Origin of this website
This Historic Cleveland website owes its existence to two local men, one from the 18th century and one from the 20th century.
Ralph Jackson was a wealthy country gentleman who kept a regular diary from the age of 13 until his death in 1790. He lived in Guisborough and later in Normanby Hall, and was kept busy managing his many tenant farmers and his part ownership of the Boulby Alum Works. The original diaries are kept in the Teesside Archives in Middlesbrough, where they are of necessity only available to a limited readership. An Awards for All grant was obtained in 2004, with the aim of transcribing the diaries and making them available on the internet. The grant included some funding for setting up a website.
Barry Lewis (better known as Bazz) was a founder member of the Great Ayton Community Archaeology Project. Sadly he died in 2004. Bazz had lived in Welwyn and later in Great Ayton, during his career with ICI. Since his early retirement in 1998 he had been kept busy with music, astronomy, bowls and gardening. He had thrown himself into the Community Archaeology Project with enthusiasm and energy, but had been concerned as to what would happen to the group after its funding ran out in 2007. So, when his family very generously donated the money collected in his memory to the group, it seemed appropriate to use this to encourage local history research in the longer term.
The concept of setting up a website that would cover all aspects of Historic Cleveland soon evolved. By combining the Ralph Jackson website funding with the Bazz Memorial Collection, it would have been possible to set up a basic website. However if the website was to live up to its promise, it would need a bespoke design and a comprehensive internal search facility. A second Awards for All grant was obtained to enable this to happen, and this comprehensive website is the outcome.
The website provides space for any local history group that wishes to be involved, and by brings together different groups’ information and research reports under specialised topic headings. It should not only develop a common understanding and collaborative working between the groups, but also allow people living outside the region to become involved and to contribute to our local history research.