Captain Cook, one of Middlesbrough's most famous sons, was born not far from the modern city centre in Marton-in-Cleveland in a small cottage. An illustration of how the cottage looked can be seen above. It was dilapidated even at the point of James' birth, as his parents were modest labourers and were not wealthy by any means. 

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It is a single storey, thatched cottage made

of stone, which was a pretty typical house

to live in for farmers and labourers of the

time. 

 

It stood in East Marton, near Marton Hall which has sadly been demolished. By the second half of the 1780s it fell in to disrepair, and was since demolished. There is no trace of it, but a museum now stands very close to where he was born.