Norton, County Durham

Coordinates: 54°35′20″N 1°18′57″W / 54.589°N 1.3157°W / 54.589; -1.3157

Norton
Norton  Norton shown within County Durham
OS grid reference	NZ443217
Unitary authority	Stockton-on-Tees
Ceremonial county	County Durham
Region	North East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	STOCKTON-ON-TEES
Postcode district	TS20
Dialling code	01642
Police	Cleveland
Fire	Cleveland
Ambulance	North East
EU Parliament	North East England
UK Parliament	Stockton North
List of places: UK • England • County Durham

Norton is a suburb of Stockton-on-Tees in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It still retains a village area, with a high street and village green with mostly Georgian houses; the original village dates back to at least the Anglo-Saxon period.^{[citation needed]}

In 1856, John Warner and Sons made the first bell for Big Ben, but it cracked on arrival at Westminster, so another company made the bell, closer to London.^[1]

St. Mary the Virgin, The Ancient Parish church that stands on the village green, is the only cruciform Anglo-Saxon church in Northern England. Its crossing tower with eight triangular head windows has a battlemented top of later date and there is a well known^{[citation needed]} 14th century effigy of a knight in chainmail. Residing under the church floor is an escape tunnel used by the Saxons and priests when in danger^{[citation needed]}. The tunnel leads under the church floor and Norton Green to the Albany housing estate. The church floor was recently renovated and Saxon remains and artifacts were discovered in the tunnel entrance^{[citation needed]}. The grave of John Walker, the inventor of friction matches, is located in the churchyard.^[2]

Red House School

Adjacent to St. Mary's Church is Red House Nursery & Infant School, which combines state of the art modern buildings with classrooms in the former Old Vicarage. On the opposite side of the village green resides Red House Preparatory and Main School. Red House School is an independent school located in the village.

Railway

One of the first railway stations was built in Norton, Stockton on Tees and the first steam locomotive/steam engine named the Rocket invented by the late Robert Stevenson. A replica can be seen at a roundabout junction in Stockton on tees and in York Museum south of Stockton on Tees^{[citation needed][citation needed]} but the original rail way has since been demolished, and now only a crossing exists in Norton.

Pubs and restaurants

Norton is home to 13 pubs: Norton Tavern, Norton Sports and Social Club, The Centenary, The Unicorn (known as The Top House by locals), George and Dragon, Highland Lad, The White Swan, Connections, Red Lion, Norton Working Men's Club, Perrys, and the Grange Tapas Bar. The village also now has a number of restaurants: Jolsha (Indian), Happy Valley (Chinese), Cafe Lilli (continental), Paraphernalia (Victorian tea rooms), Kings Coffee and Cafe Maison (contemporary coffee houses).

Sport

Norton is also home to the Norton and Stockton Ancients football club which currently plays in the 'skilltrainingltd Northern League Division 1'^[3]

Notable events

Dragon's Den favorite Duncan Bannatyne was married on 11 November 2006 at St Mary’s Church in Norton. Celebrities at the ceremony included Anna Ryder Richardson, Cherie Lunghi, Gary McCausland, Dragons’ Den presenter Evan Davis and fellow Dragons Theo Paphitis, Richard Farleigh, Simon Woodroffe and Deborah Meaden^[4]

Notable people from Norton

• Franc Roddam - film director
• Gary Pallister - professional footballer with Middlesbrough, Manchester United and England
• Stevie Lynn - professional wrestler
• David Townsend - Test cricketer

References

1. ^ http://www.westminster.lovesguide.com/articles/bigben.htm
2. ^ http://www.stmarysnorton.org.uk/
3. ^ http://www.webteams.co.uk/Home.aspx?team=nortonandstocktonancients
4. ^ http://www.bannatyne.co.uk/biog.asp

External links

Media related to Norton, County Durham at Wikimedia Commons