The Fog on the Tees Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ironopolis

The town of Middlesbrough was established in 1829 with a population of just 40. As the town's industry grew the population increased rapidly reaching 7600 by 1851. An iron foundry was established in 1841 and by the 1870s Middlesbrough was producing about a third of all the pig iron produced in the UK. This led to the town being nicknamed Ironopolis.

Answer: The Riverside

Middlesbrough FC moved to The Riverside stadium in 1995. They had previously played at Ayresome Park but had to move to a new ground as they were unable to convert Ayresome Park to an all seater stadium when this became a requirement for top level clubs in England. The stadium is located on the side of the river Tees hence the name 'Riverside' and has a capacity of 34,742.

Answer: Stockton

The Stockton and Darlington Railway opened in 1825 and originally used steam engines to haul coal from mines in County Durham to Darlington and Stockton. Originally passenger carriages were horse drawn but were replaced by steam engines in 1833. With the growth of Middlesbrough the line was soon extended to the town and later was extended further both east to the town of Redcar and west into the Wear Valley.

The modern day Tees Valley Line between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn still follows a large part of the original Stockton and Darlington Railway route.

Answer: Friction match

John Walker was born and grew up in the town of Stockton. After leaving school he worked as an assistant to the main surgeon of the town but left the profession as he did not like partaking in surgical operations and so switched to chemistry. Walker was interested in developing an easy way of creating fire and came up with the idea of the friction match when a match he was working with caught fire after being accidentally struck on the hearth. John Walker didn't patent his invention as he felt he did not need to make money from it.

Answer: Captain James Cook

James Cook was born in the Middlesbrough suburb of Marton in 1728. He was a captain in the Royal Navy and led three voyages in command of HMS Endeavour to the Pacific Ocean in which he created detailed maps of many of the islands and land masses found there. Cook was killed in 1779 in Hawaii during a clash with the native population.

The main hospital in the town of Middlesbrough is named after Cook and the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum is located in Stewart Park in the suburb of Marton.

Answer: Cross Fell in the North Pennines

The river Tees starts on the eastern slope of Cross Fell, the highest point in the Pennine Hills and enters the North Sea between the towns of Hartlepool and Redcar. The river is 85 miles long and flows through Teesdale before reaching the more urban and industrial area of Teesside.

Answer: National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool

HMS Trincomalee, a Royal Navy frigate built in 1817, is the oldest British warship still afloat and is the centre piece of the National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool. Originally known as Hartlepool Historic Quay and built on derelict ship building docks, the museum first opened in 1994.

In 2016 The National Museum of the Royal Navy took over the running of the museum and renamed it.

Answer: Newcastle United

The Tyne-Tees derby is the name given to football matches between Middlesbrough FC and Newcastle United who play in the city of Newcastle 40 miles north of Middlesbrough. The fixture is often regarded as being more important to Middlesbrough fans than Newcastle fans who see their primary rivals as Sunderland AFC.

The name of the derby comes from the name of the rivers that Middlesbrough and Newcastle are located on.

Answer: True

The first steelworks on Teesside opened in 1875 in Middlesbrough. In 1917 a new blast furnace was built in the town of Redcar and steel produced at this site was used in many construction projects all around the world including the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia, the Auckland Harbour Bridge in New Zealand and the Tyne Bridge in nearby Newcastle.

Answer: Lifeboat

The 'Zetland' is housed in a museum in Redcar and is the oldest surviving lifeboat in the world. The boat was launched in 1802 and was stationed in the town of Redcar, a coastal town near the mouth of the river Tees. The lifeboat was damaged in 1864 while taking part in a rescue and was due to be broken up by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and replaced with a new more modern boat, however the people of the town stopped the boat being broken up and it was given to the town.