tees Transporter Bridge was opened in 1911. Its 259 metre span makes it the longest working transporter bridge in the world. The bridge provides a unique toll crossing between the Yorkshire and County Durham banks of the River Tees. The bridge has also become a visitor attraction with a glass viewing lift recently installed to improve access to the upper walkway. The bridge has featured in many films and TV programmes, probably most spectacularly in an episode of comedy drama "Auf Wiedersehen, Pet", where a 2002 episode of a revival series of the 1980s hit had the storyline of the bridge being dismantled to be sold and re-erected in the USA.
North York Moors National Park
The North York Moors National Park starts just five miles away from the centre of Middlesbrough. Summer buses services run to the villages of the National Park from Middlesbrough bus station. Train services operate from Middlesbrough towards 
Travel
Middlesbrough station
Middlesbrough station is a grade II listed building undergoing further extensive improvement between 2022-23. The station is a stop for Transpennine Express services, from
Station managed by: NETWORK RAIL. Operator/s: NORTHERN, TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS, LNER.
NATIONAL RAIL - Departure and station infoExternal link to National Rail live departure board for services at this station (opens in new tab).
Bus travel
Middlesbrough bus station, off Brentnall Street, has pedestrian access from Park Street, Newport Road and Gilkes Street. Buses operate to all nearby towns and villages. Services to Bus services also operate from street stops, mainly around Albert Road and Corporation Road.
Bus information and timetables for the Middlesbrough area are available at the
Connect Tees Valley Road travel
The A19 dual-carriageway link to the A1(M) motorway provides very good links to most other parts of Yorkshire as well as journeys further south. The A19 also runs north from Middlesbrough to the A1 north of Newcastle. The A66 runs west from Middlesbrough to Darlington and towards the M6 at Penrith, the northern Lake District and Workington.
Durham Tees Valley
DarlingtonDurham Tees Valley Airport is 9 miles west-south-west of Middlesbrough where the main services are to Aberdeen and Amsterdam, with some planes to other destinatons, including Humberside and Jersey. The journey is about 11 miles by road, taking just under 20 minutes. For access by public transport, please note the Tees-side Airport station, half-a-mile from the terminal, is a 'ghost' station with the only service being one Sunday train each way. Dinsdale station, 2 miles away, is the nearest station with a regular stop, from where there is a route 12 bus to the airport. For more details see our
Emergency services
Cleveland Police Cleveland PoliceCleveland Fire Brigade
Cleveland Fire BrigadeNorth East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
North East Ambulance Service
Local government
Borough (unitary district) council
Middlesbrough Council has 45 councillors, representing 20 wards, and another election for a directly elected mayor.
Each ward is represented by between one and three councillors, who are elected for a four-year term.
Link to Middlesbrough Council website.
Middlesbrough CouncilMiddlesbrough has an elected mayor:
Elected mayor:The political composition after the May 2023 council election is:
Cross-county strategic authority
Tees Valley Combined AuthorityProvides a decision-making authority on economic development, transport, infrastructure and skills in the four unitary boroughs (Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar and Cleveland) which for a time made up the county of Cleveland and now with the addition of the Darlington unitary authority. It is made up of representatives from each authority plus the chairman of Tees Valley Unlimited, the local enterprise partnership. A mayor for the Tees Valley Combined Authority was first elected in May 2017 with the most recent election in May 2024. Of the boroughs involved, Middlesborough, Redcar and Cleveland and a part of Stockton-on-Tees (south of the River Tees) are part of the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire with the other areas part of the ceremonial county of Durham.
Elected mayor:
Tees Valley Combined AuthorityPolice and Crime Commissioner
The Police and Crime Commissioner for ClevelandOversees Cleveland Police covering an area made up of the four borough (unitary district) councils of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees.
Elected P&CC:
Police and Crime Commissioner for ClevelandFire Authority
Cleveland Fire AuthorityThe 16-member fire authority is made up of elected members of each of the four borough (unitary district) councils of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees.
Cleveland Fire AuthorityParliamentary constituencies
Middlesbrough and Thornaby EastElected MP:
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
Elected MP:
National government region
North East EnglandCeremonial county
North YorkshireHistoric
1853-1889 Municipal borough.1889-1968 County Borough of Middlesbrough (within the North Riding of Yorkshire).
1968-1974 County Borough of Teesside (which spanned the boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire and County Durham).
1974-1996 Middlesborough district council and county town of new artificially-created county authority of Cleveland (which included Teesside County Borough, additional districts from the North Riding of Yorkshire and the borough of Hartlepool, County Durham).