The Parish Photo Gallery,
PHOTOGRAPHS OF NORTON VILLAGE
by Peter Tucker

Peter presents a series of photographs of the village, and beneath them is a short guide to Norton.

To view these images, simply select one of the thumbnail size pictures below. A larger version of the image will open in a new window, which can be closed by clicking anywhere within the window.
Historic St Mary's Church	High Street	A beautiful brick house on High Street.	High Street during a snow shower.	High Street showing a mixture of housing styles.

High Street on a wintry April day.	A small shopping parade on High Street.	Small shops and houses on High Street.	High Street.	The concelebration of the Holy Mass.

Norton Green in 1999.	Norton Green during a fall of snow.	More snow at Norton Green	Norton Green has many fine properties such these on West Row.	The Friends Meeting House.

The "duck pond".	Another desirable property recently restored.	Norton Green.	Roseberry Road.	Post war council housing on the Albany Estate: Sussex Walk.

The snow falls on Norton Avenue in April 2008.	Modern homes at Westminster Oval.	South Road was once known as Portrack Back Lane. The distinctive Yorkshire hill known as Roseberry Topping can often be seen clearly from this road.	The Cleveland Hills can be seen from many parts of Norton including Roseberry Crescent.	Norton Road looking towards Stockton-on-Tees. Norton Road was once the A19.

Leven Road has some shops but is mainly residential.	Norton High Street	Norton High Street	The former ICI works, Middlesbrough and Eston Hills viewed from Avon Road, Norton. The Nitram Tower was opened in 1969 and is a distinctive Teesside landmark.	Mill Street.

Ragworth Road.	Fulthorpe Road.	The Glebe estate in north Norton has this distinctive red brick tower block.	Ragworth Place.	Sunset in Norton.
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Norton is a picturesque village in the North East of the borough of Stockton-on-Tees. Both Norton and Stockton-on-Tees were once in County Durham, before being transferred to Teesside County Borough in 1968 and the County of Cleveland in 1974. Today, Stockton-on-Tees is a unitary authority in what is now called the Tees Valley, though many residents still class themselves as belonging to County Durham.

Norton is one of the most southerly parishes in the diocese of Hexham and Newcastle and the late architectural expert Nikolaus Pevsner describes the village as the finest in Durham. Norton is indeed very pretty despite considerable urbanisation, the roar of the busy A19, and the proximity of heavy industry and large towns.

Norton is a distinct part of the former port town of Stockton-on-Tees. To the east of the village is the industrial town of Billingham, while Middlesbrough, which aspires to city status, dominates to the South East. Norton's slightly raised position affords good views of Teesside, the Cleveland and Eston Hills and what is left of the old ICI chemical factories.

Most of Norton's High Street is tree lined with small shops predominating around the Blandfords Corner end. There has thankfully been little architectural destruction compared to Billingham which lost most of its village green buildings during the 1960s.

County Durham is famous for having large village greens. Easington Village, Gainford, Heighington, Trimdon and West Auckland are notable examples. Norton's Green is one of the county's finest and a key focal point for residents.

Both Norton Green and High Street are very impressive and give the impression of a wealthy upper middle class suburb, in fact Norton is much more down to earth, very much a microcosm of Stockton as a whole. There are some pockets of great wealth and deprivation but most residents live in a wide variety of ordinary semi's and work in a variety of occupations.

Norton is rooted in the past as can be gleaned from a visit to St. Mary the Virgin on the Green. The church has an almost complete Saxon crossing tower. In the 1990s the church was used by the parishioners of St. Joseph's during the refurbishment of St Joseph's church.

In the 18th Century Norton became the abode of wealthy Stockton residents and their homes have given the village its distinctive character. There are several very desirable brick houses (some painted or rendered) in High Street. Some are three levels high and have five window bays.