Stainsby: Fascinating history of abandoned Yorkshire village where only mounds are visible near the A19 road

Stainsby is an abandoned village near the Acklam suburb of Middlesbrough and town of Thornaby.

Only a series of mounds near the A19 road are now visible and the site is a scheduled monument.

Three attractions retain the former medieval village’s name: Stainsby Grange Farm, Stainsby Hall and Stainsby Hill Farm.

History of abandoned Yorkshire village of Stainsby

The village of Stainsby was recorded in the Domesay Book of 1086 as being ‘three carucates’ and a man named Walter de Stainsby owned the village from 1284 to 1303. For more than 170 years, it followed the descent of the manor of Picton.

There are records which show that in 1302 nine inhabitants were eligible to pay taxes and while it is uncertain when or how the village became deserted, the earliest map of the settlement from 1757 shows Stainsby Grange Farm as the only building left.

It was passed onto the Earl of Harewood from around 1800.

During the Second World War, a Type 22 pillbox was built on the site, used for defence purposes for Thornaby Aerodrome nearby.

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The A19 road which was planned in 1969, is located immediately to the east of the site, having been routed to avoid the medieval village, presumably to preserve it.

In a 1996 Tees Archaeology survey, earthworks were discovered to the south and south-east of Stainsby Grange Farm.

Stainsby was found to be a toft village; a settlement comprising small farms packed closely together with the surrounding land owned and farmed by those who live in the village’s buildings.

There were two rows of large enclosures arranged north to south each measuring around 50m by 35m and separated by shallow ditches. They are the only visible evidence of the village.