| Stainsby | |
|---|---|
 Viewed from the south-east | |
| Location | Acklam, Middlesbrough |
| Coordinates | 54°32′01″N1°16′56″W / 54.5337°N 1.2821°W /54.5337; -1.2821 |
| OS grid reference | NZ 465 157 |
| Designated | 27 October 1970 |
| Reference no. | 1016352 |
.svg)  Location of Stainsby in North Yorkshire | |
Stainsby, inNorth Yorkshire, England, is an abandoned village near theAcklam suburb ofMiddlesbrough and town ofThornaby. Little more than mounds near theA19 road are now visible.[1] The site is ascheduled monument.[2]
Stainsby Grange Farm, Stainsby Hall Farm and Stainsby Hill Farm retain the former village's name. Stainsby Beck forms part of theStockton-on-Tees andMiddlesbrough borough boundary. NearbyAcklam Grange School was formerly named Stainsby.
Stainsby was recorded in theDomesday Book of 1086, as being threecarucates. Walter de Stainsby held the village from 1284 to 1303; from 1388 to 1566 it followed the descent of the manor ofPicton; from about 1800 it was held by theEarl of Harewood.[3]
Records of 1302 show that nine inhabitants were eligible to pay taxes. It is not known how or when the village became deserted. The earliest map of the settlement, of 1757, shows Stainsby Grange Farm as the only building.[1][2]
During the Second World War, aType 22 pillbox was built on the site, as part of the defences forThornaby Aerodrome nearby; it is included in the scheduling of the monument.[1][2] TheA19 road, planned in 1969, lies immediately to the east of the site, having been routed to avoid the medieval village.[1]
The earthworks lie to the south and south-east of Stainsby Grange Farm. They were surveyed in 1996 by Tees Archaeology. It was found to be atoft village: there were two rows, arranged north to south, of large enclosures, or tofts, each measuring about 50 by 35 metres (164 by 115 ft), separated by shallow ditches. The front of each enclosure would have contained the main farm building, and behind was a space for growing food or for livestock. There was a trackway between the two rows, running through the settlement. To the west of the tofts, a linear, hollow feature is thought to be a back lane. A large circular depression at the north of the site is interpreted as a pond.[1][2]
To the west and east of the village there is theridge and furrow pattern of medieval ploughing, the remains of theopen-field system formerly around the village.[1][2]