Ancient Viking Cleveland

Cleveland’ is often mistakenly thought to be a modern invention. This confusion is due to the short-lived ‘County of Cleveland’ that existed for only 22 years (1974-1996) and included the former County Durham towns of Stockton; Hartlepool and Billingham to the north of the Tees. 

The real, historic Cleveland is on the south side of the Tees and encompasses the valleys of the River Esk and River Leven and along the coast it stretches from the Tees to Whitby.

 The earliest record of its name is in the twelfth century Orkneyinga Saga, recalling King Harald Hardrada of Norway’s landing in ‘Cliffland’. Guisborough : Capital of Cleveland Guisborough is perhaps a Viking name: ‘the borough or fortified place belonging to a Viking called Gigr’, but this is not certain. 

Evidence from place-names in the surrounding Cleveland area show that Viking settlement was very extensive, perhaps to the extent that no other area of England compares, not forgetting the area was probably named by the Angles aka early Danish Vikings who were paid mercenaries of Rome until they turned on them in the North, then sent for there people across the North sea.