Once considered a part of Billingham, Haverton Hill was once a thriving industrial community which has suffered significant depopulation since the 1960s as a result of pollution.

Haverton Hill and Port Clarence were chosen as termini as the river at that stretch was deep enough to accommodate ships.

Directly opposite, on the other side of the River Tees, the Stockton and Darlington Railway was, for the same reason, extended, in 1830, to Middlesbrough .

This prompted John Bell, in 1874, to drill north of the river where he discovered a vast salt bed at Saltholme Farm, near to Haverton Hill.

A model village or garden city was built to accommodate 500 men as skilled labour for the shipyard.

ICI rapidly expanded its presence in the area over the next few decades, and in 1928 took over the Casebourne's cement works, which used byproducts from the fertiliser plant as a raw material.

This led to the total demolition of the residential houses in Haverton Hill during the 1960s and 1970s with the bulk of its population being moved to nearby Billingham.