Teesside Live
·Jul 2026
Nostalgia at 90 as grandma Pat visits site where Stockton business began for birthday treat
A 90-year-old former Stockton shop owner, Pat Waites, visited the original site of her family’s former business, The Textile Centre, as a birthday outing. Accompanied by four generations of family, she returned to the now-transformed area, replaced by the new Stockton Waterfront Urban Park. Her daughter, Julie Hawke, recalled the family’s long history on the high street and her late father Ron’s decades of market trading. The family also visited the tea bar Ron established in his retirement, which continues to operate under new owners, highlighting the lasting legacy of the family’s presence in Stockton’s market community.