Aislaby, County Durham
Aislaby ( )) is a small village and civil parish on the north bank of the River Tees within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is located to the west of Eaglescliffe and Yarm. The name, first attested as "Asulue(s)bi" in 1086, is of Viking origin and means "Aslak's farm." Aislaby was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. History. The former village centres upon three historic buildings: the Church of England parish church of Saint Mary, the former Vicarage and Aislaby Manor Farm. There was also formerly an  11th-century fortified manor house. Two moats survive south of the parish church. One was called Castle Yard, and excavation within the curtilage of the other has revealed massive 12th-century foundations. Aislaby manor is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, and was for many years held by the De Grey family. It passed through inheritance to Francis Lovell, 1st Viscount Lovell, who was attainted in 1485, and the manor seized by the Crown. King Henry VII gave the manor first to his uncle Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford, and then in 1514 to the Duke of Norfolk. In  1543, it passed to Sir Thomas Pope, founder of Trinity College, Oxford. After the Civil War, the estate was granted to Sir Francis Henry Lee of Ditchley, who sold it to the Blake family. William Blake founded Blake's School in Aislaby. In 1726, Viscount Harcourt acquired the manor from the heirs of Sir Francis Blake. In 1784, his grandson George, Earl Harcourt acquired the remainder of the Aislaby estate from the heirs of Viscount Wenman, to clear the latter's debts. Geography. Administration. Aislaby is historically and ceremonially located in County Durham, but for administrative purposes is located in  the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, made a unitary authority in 1996. Before this time it was in the non-metropolitan county of Cleveland, created on 1 April 1974 under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972. Aislaby is in the Eaglescliffe ward. It is part of the Stockton South parliamentary constituency, represented since the 2019 general election by Matt Vickers of the Conservative Party. The constituency was previously represented by Labour MP Paul Williams (2017–2019), James Wharton (Conservative, 2010–2017), and before that by Dari Taylor (Labour, 1997–2010). Prior to Brexit in 2020 it was part of the North  East England constituency for elections to the European Parliament. The local police force is Cleveland Police. Aislaby is in the Stockton district and its nearest police station is in Yarm. Notable residents. Aislaby is home to the former Middlesbrough and England national football team manager, Steve McClaren. He bought the house that his predecessor at Middlesbrough FC, Bryan Robson, had lived in.