Guisborough

Guisborough is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England.

Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the civil parish of Guisborough including the outlying villages of Upleatham, Dunsdale and Newton under Roseberry had a population of 18,108.

History
Guisborough was formerly part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, from 1974 to 1996 part of the County of Cleveland and now in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland. Gighesbore is recorded in the Domesday Book and the ruined Gisborough Priory dates to the 12th century. The priory and Gisborough Hall (16th century, demolished and rebuilt) are spelt without the first U. Some other old sites and names use that same spelling.

Some theories date the town to the Roman occupation of Britain, when it may have been a military fortification. Discovery of a few Roman artifacts support this, such as an elaborate ceremonial helmet, the Guisborough Helmet, but the theory remains unproven.

Extensive residential development occurred during the 1960s and 1970s with the expansion of the chemical industry (at Wilton) and the steel industry (at Redcar).

Guisborough market, held every Thursday and Saturday with a few stalls attending on a Tuesday, has long been a focal point of the surrounding area. Originally selling cattle and other livestock, the market developed into a general market for fruit and vegetables, clothing and flower stalls. The market is open from early morning to late afternoon on the recently restored cobbles that line Westgate, the principal shopping street.

Guisborough Museum, behind Westgate's Sunnyfield House, exhibits photos of Guisborough's history and inhabitants. There is a working watermill at Tocketts Mill.



Guisborough Helmet
The Guisborough Helmet is a Roman cavalry helmet found near the town in 1864. It was originally fitted with protective cheek-pieces, which have not survived; the holes by which they were attached can be seen in front of the helmet's ear guards. It is lavishly decorated with engraved and embossed figures, indicating that it was probably used for displays or cavalry tournaments, though it may have been worn in battle. The helmet was found in what appears to have been a carefully arranged deposition in a bed of gravel, distant from any known Roman sites. After it was recovered during road works it was donated to the British Museum in where it was restored and displayed.

Saint Nicholas' Church
Saint Nicholas' Anglican Church is home to the de Brus cenotaph. A church was possibly in existence in 1290, although the chancel dates from the late-15th century. Its nave and interior have been altered; the church, in its present form, is the result of a major re-building between 1903 and 1908 to a design by the architect Temple Moore.

Gisborough Hall
Gisborough Hall, a Victorian mansion, was built in the Jacobean style, in 1856. It is the former home of the family of Lord Gisborough. The estate was owned by the Chaloner family from just after the dissolution of Gisborough Priory until the 1940s. It is a Grade II listed building converted to a hotel, as part of the Macdonald Hotels chain; it is a popular venue for wedding receptions.

Industrial Revolution
The town shared in the prosperity of the Industrial Revolution through its proximity to the ironstone mines of the North York Moors. One of Teesside's leading ironfounders, Sir Joseph Whitwell Pease, chose Guisborough as his country seat, the Alfred Waterhouse-designed Gothic revival Hutton Hall, situated at Hutton Lowcross. It had its own station on the Middlesbrough-Guisborough branch of the North Eastern Railway which closed in 1964.

Groups and Societies
Guisborough is the home of Orion Explorer Scout Unit which is part of the scouting sections and delivers an adventurous programme to Young People aged 14 to 18. Activities include DofE, Young Leaders volunteering and over 200 different adventurous activities. Established in 2004, it is home of some 30 Young People from all over East Cleveland who wish to join in with the adventure and gain valuable life experiences which Scouting can provide.

As well as this there is also 3rd Guisborough Scout Group on Belmangate which was established in 1974. ref: scouts.org.uk

Guisborough is also home to a group of volunteer trailbuilders, whose aim is to provide free mtb cycle trails in the local forest for the community to enjoy and work together in partnership with http://mtbguisborough.ning.com/ and http://www.singletraction.co.uk/

Education
The town is well served with primary schools, namely Belmont, Galley Hill, Highcliffe, St. Paulinus (R.C.) and Chaloner Primary, which was formed from the amalgamation of the former Northgate Junior and Park Lane schools. Laurence Jackson School, at the eastern end of the town, is the only secondary school and a Specialist Sports College; it celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008.

Prior Pursglove College is a sixth form college in Guisborough teaching GCSE, A level and AS level students. The college is next door to St Nicholas' Parish Church and the ruins of Gisborough Priory. It is situated on the former site of Guisborough Grammar School, which it replaced as a result of restructuring. The Grammar School was originally founded by Robert Pursglove, Prior of Gisborough Priory, as a charitable school for poor boys.

Between October 2008 and June 2009, Askham Bryan College of Agriculture opened its Guisborough Centre, located on the same site as Prior Pursglove College. This consists of an animal management centre and a modern building, the Priory Centre, which is shared with Prior Pursglove College

Access
Two main roads cross at Guisborough, the A171 and the A173. The A171 leads west to Middlesbrough and east to Whitby whilst the A173 goes south-west to Stokesley and north-east as far as Skelton where it joins the A174 coast road. Before the bypass was built, traffic on both of these had to pass through Westgate, the town's main street. Just outside the bypass to the north-east, a B-road heads north from the A173 to Redcar. Another minor route out of the town, Wilton Lane, is a very windy almost single-track which leads north to the small village of Wilton, whence one can either join the A174 or continue onto the ICI Wilton chemical works. As well as these, there are two lanes that lead out of town into the hills; Hutton Lane which ends at Hutton Village, a tiny settlement built mostly for local mining, agricultural and estate workers, and Belmangate, an ancient funeral route.

Until 1964, Guisborough was also served by trains from Middlesbrough; the Middlesbrough & Guisborough Railway had its terminus at the now-vanished Guisborough station. Before 1958 it was even possible to travel all the way to Whitby and Scarborough along the highly scenic North Yorkshire coast railway.

For those travelling on foot, the south of the town is bounded by the North York Moors National Park. Guisborough Forest, which is Forestry Commission land, clothes the edge of the moors. Through the forest, the ground rises sharply, climbing from the plain below to the height of the moors behind. There are several rocky outcrops on this steep slope, including Highcliff Nab and the Hanging Stone. The woods are crossed by several rights-of-way, including the Cleveland Way, though other paths and commission tracks are considered fair game for walkers. Beyond the woods, the ground levels out to form Gisborough Moor.

Economy
The two main employers in the town used to be The Shirt Factory - towards the end of its working life this clothing factory was acquired by Montague Burton of Leeds (The Shirt Factory closed in 1999) - and the Blackett Hutton steel works.

There are no longer any large employers in the town: Guisborough has become a commuter town for nearby Middlesbrough, with many people working in the chemical plants that are located around Teesside.

The ESCO Corporation has a manufacturing site in Guisborough, making the claws and buckets of 'ground engaging tools', such as diggers.

On 15 January 2004, Guisborough was granted Fairtrade Town status.

Sports and recreation
Guisborough has a King George's Field in memory of King George V, and the town's football team Guisborough Town FC plays on the King George V Ground, adjacent to the playing fields. The area adjacent to the playing field is also fitted with a small playground and a skate-park. There is also a swimming pool dating from 1968 located within the grounds. An eight-year campaign led by the late MP Dr Ashok Kumar secured an extensive refurbishment of the pool, which was completed between 2008-09. The Rugby Union Football club play in Durham/Northumberland I Division of the Northern Section of the leagues. Guisborough Cricket Club who play in the North Yorkshire South Durham Premier league in 2001 - 2004 won the league to equal the record of four successive league wins in a row. Guisborough have also had professionals such as Murray Goodwin, (Sussex and former Zimbabwe international) Desmond Haynes and Phil Simmons (both West Indian internationals), Imran Jan (Trinidad and Tobago), Sean Clingeleffer (Tasmania) and Greg Todd (Otago).

Notable people

 * Willie Applegarth (1890-1958), athlete
 * Mark Benton (born 1965), actor
 * Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale (died before 1138), Norman baron and knight, founded the Bruce dynasty of Britain
 * John Bulmer (cricketer) (1867-1917), cricketer
 * Bob Champion (born 1948), jockey who won the 1981 Grand National, despite having recently been diagnosed with cancer
 * James Coppinger (born 1981), footballer, as of 2014 playing for Doncaster Rovers
 * Ralph Gaudie (1876-?), footballer
 * Sean Gregan (born 1974), footballer
 * Lawry Lewin (born 1985), actor
 * Rod Liddle (born 1960), former BBC news editor
 * Katy Livingston (born 1984), modern pentathlete
 * Richard Milward (born 1984), novelist
 * Elinor Lyon (1921-2008), children's writer
 * Alan Ramage (born 1957), cricketer
 * Mark Robinson (born 1981), footballer
 * Selina Scott (born 1951), formerly head girl at Laurence Jackson School, onetime newsreader and presenter of The Clothes Show
 * Alan Stewart, motorcycle racer who won the 350cc British championship 1977
 * J. Denis Summers-Smith (born 1920), Scottish-born ornithologist and tribologist
 * Walter of Guisborough, medieval chronicler
 * Thomas Ward (1652-1708), author who converted to Catholicism
 * Joseph Whitehead (1814-94), Canadian railway pioneer and political figure