Eaglescliffe is a village in the
Borough of Stockton-on-Tees
The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees is a unitary authority area in England with borough status in County Durham and North Yorkshire. In 2021, it had a population of 196,600. Its main settlement and namesake of the borough is Stockton-on-Tees, which ...
,
County Durham
County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
, England. It is in the civil parish of
Egglescliffe.
The village was formerly known as Eaglescliffe Junction, being formed around . In 2011, the
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament.
Overview
The ONS is responsible fo ...
had the area as
Yarm
Yarm-on-Tees, or simply Yarm, is a market town in North Yorkshire, England. It lies on a meander of the River Tees, extending south-east to the River Leven, North Yorkshire, River Leven and south to the village of Kirklevington. A civil parish i ...
's built-up area.
History
The village's name is thought to be derived from a misspelling of the name of the nearby village of
Egglescliffe meaning a church on a hill. A common myth on the name change is that in Victorian times the sign for the new railway station turned up incorrect after the signwriter thought that Egglescliffe was a mistake and altered it.
The
Stockton and Darlington Railway
The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected coal mining, collieries near with ...
passed through the grounds of
Preston Hall in Eaglescliffe, and on the opening day there was a famous race between a
stagecoach
A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...
travelling down Yarm Road, and the
Locomotion No. 1
''Locomotion'' No. 1 (originally named ''Active'') is an early steam locomotive that was built in 1825 by the pioneering railway engineers George and Robert Stephenson at their manufacturing firm, Robert Stephenson and Company. It became ...
.
In 2011, Eaglescliffe was named the 4th best place for families to live in England and
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, according to the savings firm Family Investments.
Events
Many events are held in Eaglescliffe every year, mostly in
Preston Park which is situated north of the village, in
Preston. Many of these events are run by Stockton Council.
Many local groups gather at the community centres and village halls within Eaglescliffe and its neighbouring villages. Egglescliffe Community Centre is the largest, and plays host to two amateur dramatics groups – Cliffe Theatre (who produce at least two plays every year), and Centre Stage (who produce a pantomime every January, as well as a musical every summer). Egglescliffe Community Centre also hosts many other community groups including a Ladies Section, a weight loss group, dance classes, and many others.
Sport and leisure

To the village's east is Eaglescliffe Golf Club – a course which occupies the land bordered to the south by the Sunningdale Estate, to the north by Teesside High School, and to the east by the River Tees. Many street names in the Sunningdale Estate, as well as the name of the local 'Links Primary School', reflect the location of this golf club. Preston Park has large playing fields.
Education
Eaglescliffe has one secondary school called
Egglescliffe School. This is in the east of the village and also has Egglescliffe Sixth Form College for ages 16–18. There are also four primary schools: Junction Farm, Durham Lane, The Links, and Preston. Egglescliffe village has a primary school called Egglescliffe CofE Primary School. As well as these there is also
Teesside High School, an independent preparatory and high school, originally an all-girls school, it is now introducing boys within the framework of a diamond model of education.
Economy
Tetley Tea have had their only tea bag factory in the western world here since 1969 on ''Sowerby Way''. It is the largest tea bag factory in the world, on the Durham Lane Industrial Park, having a floor area of and makes 18 billion tea bags a year;
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
and
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
have both visited the site.
Warburtons have a bakery outside of the village to the north-east on the Preston Farm Industrial Estate. The
Elementis Chromium site in nearby
Urlay Nook closed in June 2009.
Governance

Eaglescliffe is part of the
Stockton South Parliamentary Constituency which is currently represented in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
by
Matt Vickers
Matthew Alexander Vickers (born 24 September 1983) is a British Conservative politician who serves as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stockton West and Shadow Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire. Prior to boundary changes, he had previo ...
(Conservative) who won the
2019 general election by a majority of 5,260. The previous MP was Dr
Paul Williams (Labour), "a local GP" (2017–2019). A previous MP is
James Wharton (2010–2017) the former Conservative Minister for Northern Powerhouse. The lowest tier of local government is
Egglescliffe and Eaglescliffe
parish council.
Transport
Eaglescliffe railway station is staffed.
Grand Central operate five trains a day direct to/from
London King's Cross station.
Northern provide local services to , , and . Regional destinations and .
station also serves the village. The closest airport is
Teesside International Airport
Teesside International Airport , formerly Durham Tees Valley Airport, is a small international airport in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It primarily serves Teesside (including Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees), south and ...
.
Notable residents
*
Matthew Bates, former professional footballer, raised and schooled in the area
* Baroness
Tanni Grey-Thompson
Carys Davina Grey-Thompson, Baroness Grey-Thompson, ( Grey; born 26 July 1969), known as Tanni Grey-Thompson, is a Welsh life peeress, television presenter and former wheelchair racer.
Athletic career
Grey-Thompson started wheelchair racin ...
,
Paralympic
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...
athlete, lives in Eaglescliffe
*
Gary Havelock,
speedway rider place of birth
*
Frank Middlemass, actor
*
Sir Samuel Alexander Sadler (1842–1911), industrialist, mayor and MP for Middlesbrough resided in Eaglescliffe
*
James Wharton, former MP for Stockton South
References
External links
Egglescliffe Primary School
{{authority control
Places in the Tees Valley
Borough of Stockton-on-Tees
Towns in County Durham