STOCKTON, distinguished as STOCKTON-UPON-TEES, Durham, a market-town, sea-port, municipal borough, and the scat of a Poor Law Union, in the pariah of Stockton-upon-Tees, is situated on the left bank of the river Tees, about four miles from its mouth, in 54' 34' N. 1st, 1° 13' W. long., distaut 20 miles S.E. by S. from Durham, 212 miles N. by E. from London by road, and 247i miles by the Great Northern and Leeds Northern railways. The population of the borough in 1851 was 1867; that of the town of Stockton was 9308. The borough is governed by 6 aldermen and 18 councillors, of whom one is mayor. The living is a vicarage in the archdeacoury awl diocese of Durham. Stockton Poor-Law Union contains 42 parishes and townships, with an area of 83,774 acres, and a population in 1851 of 44,433.
Stockton was at an early period the residence of the bishops of Durham, who had a merited manor-houso here, which afterwards was called the castle. The castle was demolished in 1652. The tracca of the moat and embankment still mark the site. The river Tees approaches Stockton in a northward direction, and then makes a sudden bend towards the east. The town is laid out with consider able regularity ; the principal street is broad, and extends nearly a mile from south to north. The wharf is on the bank of the river, just above the bend, and runs parallel to the High-street. At the southern extremity of the High-street p road from it crosses the Tees into Yorkshire by a stone bridge of five (smile.. Tho houses are for the most part of brick. Besides the pariah church, a spacious brick-building erected early in the last century, them is another, called Holy Trinity church, a neat gothic edifice with a square tower, sur mounted with an octagonal spire. There aro places of worship for Independents, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Quakers, Roman Catholics, and Unitarians ; National, British, Infant, Wesleyan, and Roman Catholic schools ; a school of Industry fur girls ; a Blue-Coat charity school ; a mechanics institute ; news-rooms ; a dispensary, and a savings bank. The town-hall is a quadrangular building, surmounted
with a clock-tower and spire. There are a custom-house, assembly rooms, billiard-rooms, and a small theatre.
The principal manufacture of Stockton is that of linen and sail cloth : ehip-building, rope and sail-making, and yarn and worsted spinning are carried on ; there are also iron- and brass-fouudries, breweries, and several corn-mills. The navigation of the river Tees has been improved by a cut just below the town, whereby a consider able bend is avoided. The chief imports are timber, deals, masts, spars, staves, iron, hemp, flax, tallow, oak-bark, linseed, clover-seed, hides, &c, from foreign parte; and groceries, wine, spirits, and colouial produce brought coastwise. The exports to foreign parts are chiefly lead, and that in small quantities : the exports coastwise to London, Leith, Hull, Sunderland, &c., are chiefly of flour, butter, cheese, bacon, oak, timber, linen, linen and worsted yarn, lead, and especially coal. The number of vessels registered as belonging to the port of Stockton on December 31st 1853 was-157 sailing-vessels of 2S,403 tons aggregate burden, and 20 stcam-vessels of 603 tons aggregate burden. During 1853 there entered the port 1000 sailing-vessels of 98,274 tons, and 1 steam-vessel of 13 tons burden, and cleared 3161 sailing-vessels of 305,540 tons burden, and 18 steam-vessels of 1133 tons. By the Stockton and Darlington, the Stocktou, Hartlepool, and Clarence, and the Leeds Northern railways, which have stations at Stockton, the town is placed In connection with the whole railway system of England and Scotland ; there are also several branch and junction lines for local convenience, in conveying the produce of the numerous collieries. Markets are held on Wednesday and Saturday. Two yearly fairs are held, besides a cattle-fair, or great market, on the last Wednesday of every mouth. There aro extensive coal-works and soma brisk-yards near the town, and salmon and other fisheries in the Tees. A county court is held In the town.