Commemorative urn marking the spot of Captain James Cooks home Stewart Park Middlesbrough Teesside Tees Valley Cleveland
Soon after news of Cook’s death reached England the site of the birthplace cottage at Marton, Middlesbrough, became one of the most important mementoes of Cook’s life. Although the building itself was flimsy and quickly fell into disrepair after abandonment by the last occupants local people kept its significance and Cook’s memory alive by marking its location. Although the building itself was flimsy and quickly fell into disrepair after abandonment by the last occupants local people kept its significance and Cook’s memory alive by marking its location. The remains of the cottage’s clay walls and earth platform were levelled by the Rudd family, the new owners of the estate, as part of their redevelopment of East Marton village. The village and the site of the cottage were recorded by the artist George Cuit (1743-1818) in about 1788. Bartholomew Rudd purchased the Marton estate in 1786 and cleared East Marton village to make way for his new house, Marton Lodge, and its grounds. This involved removing the remains of Cook’s birthplace but Rudd seems to have realised the historical importance of the cottage and marked out its original site by a quadrangle of flint stones in the courtyard of the stable block of his new home. Marton Lodge burned down in 1832 and the estate was neglected until it was purchased by one of Middlesbrough’s leading industrialists, Henry Bolckow, in 1853. Bolckow removed the remains of the buildings and yards associated with the Lodge, including the cobbles marking the site of Cook’s birthplace and built a grand new mansion called Marton Hall. This Hall survived until 1960 when it too was destroyed by fire and demolished. Bolckow replaced the cobbles marking the site of Cook’s birthplace cottage with a commemorative granite urn with the legend: “This Granite Vase was erected by of Marton Hall, , to mark the site of the cottage in which Captain James Cook, the World Circumnavigator was born, 27th October, 1728” This stil
Size: 5482px × 4172px
Photo credit: © Mike Kipling Photography / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: birthplace, bolckow, captain, cook, historical, james, marton, middlesbrough, mikekiplingcom, navigator, park, stewart, urn, vase
