Coordinates: 54°34′N 1°19′W / 54.57°N 1.32°W / 54.57; -1.32

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 Billingham, Yarm and Thornaby. The wider borough has a population of 191,000 as of 2011 estimates.

Stockton began as an Anglo-Saxon settlement on high ground close to the northern bank of the River Tees.

The manor of Stockton was created around 1138. It was purchased by Bishop Pudsey of Durham in 1189 and since then has undergone many changes.

Stockton's market can trace its history to 1310, when Bishop Bek of Durham granted a market charter – to our town of Stockton a market upon every Wednesday for ever.

The first recorded reference to Stockton Castle was in 1376. The Scots captured it in 1644 and occupied it until 1646. It was destroyed at the order of Oliver Cromwell at the end of the Civil War. A shopping centre, the Castlegate Centre, now occupies the castle area. There are no known accurate depictions of the castle in existence.