Middlesbrough ( ) is a town in North Yorkshire, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough named after the town, which is part of the devolved Tees Valley area. The town is on the southern bank of the River Tees and near the North York Moors National Park. Until the early 1800s, the area was rural farming land. By 1830, a new industrial town and port started to be developed, driven by the coal and later ironworks. Steel production and ship building began in the late 1800s, remaining associated with the town until post-industrial decline occurred in the late twentieth century. Trade (notably through ports) and digital enterprise sectors contemporarily contribute to the local economy, Teesside University and Middlesbrough College to local education. In 1853, it became a town. The motto ("We shall be" in Latin) was adopted, it reflects ("We have been") of the Bruce clan which were Cleveland's mediaeval lords. The town's coat of arms is three ships representing shipbuilding and maritime trade and an azure (blue) lion, the latter also from the Bruce clan. In 1889, the North Riding of Yorkshire became an administrative county, the town's municipal borough also became a county borough. From 1968 until 1974, some boroughs and parishes both from the rest of the county and County Durham formed the County Borough of Teesside. A star replaced the middle ship (from Captain James Cook's arms) in the recreated namesake borough's arms, with Cleveland becoming non-metropolitan county in 1974 which was abolished in 1996, leading to its current governance. The borough had an estimated population of in 2019, the most populous district of England. At the 2011 census, the Middlesbrough subdivision of the Teesside built-up area had a population of 174,700, the population is larger due to an area outside the council area known as Greater Eston. The built-up area, of which Middlesbrough forms the largest part, had a population of 376,633. History Monks and lords Middlesbrough started as a Benedictine priory on the south bank of the River Tees, its name possibly derived from it being midway between the holy sites of Durham and Whitby. The earliest recorded form of Middlesbrough's name is "Mydilsburgh". The name literally means "middle fortress". In 686, a monastic cell was consecrated by St. Cuthbert at the request of St. Hilda, Abbess of Whitby. The manor of Middlesburgh belonged to Whitby Abbey and Guisborough Priory. Robert