Thomas Dormand Stewart was born in North Shields in 1854 and married Grace Cowper in Edinburgh on Christmas Day in 1878. Shortly after their wedding the couple came to live in Middlesbrough.

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In 1880 he rented a shop at 10 Linthorpe Road and set up his business, Stewart and Co (Clothiers). As his business thrived the firm moved to larger premises and Mr & Mrs Stewart moved to a larger house at 4 The Crescent where they lived for 50 years. The business continued to flourish and branches of Stewart and Co (Clothiers) were opened in many towns in Britain.

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Mr Stewart was a member of The Wesleyan Church and in 1903 he was one of five men, including Amos Hinton and Emanuel Spence, who purchased a plot of land at the corner of Ayresome Street and Linthorpe Road to build a new Wesleyan Church. He was also active in public life being a town councillor from 1911-1920, was elected Mayor in 1920 and createda Freeman of the Town in 1924.

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Following the death of Henry Bolckow the Marton Estate and Hall were left to his nephew Carl who soon began experiencing business problems resulting in many of the contents of the Hall being auctioned with the Hall being left empty. In 1915 Carl's son Henry offered 300 acres of Marton Hall and grounds to the council, after several years a final offer for the whole of the estate was made to the Council in the sum of £75000. At this point Thomas Dormand Stewart offered to buy the Hall and Parkland for £25000, and gift it to the Council for use as a public Park. The grand opening of the Park took place in 1928 and is commemorated by a marble plaque at the Ladgate Lane Entrance.

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Thomas Dormand Stewart died in 1946 and is buried in Linthorpe Cemetary.