MUCH of the 1825 path of the S&DR through Eaglescliffe is lost and built over, although there is a little park where it crossed the A135 Yarm Road. This park is officially called Victoria Park but is unofficially known as Tittybottle Park.

The Northern Echo: Tittybottle Park, Eaglescliffe, is where the original S&DR trackbed crossed the Yarm Road. Picture: GoogleTittybottle Park, Eaglescliffe, is where the original S&DR trackbed crossed the Yarm Road. Picture: Google

Ever since a little park in Cockton Hill, Bishop Auckland, was officially named Tittybottle Park in 2011 by Durham County Council, we have been compiling a list of Tittybottle Parks.

There is another Tittybottle Park in Masham and there is one as far away as Otley. There used to be Tittybottle Parks in Guisborough, Loftus and Normanby, near Middlesbrough, and part of Friary Gardens in Richmond is unofficially known as Tittybottle Park. Shildon goes one better, and the sharp hill up from Redworth is known as Tittybottle Bank.

The first Tittybottle Park could have been in Redcar, although today it is beneath the roundabout in front of the famous vertical pier. It is said to have been given its name by an end-of-the-pier comedian who spotted young mothers in there feeding their babies.

Most Tittybottle Parks are small affairs with benches and, like Eaglescliffe, are on the edge of well-to-do Victorian developments, where the homeowners could afford nursemaids to help with their babies. The nursemaids would take their perambulators to the nearest bit of park and sit and gossip with their fellows while giving the infant a tittybottle.