Eaglescliffe came about by accident and has no relationship whatsoever with the bird of prey. The settlement on the opposite bank to the Roman supply station of Iarum (Yarm) was eccles (place or worship) cliffe (cliff or slope). Under the church are the foundations of a former religious place, likely druidic. When the Stockton to Darlington Railway was built and expanded upon, a station was made as close as possible (but a mile away), but the sign-writer was illiterate and spelled it wrongly. So the old village is still called Egglescliffe but the new council houses and industrial estate near the railway are now known as Eaglescliffe.