IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
High Street, MIDDLESBROUGH, TS9 6NF

The village centre here is attractive with the River Leven running alongside the main street.

The stone indicates that this was the Village Club opened in 1915. The context of the building is shown in Image

Originally a school built in 1843 and funded by Quaker businessmen of Great Ayton, notably Thomas Richardson. It was known as the Ayton British School and had approximately 100 pupils between the ages of 5 and 14. The building has been a library since 1971.

Intended as a recreation of a photo dated 1960 by Francis Firth, see http://www.francisfrith.com/search/england/cleveland/great+ayton/photos/great+ayton_G112012.htm (for other examples see the forum thread http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=12&topic=3983&dontcount=1&page=0 ). Taken from the grounds of the Methodist Hall which has had handrails and paths improved for disabled access. The tree that occupied the front garden of the adjoining house in 1960 has since disappeared and the next building along, with the dormer windows in the roof has now been replaced by a building which is now a butchers. I seem to recall this was sometime a bank.

This photograph shows the two bridges that cross the River Leven opposite Suggitt's shop in Great Ayton. The blue bridge is used by cars and the green bridge that lies behind it is a pedestrian footbridge. The water-drop can be seen just in front of the blue bridge.

At this point the footway on High Street is elevated above the carriageway; the railings on the right define the edge of the footway and the drop can just be seen. The first building is the village hall built as the Village Club in 1915.

This photograph shows an unusually high volume of water flowing underneath the bridges in Great Ayton near Suggitt's ice-cream shop.

Intended as a recreation of a photo dated 1965 by Francis Frith, see http://www.francisfrith.com/search/england/cleveland/great+ayton/photos/great+ayton_G112027.htm (for other examples see the forum thread http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=12&topic=3983&dontcount=1&page=0 ). Behind the white car is the former British School (Image]) although in 1965 it wasn't a library, the current use of the building. The cottages to its right now house an estate agent. In 1965 it looks as though they were residence. Previous occupancies included an health food shop. Immediately on the right is now Swans, a jewellers. This was formerly the Post Office which is now incorporated in the newsagents on Park Square.

Crowds line the raised pavement outside of Suggitts Cafe, famous for its ice cream, waiting for the Great Ayton procession to pass. The raised pavement was built to provide a dry passage for pedestrians when the river flooded.