Teessaurus Park
Encyclopedia
Teessaurus Park is a 10 acre urban grassland recreational area and sculpture park opened in 1979 in the Riverside Park light industrial estate, Middlesbrough
, on the southern bank of the river Tees. The route of the Teesdale Way
passes through it. It was built on a former slag heap in what was the Ironmasters district. The park has its own small car park and has become something of a nature reserve.
. Middlesbrough Council had commissioned a life size painted steel sculpture of a triceratops
called Teessaurus from Genevieve Glatt that was fabricated by Harts of Stockton
at a total cost of £16,000 and installed on a mound at the northern end of the park. The park was opened with this sculpture in 1979 and two baby triceratops were added later. From 1987 onwards, a life size brachiosaurus
, brontosaurus, mammoth
, stegosaurus
and tyrannosaurus
sculptures were added at the sides of the park. These sculptures were built by workers on the government Youth and Employment Training Scheme at Amarc Training and Safety.
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
, on the southern bank of the river Tees. The route of the Teesdale Way
Teesdale Way
The Teesdale Way is a long distance walk between the North Sea coast of North Yorkshire and the Cumbrian Pennines in England. The walk is 100 miles / 161 km in length, it links in with other long distance walks such as the Pennine Way and the E2 European Walk between Harwich and Stranraer.The...
passes through it. It was built on a former slag heap in what was the Ironmasters district. The park has its own small car park and has become something of a nature reserve.
Sculptures
The park was started as a result of entering an Art to Landscape competition organised by the Sunday Times and the Arts CouncilArts council
An arts council is a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing events at home and abroad...
. Middlesbrough Council had commissioned a life size painted steel sculpture of a triceratops
Triceratops
Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur which lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago in what is now North America. It was one of the last dinosaur genera to appear before the great Cretaceous–Paleogene...
called Teessaurus from Genevieve Glatt that was fabricated by Harts of Stockton
Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
at a total cost of £16,000 and installed on a mound at the northern end of the park. The park was opened with this sculpture in 1979 and two baby triceratops were added later. From 1987 onwards, a life size brachiosaurus
Brachiosaurus
Brachiosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Jurassic Morrison Formation of North America. It was first described by Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 from fossils found in the Grand River Canyon of western Colorado, in the United States. Riggs named the dinosaur Brachiosaurus altithorax,...
, brontosaurus, mammoth
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
, stegosaurus
Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus is a genus of armored stegosaurid dinosaur. They lived during the Late Jurassic period , some 155 to 150 million years ago in what is now western North America. In 2006, a specimen of Stegosaurus was announced from Portugal, showing that they were present in Europe as well...
and tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
sculptures were added at the sides of the park. These sculptures were built by workers on the government Youth and Employment Training Scheme at Amarc Training and Safety.