1. A green plaque on the front of Bolckow House in Exchange Square.
Built in 1872 and named after Middlesbrough ’s first mayor by WH Blessley who also built the Eston Miners Hospital.
The distinctive frontage was not added until 1885 by Newcombe and Knowles however.
The building was the home of the North Eastern Banking Company then latterly became the North East Chamber of Commerce, changing its name to Commerce House.
2. Another Middlesbrough Heritage plaque with links to Henry Bolckow is the green plaque in Snowdon Road on the former site of St Hilda’s Primary School.
The beautiful 1869 building designed by Gustavus Martens of Keil and opened by the Duke of Devonshire is no longer standing.
The school financed by Henry Bolckow taught 168 local children by 1878. and closed in1981, with children being transferred to St Mary’s.
3. The green plaque to be found in Captain Cook Square at the site of the former Gilkes Street swimming baths is dedicated to someone who at one time was said to be “possibly the most popular man in Teesside”.
Swimmer Jack Hatfield (1893-1965) won three medals in the 1912 Olympics and was the world record holder at 400m and 1500m freestyle.
His dad was the superintendent at the baths where Jack would train as well as outdoors in the Tees and Albert Park boating lake.
Jack had strong links with the Boro and opened Jack Hatfield Sports shop on Newton Street in 1912. Later reopened on Borough Road, it is still trading.
4. The Corporation Road branch of the HSBC bank has a Middlesbrough Heritage plaque dedicated to Amos Hinton.
The founder of the Hinton’s supermarket chain. He bought his first shop from John Birk in Middlesbrough in 1871 and moved to Corporation Road premises in 1890.
The original building was much grander but was devastated by fire in 1986.
By 1984 the company had 55 stores when Argyl Foods acquired the firm for £25m.
Amos Hinton was also a town councillor, alderman, magistrate and a Poor Law Guardian.
Amos somewhat ironically was a prominent leader of the Temperance Movement unaware that the company he founded would own 30 Wintershladen off-licences at the time of the Presto brand take over in 1984.
In 1886 he was the first mayor of Middlesbrough to be installed in the new town hall.
5. Above a window of a house in Costa Street is a green plaque dedicated to Cyril Smith, son of a bricklayer born in 1909. Four years later the walls would begin to ring out as Cyril began to learn the piano.
At the age of 11 he gave his first concert in Middlesbrough Town Hall.
In 1926 joined the Royal College of Music where he would later teach and won prizes.
He was the first piano accompanist for the newly founded BBC and there met his second wife fellow pianist Phyllis Sellick.
After a stroke in 1956, Cyril lost the use of his left arm, but went on to build a career with his wife Phyllis Sellick playing music especially arranged for three hands. He wrote an autobiography and was the subject of an episode of This is your Life.
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