Hartlepool () is a
seaside and
port town
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
in
County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly â€About North East E ...
, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the
Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County Durham.
Hartlepool is
locally administrated by
Hartlepool Borough Council, a
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
which also administrates outlying villages of
Seaton Carew
Seaton Carew is a seaside resort and civil parish in the Borough of Hartlepool in County Durham, England. It had an estimated population of 6,018. The area is named after a Norman French family called Carou who owned lands in the area and set ...
,
Greatham,
Hart Village,
Dalton Piercy
Dalton Piercy is a village and civil parish in the borough of Hartlepool, County Durham, in England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 Cernsus was 289.
Location
Dalton Piercy is situated 1 mile east of the A19 and 1 mile to ...
and
Elwick.
Hartlepool was founded in the 7th century, around the monastery of
Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew in the Middle Ages and its harbour served as the official port of the
County Palatine of Durham
The County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge, commonly referred to as County Durham or simply Durham, is a historic county in Northern England. Until 1889, it was controlled by powers granted under the Bishopric of Durham. The county and Northum ...
. After a railway link from the north was established from the South Durham
coal fields, an additional link from the south, in 1835, together with a new port, resulted in further expansion, with the new town of
West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland.
The former town was originally formed in ...
.
Industrialisation in
northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
and the start of a shipbuilding industry in the later part of the 19th century caused Hartlepool to be a target for the
Imperial German Navy
The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...
at the beginning of the First World War. A bombardment of 1,150 shells on 16 December 1914 resulted in the death of 117 people. A severe decline in heavy industries and shipbuilding following the Second World War caused periods of high unemployment until the 1990s when major investment projects and the redevelopment of the docks area into a
marina
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
saw a rise in the town's prospects.
Toponymy
![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/St._Hilda%27s_Church%2C_Hartlepool_Headland.jpg)
The place name derives from
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
''heort'' ("
hart
Hart often refers to:
* Hart (deer)
Hart may also refer to:
Organizations
* Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer
* Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer
* Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department stores
* Hart's Reptile Wo ...
"), referring to
stag
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
s seen, and ''pÅl'' (
pool
Pool may refer to:
Water pool
* Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming
* Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings
* Tide pool, a rocky pool ...
), a pool of drinking water which they were known to use.
Records of the place-name from early sources confirm this:
* 649: ''Heretu, or Hereteu''.
* 1017: ''Herterpol, or Hertelpolle''.
* 1182: ''Hierdepol''.
The 8th Century
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
n chronicler
Bede
Bede ( ; ang, BÇ£da , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...
referred to the spot on which today's town is sited upon as "the place where deer come to drink", and in this period the Headland was named by the
Angles
The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ' ...
as ''Heruteu'' (''Stag Island''). At the beginning of the 11th Century the name had evolved into ''Herterpol'', and after the
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
the name of the village sited there evolved in
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...
as: Hart-le-pool ("The Pool of the Stags"). Archaeological evidence has been found below the current high tide mark that indicates that an ancient post-
glacial
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
forest by the sea existed in the area during this period.
History
Town on the heugh
Following the
end of Roman rule in its province of
Britannia
Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...
in the early 5th century, the northeastern coast was raided by the
Angles
The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ' ...
from across the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
. They subsequently began crossing the North Sea and settled in the area, creating the
Kingdom of Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
in
sub-Roman Britain
Sub-Roman Britain is the period of late antiquity in Great Britain between the end of Roman rule and the Anglo-Saxon settlement. The term was originally used to describe archaeological remains found in 5th- and 6th-century AD sites that hint ...
.
Hartlepool began as an
Anglian settlement,
and a town developed in the 7th century sited around
Hartlepool Abbey, which had been founded in 640 by the Irish Christian priest
Saint Aidan
Aidan of Lindisfarne ( ga, Naomh Aodhán; died 31 August 651) was an Irish monk and missionary credited with converting the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity in Northumbria. He founded a monastic cathedral on the island of Lindisfarne, known as Lindis ...
upon a headland overlooking a natural harbour and the North Sea. The monastery became powerful under
St Hilda, who served as its
abbess
An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey.
Description
In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...
from 649 to 657. The Abbey fell into decline with the loss of Northumbrian power in the early 8th century, and it was probably destroyed during a sea raid by
Vikings
Vikings ; non, vÃkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
on Hartlepool in the 9th century.
In March 2000, the archaeological investigation television programme ''
Time Team
''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned online in 2022 for two episodes released on YouTube. Created by television producer Tim ...
'' located the foundations of the lost monastery in the grounds of St Hilda's Church.
Hartness
During the Norman Conquest, the De Brus family gained over-lordship of the land surrounding Hartlepool.
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
subsequently ordered the construction of
Durham Castle
Durham Castle is a Norman castle in the city of Durham, England, which has been occupied since 1837 by University College, Durham after its previous role as the residence of the Bishops of Durham. Designated since 1986 as a cultural World Herit ...
, and the villages under their rule were mentioned in records in 1153 when
Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale
Robert I de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale (–1141) was an early-12th-century Anglo-Norman lord and the first of the Bruce dynasty to hold lands in Scotland. A monastic patron, he is remembered as the founder of Gisborough Priory in Yorkshire, En ...
became
Lord of Hartness. The town's first charter was received before 1185, for which it gained its first mayor, an annual two-week fair and a weekly market.
By the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
Hartlepool was growing into an important (though still small) market town, one of the reasons for its escalating wealth being that its harbour was serving now as the official port of the
County Palatine of Durham
The County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge, commonly referred to as County Durham or simply Durham, is a historic county in Northern England. Until 1889, it was controlled by powers granted under the Bishopric of Durham. The county and Northum ...
. The main industry of the town at this time was fishing, and Hartlepool in this period established itself as one of the primary ports upon England's Eastern coast.
In 1306,
Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...
was crowned
King of Scotland
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...
, and became the last Lord of Hartness. Angered,
King Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal ...
confiscated the title to Hartlepool, and began to improve the town's military defences in expectation of war.
In 1315, before they were completed, a Scottish army under
Sir James Douglas James Douglas may refer to:
Scottish noblemen
Lords of Angus
* James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Angus (1426–1446), Scottish nobleman
* James Douglas, Earl of Angus (1671–1692), son of the 2nd Marquess of Douglas
Lords of Douglas
* James Douglas, ...
attacked, captured and looted the town.
In the late 15th Century a pier was constructed to assist in the harbour's workload.
Garrison
Hartlepool was once again militarily occupied by a Scottish incursion, this time in alliance with the
Parliamentary Army
The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Thr ...
during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, which after 18 months was relieved by an English Parliamentarian garrison.
In 1795 Hartlepool artillery emplacements and defences were constructed in the town as a defensive measure against the threat of French attack from seaborne Napoleonic forces. During the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
two coastal batteries were constructed close together in the town to guard against the threat of seaborne attacks from the
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from a ...
, they were entitled the ''Lighthouse Battery'' (1855) and the ''
Heugh Battery
The Heugh (pronounced: ) Gun Battery is located on the Headland at Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The museum bills itself as the only battlefield of World War I in Great Britain.
History
Heugh Battery was one of three erected in 1860 to p ...
'' (1859).
Hartlepool in the 18th Century became known as a town with medicinal springs, particularly the
Chalybeate
Chalybeate () waters, also known as ferruginous waters, are mineral spring waters containing salts of iron.
Name
The word ''chalybeate'' is derived from the Latin word for steel, , which follows from the Greek word . is the singular form of ...
Spa near the Westgate. The poet
Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, classics, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his ''Elegy Written in a Country ...
visited the town in July 1765 to "take the waters", and wrote to his friend William Mason:
A few weeks later, he wrote in greater detail to James Brown:
Town by the strand
![Christ Church, Hartlepool](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Christ_Church%2C_Hartlepool._-_geograph.org.uk_-_24512.jpg)
By the early nineteenth century, Hartlepool was still a small town of around 900 people, with a declining port. In 1823 the council and
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
decided that the town needed new industry, so the decision was made to propose a new railway to make Hartlepool a coal port, shipping out minerals from the Durham
coalfield
A coalfield is an area of certain uniform characteristics where coal is mined. The criteria for determining the approximate boundary of a coalfield are geographical and cultural, in addition to geological. A coalfield often groups the seams of ...
. It was in this endeavour that
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...
visited the town in December 1831, and wrote: "A curiously isolated old fishing town – a remarkably fine race of men. Went to the top of the church tower for a view."
But the plan was faced by local competition from new docks. to the north, the
Marquis of Londonderry
Marquess of Londonderry, of the County of Londonderry ( ), is a title in the Peerage of Ireland.
History
The title was created in 1816 for Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Londonderry. He had earlier represented County Down in the Irish House of ...
had approved the creation of the new
Seaham Harbour
Seaham is a seaside town in County Durham, England. Located on the Durham Coast, Seaham is situated south of Sunderland and east of Durham. The town grew from the late 19th century onwards as a result of investments in its harbour and co ...
(opened 31 July 1831), while to the south the
Clarence Railway
The Clarence Railway was an early railway company that operated in north-east England between 1833 and 1853. The railway was built to take coal from mines in County Durham to ports on the River Tees and was a competitor to the Stockton and Darli ...
connected
Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimated ...
and
Billingham
Billingham is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. The town is on the north side of the River Tees and is governed by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The settlement had previously formed its o ...
to a new port at
Port Clarence
Port Clarence is a small village now within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Tees, and hosts the northern end of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bri ...
(opened 1833). Further south again, in 1831 the
Stockton and Darlington Railway
The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected collieries near Shildon with Darl ...
had extended into the new port of
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
.
The council agreed the formation of the
Hartlepool Dock and Railway Company (HD&RCo) to extend the existing port by developing new docks, and link to both local collieries and the developing railway network in the south. In 1833, it was agreed that
Christopher Tennant of
Yarm
Yarm, also referred to as Yarm-on-Tees, is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. It was previously a port town before the industry moved down the River Tees to more accessible settlements n ...
establish the HD&RCo, having previously opened the Clarence Railway (CR). Tennant's plan was that the HD&RCo would fund the creation of a new railway, the
Stockton and Hartlepool Railway, which would take over the loss-making CR and extended it north to the new dock, thereby linking to the Durham coalfield.
After Tennant died, in 1839, the running of the HD&RCo was taken over by Stockton-on-Tees solicitor,
Ralph Ward Jackson. But Jackson became frustrated at the planning restrictions placed on the old Hartlepool dock and surrounding area for access, so bought land which was mainly sand dunes to the south-west, and established
West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland.
The former town was originally formed in ...
. Because Jackson was so successful at shipping coal from West Hartlepool through his
West Hartlepool Dock and Railway Company and, as technology developed, ships grew in size and scale, the new town would eventually dwarf the old town.
The West Hartlepool Harbour and Dock opened on 1 June 1847. On 1 June 1852 the Jackson Dock opened on the same day that a railway opened connecting West Hartlepool to
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, Manchester and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
. This allowed the shipping of coal and wool products eastwards, and the shipping of fresh fish and raw fleeces westwards, enabling another growth spurt in the town. This in turn resulted in the opening of the Swainson Dock on 3 June 1856, named after Ward Jackson's father-in-law. In 1878 the William Gray & Co shipyard in West Hartlepool achieved the distinction of launching the largest tonnage of any shipyard in the world, a feat to be repeated on a number of occasions. By 1881, old Hartlepool's population had grown from 993 to 12,361, but West Hartlepool had a population of 28,000.
![Ward Jackson Park Pond - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Ward_Jackson_Park_Pond_-_geograph.org.uk_-_361499.jpg)
Ward Jackson helped to plan the layout of West Hartlepool and was responsible for the first public buildings. He was also involved in the education and the welfare of the inhabitants. In the end, he was a victim of his own ambition to promote the town: accusations of shady financial dealings, and years of legal battles, left him in near-poverty. He spent the last few years of his life in London, far away from the town he had created.
World Wars
First
![Memorial to the first British soldier killed on British soil during the Great War - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Memorial_to_the_first_British_soldier_killed_on_British_soil_during_the_Great_War_-_geograph.org.uk_-_429905.jpg)
The area became heavily industrialised with an
ironworks
An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''.
Ironworks succeeded bloomeri ...
(established 1838) and
shipyard
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
s in the docks (established in the 1870s). By 1913, no fewer than 43 ship-owning companies were located in the town, with responsibility for 236 ships. This made it a key target for Germany in the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. One of the first German offensives against Britain was a raid and bombardment on the by
Imperial German Navy
The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...
on the morning of 16 December 1914,
Hartlepool was hit with a total of 1150 shells, killing 117 people. Two coastal defence batteries at Hartlepool returned fire, launching 143 shells, and damaging three German ships:
SMS ''Seydlitz'',
SMS ''Moltke'' and
SMS ''Blücher''. The Hartlepool engagement lasted roughly 50 minutes, and the coastal artillery defence was supported by the Royal Navy in the form of four destroyers, two light cruisers and a submarine, none of which had any significant impact on the German attackers.
Private Theophilus Jones of the 18th Battalion
Durham Light Infantry
The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...
, who fell as a result of this bombardment, is sometimes described as the first military casualty on British soil by enemy fire. This event (the death of the first soldiers on British soil) is commemorated by the 1921
Redheugh Gardens War Memorial together with a plaque unveiled on the same day (seven years and one day after the East Coast Raid) at the spot on the Headland (the memorial by Philip Bennison illustrates four soldiers on one of four
cartouche
In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fea ...
s and the plaque, donated by a member of the public, refers to the 'first soldier' but gives no name). A living history group, the Hartlepool Military Heritage Memorial Society, portray men of that unit for educational and memorial purposes.
Hartlepudlians voluntarily subscribed more money per head to the war effort than any other town in Britain.
Between
On 4 January 1922, a fire starting in a timber yard left 80 people homeless and caused over £1,000,000 pounds of damage. Hartlepool suffered badly in the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
of the 1930s and endured high unemployment.
Second
Unemployment decreased during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, with shipbuilding and steel-making industries enjoying a renaissance. Most of its output for the war effort were "
Empire Ships
An Empire ship is a merchant ship that was given a name beginning with "Empire" in the service of the Government of the United Kingdom during and after World War II. Most were used by the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), which owned them and co ...
". German bombers raided the town 43 times, though, compared to the previous war, civilian losses were lighter with 26 deaths recorded by Hartlepool Municipal Borough and 49 by West Hartlepool Borough. During the Second World War,
RAF Greatham
Royal Air Force Greatham or more simply RAF Greatham is a former Royal Air Force station located in Greatham, County Durham, England.
It was also known as RAF West Hartlepool and was located at Hartlepool and was little more than a grass ai ...
(also known as RAF West Hartlepool) was located on the South
British Steel Corporation
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
Works.
The merge
![Hartlepool Borough Hall - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Hartlepool_Borough_Hall_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1606381.jpg)
In 1891 the two towns had a combined population of 64,000. By 1900 the two Hartlepools were, together, one of the three busiest ports in England.
[The Independent (London) 23 February 1992, Sunday Britain 1992 / The view from Wall Street ; British society is mired in class-consciousness, apathy and under-achievement. The future looks bleak. This is how Tony Horwitz of 'The Wall Street Journal' presented us to the world this month. It is an outsider's view, with a message that cuts across party politics p3]
The modern town represents a joining of "Old Hartlepool", locally known as the "Headland", and
West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland.
The former town was originally formed in ...
. As already mentioned, what was
West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland.
The former town was originally formed in ...
became the larger town and both were formally unified in 1967. Today the term "West Hartlepool" is rarely heard outside the context of sport, but one of the town's
Rugby Union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
teams still retains the name.
The name of the town's professional football club reflected both boroughs; when it was formed in 1908, following the success of West Hartlepool in winning the FA Amateur Cup in 1905, it was called "Hartlepools United" in the hope of attracting support from both towns. When the boroughs combined in 1967 the club renamed itself "Hartlepool" before re-renaming itself
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
They were founded i ...
in the 1970s. Many fans of the club still refer to the team as "Pools"
Fall out
![OSM Hartlepool](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/OSM_Hartlepool.png)
After the war, industry went into a severe decline. ''Blanchland'', the last ship to be constructed in Hartlepool, left the slips in 1961. In 1967, Betty James wrote how "if I had the luck to live anywhere in the North East
f England
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
..I would live near Hartlepool. If I had the luck".
[A kingdom by the sea : an exploration of Northumberland, Durham and the North Riding of Yorkshire James, Betty. p95] There was a boost to the retail sector in 1970 when
Middleton Grange Shopping Centre
Middleton Grange is a shopping centre in Hartlepool, England. It was built in 1969 and it was opened by Princess Anne on 27 May 1970. The site of the shopping centre was originally terraced streets that were demolished in the late 1960s.
Hist ...
was opened by
Princess Anne
Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...
, with over 130 new shops including
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
and
Woolworths.
Before the shopping centre was opened, the old town centre was located around Lynn Street, but most of the shops and the market had moved to a new shopping centre by 1974. Most of Lynn Street had by then been demolished to make way for a new housing estate. Only the north end of the street remains, now called Lynn Street North. This is where the Hartlepool Borough Council depot was based (alongside the Focus DIY store) until it moved to the marina in August 2006.
In 1977, the
British Steel Corporation
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
announced the closure of its Hartlepool steelworks with the loss of 1500 jobs. In the 1980s the area was afflicted with extremely high levels of unemployment, at its peak consisting of 30 per cent of the town's working-age population, the highest in the United Kingdom.
[Hartlepool to lose 630 steel jobs (News) The Times Saturday, 15 January 1983; pg. 1; Issue 61431; col C] 630 jobs at British Steel were lost in 1983, and a total of 10,000 jobs were lost from the town in the economic de-industrialization of England's former Northern manufacturing heartlands.
Between 1983 and 1999 the town lacked a cinema and areas of it became afflicted with the societal hallmarks of endemic economic poverty:
urban decay
Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban deca ...
, high crime levels,
drug
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...
and alcohol dependency being prevalent.
Rise and the future
Docks near the centre were redeveloped and reopened, by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
, in 1993 as a marina with the accompanying
National Museum of the Royal Navy
The National Museum of the Royal Navy was created in early 2009 to act as a single non-departmental public body for the museums of the Royal Navy. With venues across the United Kingdom, the museums detail the history of the Royal Navy operating o ...
opened in 1994, then known as the Hartlepool Historic Quay.
A development corporation is under consultation until August 2022 to organise projects, with the
town's fund given to the town and other funds. Plans would be (if the corporation is formed) focused on the railway station, waterfront (including the Royal Navy Museum and a new leisure centre) and
Church Street.
Northern School of Art also has funds for a TV and film studios.
Governance
![Hartlepool - Town Hall Theatre (geograph 4180057)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Hartlepool_-_Town_Hall_Theatre_%28geograph_4180057%29.jpg)
Hartlepool was traditionally administered as a part of the
County Palatine of Durham
The County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge, commonly referred to as County Durham or simply Durham, is a historic county in Northern England. Until 1889, it was controlled by powers granted under the Bishopric of Durham. The county and Northum ...
until 1850 when Old Hartlepool i.e. the Headland was incorporated as a municipal borough with its headquarters,
Hartlepool Borough Hall
Hartlepool Borough Hall is municipal building, which served as the meeting place of the old Hartlepool Borough Council, before it amalgamated with West Hartlepool County Borough Council. It is located on the Headland, Hartlepool in County Dur ...
, completed in 1866.
In 1887
West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland.
The former town was originally formed in ...
was also incorporated as a municipal borough, with its own headquarters,
West Hartlepool Town Hall
West Hartlepool Town Hall is a municipal building in Raby Road, Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The town hall, which was the meeting place of West Hartlepool County Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.
History
The development o ...
, completed in 1897. In 1902 West Hartlepool was incorporated as a county borough in its own right, remaining non-administratively in
County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly â€About North East E ...
. The old Hartlepool Borough Council amalgamated with West Hartlepool Borough Council to form a combined authority in 1967.
In 1974, the combined council was merged into
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, which appointed its own
Lord Lieutenant
A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...
. The 1996
Banham Review
The Local Government Commission for England was the body responsible for reviewing the structure of local government in England from 1992 to 2002. It was established under the Local Government Act 1992, replacing the Local Government Boundary C ...
, disbanded Cleveland county and gave unitary authority status to its four districts, Hartlepool borough and part of Stockton-on-Tees borough became a part of non-administrative County Durham under the
Lieutenancies Act 1997
The Lieutenancies Act 1997 (c. 23) is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that defines areas that lord-lieutenants are appointed to in Great Britain. It came into force on 1 July 1997.
Creation of modern local government
Prior to the Loca ...
. Since the 2010s, Hartlepool is also part of the
Tees Valley
Tees Valley is a mayoral combined authority and Local enterprise partnership area in northern England, around the River Tees. The area is not a geographical valley.
The LEP was established in 2011 and the combined authority was establish ...
region, a mayor for the region was elected in 2016. Although the former districts and boroughs of Durham now form the unitary authority of
County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly â€About North East E ...
. This means that County Durham now has four
unitary authorities
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
.
Council
After boundary changes introduced in 2019, Hartlepool is now divided into 12 electoral wards, each of which elects three councillors who make up the 36 councillors of the Borough Council.
Members of Parliament
Hartlepool is represented in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
by one Member of Parliament. The current MP for the
Hartlepool constituency is
Jill Mortimer
Jillian Wendy Mortimer (née Sowerby; born 20 March 1965) is a British Conservative Party politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Hartlepool since 2021.
Personal life
Mortimer was born Jillian Wendy Sowerby on 20 March 1965 in Lee ...
of the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
. She was elected at the
2021 Hartlepool by-election with 51.9% of the vote.
Members of parliament for Hartlepool since 1945 have been:
Mandelson, the MP between 1992 and 2004, resigned to take up a role in the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
. On 13 October 2008 he was created ''Baron Mandelson of
Foy and Hartlepool'' following his appointment as
in the British Government.
Emergency services
Hartlepool falls within the jurisdiction of
Cleveland Fire Brigade
Cleveland Fire Brigade is the statutory fire and rescue service covering the boroughs of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland & Stockton-on-Tees in the North East of England. The name originates from the former county of Cleveland ...
and
Cleveland Police
Cleveland Police is the territorial police force responsible for the policing area corresponding to the former county of Cleveland in Northern England. As of September 2017, the force had 1,274 police officers, 278 police staff, 124 police com ...
. Before 1974, it was under the jurisdiction of the
Durham Constabulary
Durham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing ceremonial county of County Durham in North East England. The force’s area is bordered by Cumbria Constabulary to the west, Cleveland Police to the south east, Nor ...
and
Durham Fire Brigade Durham most commonly refers to:
* Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
* County Durham, an English county
*Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
* Durham, North Carolina, a city in ...
. Hartlepool has two fire stations: a full-time station at
Stranton
Stranton is an area of south Hartlepool in the borough of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It is a former village and parish.
The ancient parish boundaries were the North Sea to the east, Greatham Creek, an arm of the Tees, to the south, the ...
and a retained station on the Headland.
Geography
Distance to other places
Nearby smaller towns include:
Seaham
Seaham is a seaside town in County Durham, England. Located on the Durham Coast, Seaham is situated south of Sunderland and east of Durham. The town grew from the late 19th century onwards as a result of investments in its harbour and c ...
();
Sedgefield
Sedgefield is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It had a population of 5,211 as at the 2011 census. It has the only operating racecourse in County Durham.
History Roman
A Roman 'ladder settlement' was discovered by C ...
();
Billingham
Billingham is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. The town is on the north side of the River Tees and is governed by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The settlement had previously formed its o ...
() and
Peterlee
Peterlee is a town in County Durham, England. It lies between Sunderland to the north, Hartlepool to the south, the Durham Coast to the east and Durham to the west. It gained town status in 1948 under the New Towns Act 1946. The act also create ...
(). Beyond the far side of the
Tees Bay, on the other side of the
River Tees
The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has be ...
, the distant monument on
Eston Nab
Eston Nab is a local landmark to those who live along the River Tees, in north-east England.
A nab is a rocky promontory, or outcrop, and Eston Nab, marking the highest point – at – on the escarpment which forms Eston Hills, appears as a ...
can be seen on clear days.
Economy
Hartlepool's economy has historically been linked with the maritime industry, something which is still at the heart of local business. Hartlepool Dock is owned and run by
PD Ports
PD Ports is a Middlesbrough, UK headquartered port, shipping and logistics company; owner of Teesport, and ports at Hartlepool, Howden and Keadby; with additional operations at the Port of Felixstowe, Port of Immingham, and Port of Hull.
Form ...
.
Engineering related jobs employ around 1700 people.
Tata Steel Europe
Tata Steel Europe Ltd. (formerly Corus Group plc) was a steelmaking company headquartered in London, England, with its main operations in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The company was created in 2007, when Tata Group took over the ...
employ around 350 people in the manufacture of steel tubes, predominantly for the oil industry.
South of the town on the banks of the Tees,
Able UK operates the
Teesside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre
Able UK is a British industrial services company specialising in decommissioning of ships and offshore installations.
Overview
Able UK is a British industrial services company, operating primarily in the marine decommissioning and recycling b ...
(TERRC), a large scale marine recycling facility and dry dock. Adjacent to the east of TERRC is the
Hartlepool nuclear power station
Hartlepool nuclear power station is a nuclear power station situated on the northern bank of the mouth of the River Tees, south of Hartlepool in County Durham, North East England.
The station has a net electrical output of 1,185megawatts, ...
, an
advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) type nuclear power plant opened in the 1980s. It is the single largest employer in the town, employing 1 per cent of the town's working age people.
The chemicals industry is important to the local economy. Companies include
Huntsman Corporation, who produce
titanium dioxide
Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania , is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or CI 77891. It is a white solid that is insolubl ...
for use in paints,
Omya,
Baker Hughes
Baker Hughes Company, organized in Delaware and headquartered in Houston, is one of the world's largest oil field services companies. The company provides products and services for oil well drilling, formation evaluation, completion, productio ...
and
Frutarom
Frutarom Industries Ltd. ( he, ×¤×¨×•×˜×¨×•× ×ª×¢×©×™×•×ª בע"מ) is an Israeli-based company that specializes in the production and distribution of extracts for flavor and fragrance. In 2015 it had sales of over $872 million.
Shares of the c ...
.
Tourism was worth £48 million to the town in 2009; this figure excludes the impact of the Tall Ships 2010. Hartlepool's historic links to the maritime industry are centred on the
Maritime Experience, and the supporting exhibits
PS ''Wingfield Castle'' and
HMS ''Trincomalee''.
Camerons Brewery
Camerons Brewery Ltd is an English brewery established by John William Cameron in Stranton, Hartlepool, County Durham, in 1865. It is the largest independent brewer in the North East of England, with a brewery capacity of 1.5 million hectoli ...
was founded in 1852 and currently employs around 145 people. It is one of the largest breweries in the UK. Following a series of take-overs, it came under the control of the
Castle Eden Brewery in 2001 who merged the two breweries, closing down the
Castle Eden
Castle Eden is a village in County Durham, in England. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 642. It is situated a short distance to the south of Peterlee, Wingate, Hutton Henry, the A19 and Castle Eden Dene. The village is fam ...
plant. It brews a range of
cask
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...
and bottled beers, including ''Strongarm'', a 4%
abv
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...
bitter
Bitter may refer to:
Common uses
* Resentment, negative emotion or attitude, similar to being jaded, cynical or otherwise negatively affected by experience
* Bitter (taste), one of the five basic tastes
Books
* '' Bitter (novel)'', a 2022 nove ...
. The brewery is heavily engaged in contract brewing such beers as
Kronenbourg 1664
Kronenbourg 1664 is a golden pale lager with an alcohol percentage of 5.5% ABV in continental Europe and 5.0% for the UK market. It was first brewed in 1664 by Canon Brewery in the Alsace region of France by master brewer Geronimus Hatt. It uses ...
,
John Smith's
John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England, produces beers including John Smith's, the highest selling bitter in the United Kingdom since the mid-1990s.
The majority of John Smith's sales are of the nitrogenated Extra Smooth ...
and
Foster's.
Orchid Drinks of Hartlepool were formed in 1992 after a management buy out of the soft drinks arm of Camerons. They manufactured
Purdey's and
Amé. Following a £67 million takeover by
Britvic
Britvic plc is a British producer of soft drinks based in Hemel Hempstead, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. It produces soft drinks under its own name, and several other brands.
Hist ...
, the site was closed down in 2009.
Middleton Grange Shopping Centre
Middleton Grange is a shopping centre in Hartlepool, England. It was built in 1969 and it was opened by Princess Anne on 27 May 1970. The site of the shopping centre was originally terraced streets that were demolished in the late 1960s.
Hist ...
is the main shopping location. 2800 people are employed in retail.
The ten major retail companies in the town are
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
,
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headqua ...
,
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...
,
Next
Next may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Next'' (1990 film), an animated short about William Shakespeare
* ''Next'' (2007 film), a sci-fi film starring Nicolas Cage
* '' Next: A Primer on Urban Painting'', a 2005 documentary film
Lit ...
,
Argos
Argos most often refers to:
* Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece
** Ancient Argos, the ancient city
* Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland
Argos or ARGOS may also refer to:
Businesses
...
,
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
,
Aldi
Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
,
Boots
A boot is a type of footwear.
Boot or Boots may also refer to:
Businesses
* Boot Inn, Chester, Cheshire, England
* Boots (company), a high-street pharmacy chain and manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in the United Kingdom
* The Boot, Cromer Stre ...
and
Matalan
Matalan is a British fashion and homeware retailer based in Knowsley, Merseyside. It was established by John Hargreaves in 1985, and is still owned by the Hargreaves family. , the company employed over 13,000, and had 230 stores in the United K ...
.
Aside from the local sports clubs, other local entertainment venues include a
VUE Cinema
Vue International (, like "view"), is a multinational cinema holding company based in London, England. It operates in the United Kingdom and Ireland as Vue, with international operations in Denmark and Germany (as CinemaxX); Italy (as The Space ...
and
Mecca Bingo
Mecca Bingo (formerly called Top Rank) is a British operator of bingo clubs, with 76 locations throughout the country. Mecca Bingo is owned by the Rank Group, which operates bingos, casinos and online gambling in Belgium, Spain and Britain. The ...
.
Companies that have moved operations to the town for the
offshore wind farm
Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of c ...
include
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
and
Van Oord
Royal Van Oord is a Dutch maritime contracting company that specializes in dredging, land reclamation and constructing man made islands. Royal Van Oord has undertaken many projects throughout the world, including land reclamation, dredging and beac ...
.
Culture and community
Festivals and Fairs
Since November 2014 the Headland has hosted the annual Wintertide Festival, which is a weekend long event that starts with a community parade on the Friday and culminating in a finale performance and fireworks display on the Sunday.
Tall Ships' Races
On 28 June 2006 Hartlepool celebrated after winning its bid to host
The Tall Ships' Races
The Tall Ships Races are races for sail training "tall ships" (sailing ships). The races are designed to encourage international friendship and training for young people in the art of sailing. The races are held annually in European waters and c ...
. The town welcomed up to 125
tall ship
A tall ship is a large, traditionally- rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or fe ...
s in 2010, after being chosen by race organiser Sail Training International to be the finishing point for the race. Hartlepool greeted the ships, which sailed from
Kristiansand
Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...
in Norway on the second and final leg of the race.
Museums, art galleries and libraries
Hartlepool Art Gallery
Hartlepool Art Gallery is an art gallery in Hartlepool, County Durham, England.
The gallery opened in . It is located in Church Square within Christ Church, a restored Victorian architecture, Victorian church, built in 1854 and designed by the ...
is located in Church Square within Christ Church, a restored
Victorian church, built in 1854 and designed by the architect
Edward Buckton Lamb
Edward Buckton Lamb (1806–1869) was a British architect who exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1824. Lamb was labelled a 'Rogue Gothic Revivalist', and his designs were roundly criticised for breaking with convention, especially by ''The E ...
(1806–1869). The gallery's temporary exhibitions change frequently and feature works from local artists and the permanent Fine Art Collection, which was established by Sir William Gray. The gallery also houses the Hartlepool
tourist information centre
A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors.
Types of visitor center
A visi ...
.
The Heugh Battery Museum is located on the
Headland
A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...
. It was one of three batteries erected to protect Hartlepool's port in 1860. The battery was closed in 1956 and is now in the care of the Heugh Gun Battery Trust and home to an
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
collection.
Hartlepool is home to a
National Museum of the Royal Navy
The National Museum of the Royal Navy was created in early 2009 to act as a single non-departmental public body for the museums of the Royal Navy. With venues across the United Kingdom, the museums detail the history of the Royal Navy operating o ...
(The other in
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
). Previously known simply as The Historic Quay, the museum is a re-creation of an 18th-century seaport and host to
Hartlepool's Maritime Experience
The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) is a maritime exposition and visitor attraction in Hartlepool, County Durham, Northern England. The concept of the attraction is the thematic re-creation of an 18th-century seaport, in the time of ...
. The centre-piece of the exhibition is a sailing frigate,
HMS Trincomalee.
Willows was the Hartlepool mansion of the influential Sir William Gray of
William Gray & Company
William Gray & Company Ltd. was a British shipbuilding company located in West Hartlepool, County Durham, in North East England. Founded in 1863 by John Denton and William Gray as a partnership, it became a private and then a public limited com ...
and he gifted it to the town in 1920, after which it was converted to be the town's first museum and art gallery. Fondly known locally as "The Gray" it was closed as a museum in 1994 and now houses the local authority's culture department.
There are six
libraries
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
in Hartlepool, the primary one being the Community Hub Central Library. Others are Throston Grange Library, Community Hub North Library, Seaton Carew Library, Owton Manor Library and Headland Branch Library.
Transport
Road
Hartlepool is served by two primary routes which are the
A179 road
The A179 is the major link road between the A19 and Hartlepool via Hart Village. This road has a good view of the Tees valley
Tees Valley is a mayoral combined authority and Local enterprise partnership area in northern England, around ...
and the
A689 road
The A689 is a road in northern England that runs east from the A595, to the west of Carlisle in Cumbria, to Hartlepool in County Durham.
The road begins west of Carlisle, just outside the city at the A595. The initial stretch was recently co ...
, both linking the town to the
A19 road
The A19 is a major road in England running approximately parallel to and east of the A1 road. Although the two roads meet at the northern end of the A19, the two roads originally met at the southern end of the A19 in Doncaster, but the old ...
. The
A179 road
The A179 is the major link road between the A19 and Hartlepool via Hart Village. This road has a good view of the Tees valley
Tees Valley is a mayoral combined authority and Local enterprise partnership area in northern England, around ...
is the main road to the north-west which leads to the
A19 road
The A19 is a major road in England running approximately parallel to and east of the A1 road. Although the two roads meet at the northern end of the A19, the two roads originally met at the southern end of the A19 in Doncaster, but the old ...
,
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
,
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
and
Tyneside
Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt.
The population of Tyneside as published i ...
. The
A689 road
The A689 is a road in northern England that runs east from the A595, to the west of Carlisle in Cumbria, to Hartlepool in County Durham.
The road begins west of Carlisle, just outside the city at the A595. The initial stretch was recently co ...
is the main road to the south-west towards the A19 &
Billingham
Billingham is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. The town is on the north side of the River Tees and is governed by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The settlement had previously formed its o ...
,
Stockton,
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
and
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
. The
A178 road
The A178 is a road that runs from Hartlepool in County Durham to Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire, England.
The route of the A178 starts at the junction of the A179 and A689 in Hartlepool. It runs east as ''Church Street'' passing Hartlepoo ...
leads south to
Seaton Carew
Seaton Carew is a seaside resort and civil parish in the Borough of Hartlepool in County Durham, England. It had an estimated population of 6,018. The area is named after a Norman French family called Carou who owned lands in the area and set ...
,
Graythorp
Graythorp was a village and now a trading estate within the borough of Hartlepool and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England.
It is located on the A178 Tees Road about 1 mile south of Hartlepool.
The village was constructed by s ...
,
Seal Sands
Seal Sands () is a 294.37 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham, England, notified in 1966.
Situated in the mouth of the River Tees next to Greatham Creek and Seaton-on-Tees Channel, the site is accessible ...
,
Port Clarence
Port Clarence is a small village now within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Tees, and hosts the northern end of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bri ...
and
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
via the
Transporter bridge
A transporter bridge, also known as a ferry bridge or aerial transfer bridge, is a type of movable bridge that carries a segment of roadway across a river. The gondola is slung from a tall span by wires or a metal frame. The design has been us ...
. The
A1086 road leads north to
Crimdon,
Blackhall,
Horden
Horden is a village and electoral ward in County Durham, England. It is situated on the North Sea coast, to the east of Peterlee, approximately 12 miles south of Sunderland. Horden was a mining village until the closure of the Horden Collier ...
,
Peterlee
Peterlee is a town in County Durham, England. It lies between Sunderland to the north, Hartlepool to the south, the Durham Coast to the east and Durham to the west. It gained town status in 1948 under the New Towns Act 1946. The act also create ...
and
Easington.
Rail
![Hartlepool Station (geograph 6003335)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Hartlepool_Station_%28geograph_6003335%29.jpg)
Hartlepool is served by and railway stations, both of which lie on the
Durham Coast Line
The Durham Coast Line is an approximately railway line running between Newcastle and in North East England. Heavy rail passenger services, predominantly operated Northern Trains, and some freight services operate over the whole length of the li ...
with hourly services to , and , which are operated by
Northern. A service to from Sunderland, operated by
Grand Central that uses
Class 180
The British Rail Class 180 is a class of 14 Diesel multiple unit#Diesel–hydraulic, diesel-hydraulic Multiple unit, multiple-unit passenger trains manufactured by Alstom at its Washwood Heath factory in 2000/01 for First Great Western (FGW) . T ...
trains capable of operates from the former of the two stations. The service marks the first time since the 1980s that Hartlepool has had a direct rail link with London which takes around three and a half hours.
Bus
Local bus services are provided around the town mainly by
Stagecoach North East
Stagecoach North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, which operates bus, coach, rail and tram services acro ...
. The operator has the service 36 from Hartlepool to
Billingham
Billingham is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. The town is on the north side of the River Tees and is governed by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The settlement had previously formed its o ...
,
Stockton and
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
, as well as the faster service 1 to
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
via
Seaton Carew
Seaton Carew is a seaside resort and civil parish in the Borough of Hartlepool in County Durham, England. It had an estimated population of 6,018. The area is named after a Norman French family called Carou who owned lands in the area and set ...
and Port Clarence.
Other services are provided by
Arriva North East
Arriva North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which operates bus and coach services across the United K ...
and
Go North East
Go North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It was previously known as the Northern General Transport Company and Go-Ahead Northern. The compa ...
from Hartlepool to
Peterlee
Peterlee is a town in County Durham, England. It lies between Sunderland to the north, Hartlepool to the south, the Durham Coast to the east and Durham to the west. It gained town status in 1948 under the New Towns Act 1946. The act also create ...
,
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
,
Seaham
Seaham is a seaside town in County Durham, England. Located on the Durham Coast, Seaham is situated south of Sunderland and east of Durham. The town grew from the late 19th century onwards as a result of investments in its harbour and c ...
,
Hetton-le-Hole
Hetton-le-Hole is a town situated in the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. It is in the historic county of Durham. A182 runs through the town, between Houghton-le-Spring and Easington Lane (the latter borders the County Durham Distri ...
,
Houghton-le-Spring
Houghton-le-Spring ( ) is a town in the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, North East England which has its recorded origins in Norman times. Historically in County Durham, it is now administered as part of the Tyne and Wear county. It is s ...
and
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
.
Sea
![Hartlepool Docks - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Hartlepool_Docks_-_geograph.org.uk_-_136642.jpg)
Hartlepool has been a major seaport virtually since it was founded, and has a long fishing heritage. During the industrial revolution massive new docks were created on the southern side of the channel running below the Headland, which gave rise to the town of
West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland.
The former town was originally formed in ...
.
Now owned by
PD Ports
PD Ports is a Middlesbrough, UK headquartered port, shipping and logistics company; owner of Teesport, and ports at Hartlepool, Howden and Keadby; with additional operations at the Port of Felixstowe, Port of Immingham, and Port of Hull.
Form ...
, the docks are still in use today and still capable of handling large vessels. However, a large portion of the former dockland was converted into a marina capable of berthing 500 vessels. Hartlepool Marina is home to a wide variety of pleasure and working craft, with passage to and from the sea through a lock.
Hartlepool also has a permanent
RNLI
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...
lifeboat
Lifeboat may refer to:
Rescue vessels
* Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape
* Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues
* Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen
...
station.
Education
Secondary
Hartlepool has five secondary schools:
*
Dyke House Sports and Technology College
*
English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College
*
High Tunstall College of Science
High Tunstall College of Science (formerly High Tunstall Comprehensive School) is a coeducational secondary school located in the West Park area of Hartlepool, County Durham, England.
History
The school was originally built to amalgamate Har ...
*
Manor Community Academy
Manor Community Academy is a secondary school in the Owton Manor area of Hartlepool, County Durham. It is an academy school which caters for students aged 11 to 16. It is part of the Northern Education Trust
Northern Education Trust is a mul ...
*
St Hild's Church of England School
The town had planned to receive funding from central government to improve school buildings and facilities as a part of the
Building Schools for the Future
Building Schools for the Future (BSF) was the name given to the British government's investment programme in secondary school buildings in England in the 2000s. The programme was ambitious in its costs, timescales and objectives, with politicia ...
programme, but this was cancelled because of
government spending cuts.
College
Hartlepool College of Further Education
Hartlepool College of Further Education is a non-denominational mixed further education college based in Hartlepool, United Kingdom, providing courses to students aged 16 and over. The college has existed in several forms since 1897, but occupi ...
is an educational establishment located in the centre of the town, and existed in various forms for over a century. Its former 1960s campus was replaced by a £52million custom-designed building, it was approved in principle in July 2008, opened in September 2011.
Hartlepool also has
Hartlepool Sixth Form College. It was a former grammar and comprehensive school, the college provides a number of AS and A2 Level student courses. The
English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College also offers AS, A2 and other BTEC qualification to 16- to 18-year-olds from Hartlepool and beyond.
A campus of
The Northern School of Art
The Northern School of Art is a further and higher education art and design college, based in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool in the north-east of England. The college was called Cleveland College of Art and Design after the former non-metrop ...
is a specialist
art and design college and
higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
, located adjacent to the art gallery on Church Square. The college has a further site in Middlesbrough that facilitates
further education
Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...
.
Territorial Army
Situated in the New Armoury Centre, Easington Road are the following units.
*
Royal Marines Reserve
The Royal Marines Reserve (RMR) is the volunteer reserve force used to augment the regular Royal Marines. The RMR consists of some 750 trained ranks distributed among the four units within the UK. About 10 percent of the force are working with t ...
*
90 (North Riding) Signal Squadron
Sport
Football
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
They were founded i ...
is the town's professional football club and they play at
Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to:
Places Australia
* Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales
* Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse
* Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
. The club's most notable moment was in 2005 when, with 8 minutes left in the
2005 Football League One play-off Final, the team conceded a penalty, allowing
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
to equalise and eventually beat Hartlepool to a place in the
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
. The club currently play in EFL League Two.
Supporters of the club bear the nickname of
Monkey Hangers. This is based upon a legend that during the Napoleonic wars a monkey, which had been a ship's mascot, was taken for a French spy and hanged. Hartlepool has also produced football presenter
Jeff Stelling
Robert Jeffrey Stelling (born 18 March 1955) is an English television presenter. He currently presents '' Gillette Soccer Saturday'' for Sky Sports and hosted coverage of the Champions League between 2011 and 2015.
He also presented the Chann ...
, who has a renowned partnership with
Chris Kamara
Christopher Kamara (born 25 December 1957) is an English former professional football player and manager who worked as a presenter and football analyst at Sky Sports from 1992 to 2022.
As a player, he was known as a tough-tackling midfielder. H ...
who was born in nearby
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
.
Jeff Stelling
Robert Jeffrey Stelling (born 18 March 1955) is an English television presenter. He currently presents '' Gillette Soccer Saturday'' for Sky Sports and hosted coverage of the Champions League between 2011 and 2015.
He also presented the Chann ...
is a keen supporter of
Hartlepool United Football Club
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
They were founded i ...
and often refers to them when presenting
Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News (SSN) is a British pay television, paid television sports news channel run by Sky Limited, Sky, a division of Comcast.
History
Since 1992, Sky Sports had broadcast sports news, initially a brief ''Football Update'' and lat ...
. It is also the birthplace and childhood home of
Pete Donaldson
Peter Donaldson (born 30 April 1981) is an English podcaster and radio presenter. He featured on the Danny Wallace Saturday show on Xfm, and the Alex Zane breakfast show and is currently one of the presenters on The Football Ramble, Wrestle M ...
, one of the co-hosts of the Football Ramble
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
as well as co-host of the
Abroad in Japan
Christopher "Chris" Broad (born 21 April 1990), also known online as Abroad in Japan, is an English YouTuber, filmmaker, podcast host, and former Assistant Language Teacher. He focuses on the creation of videos about Japanese culture, Japanese ...
podcast, and a prominent radio DJ.
Rugby union
Hartlepool is something of an anomaly in England having historically maintained a disproportionate number of clubs in a town of only c.90,000 inhabitants. These include(d)
West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland.
The former town was originally formed in ...
,
Hartlepool Rovers
Hartlepool Rovers F.C. are a rugby union club who play at The New Friarage, West View Road in Hartlepool. The club play in Durham/Northumberland 1, the seventh tier of the English rugby union system after being relegated from North One East at ...
, Hartlepool Athletic RFC, Hartlepool Boys Brigade Old Boys RFC (BBOB), Seaton Carew RUFC (formerly Hartlepool Grammar School Old Boys), West Hartlepool Technical Day School Old Boys RUFC (TDSOB or Tech) and Hartlepool Old Boys' RFC (Hartlepool). Starting in 1904 clubs within of the headland were eligible to compete for the Pyman Cup which has been contested regularly since and that the Hartlepool & District Union continue to organise.
Perhaps the best known club outside the town is
West Hartlepool R.F.C.
West Hartlepool Rugby Football Club (nicknamed West) is an English rugby union club who play in Durham/Northumberland 1 in the seventh tier of the English rugby union system.
History
West Hartlepool Rugby Football Club was formed in 1881.
Of ...
who in 1992 achieved promotion to what is now the
Premiership competing in 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons. This success came at a price as soon after West was then hit by bankruptcy and controversially sold their Brierton Lane stadium and pitch to former sponsor Yuills Homes. There then followed a succession of relegations before the club stabilised in the Durham/Northumberland leagues. West and Rovers continue to play one another in a popular Boxing Day fixture which traditionally draws a large crowd.
Hartlepool Rovers
Hartlepool Rovers F.C. are a rugby union club who play at The New Friarage, West View Road in Hartlepool. The club play in Durham/Northumberland 1, the seventh tier of the English rugby union system after being relegated from North One East at ...
, formed in 1879, who played at the Old Friarage in the Headland area of Hartlepool before moving to West View Road. In the 1890s Rovers supplied numerous county, divisional and international players. The club itself hosted many high-profile matches including the inaugural
Barbarians F.C. match in 1890, the
New Zealand Maoris in 1888 and the legendary
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, ÅŒpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
who played against a combined Hartlepool Club team in 1905. In the 1911–12 season, Hartlepool Rovers broke the world record for the number of points scored in a season racking up 860 points including 122 tries, 87 conversions, five penalties and eleven drop goals.
Although they ceased competing in the RFU leagues in 2008–09, West Hartlepool TDSOB (Tech) continues to support town and County rugby with several of the town's other clubs having played at Grayfields when their own pitches were unavailable. Grayfields has also hosted a number of Durham County cup finals as well as County Under 16, Under 18 and Under 20 age group games.
Olympics
Boxing
At the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, 21-year-old
Savannah Marshall
Savannah Rose Marshall (born 19 May 1991) is a British professional boxer who held the WBO female middleweight title between 2020 and 2022. As an amateur, she became the first British female world champion after securing gold at the 2012 Wo ...
, who attended
English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College in the town of Hartlepool, competed in the Women's boxing tournament of the 2012 Olympic Games. She was defeated 12–6 by
Marina Volnova of
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
in her opening, quarter-final bout.
Savannah Marshall
Savannah Rose Marshall (born 19 May 1991) is a British professional boxer who held the WBO female middleweight title between 2020 and 2022. As an amateur, she became the first British female world champion after securing gold at the 2012 Wo ...
is now a professional boxer, currently unbeaten as a pro and on 31 October 2020 in her 9th professional fight Marshall became the WBO female middleweight champion with a TKO victory over opponent
Hannah Rankin
Hannah Rankin (born 21 July 1990) is a Scottish professional boxer and bassoonist. She has held the WBA female super-welterweight title since November 2021. She has also held the IBO title in 2019 and challenged for the WBA female super-mid ...
at
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...
.
Swimming
In August 2012
Jemma Lowe, a British record holder who attended
High Tunstall College of Science
High Tunstall College of Science (formerly High Tunstall Comprehensive School) is a coeducational secondary school located in the West Park area of Hartlepool, County Durham, England.
History
The school was originally built to amalgamate Har ...
in the town of Hartlepool, competed in the 2012 Olympic Games. She finished sixth in the 200-metre butterfly final with a time of 58.06 seconds. She was also a member of the eighth-place British team in the
400m Medley relay.
Monkeys
Hartlepool is known for allegedly executing a monkey during the Napoleonic Wars. According to legend, fishermen from Hartlepool watched a French warship founder off the coast, and the only survivor was a monkey, which was dressed in French military uniform, presumably to amuse the officers on the ship. The fishermen assumed that this must be what Frenchmen looked like and, after a brief trial, summarily executed the monkey.
Historians have pointed to the prior existence of a Scottish
folk song
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
called "And the Boddamers hung the Monkey-O". It describes how a monkey survived a shipwreck off the village of
Boddam near
Peterhead
Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phà draig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census. ...
in
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...
. Because the villagers could only claim salvage rights if there were no survivors from the wreck, they allegedly hanged the monkey. There is also an English folk song detailing the later event called, appropriately enough, "The Hartlepool Monkey". In the English version the monkey is hanged as a French spy.
"
Monkey hanger
"Monkey hanger" is a colloquial nickname by which people from the town of Hartlepool, England are sometimes known.
Origin of the name
According to local folklore, the term originates from a likely apocryphal incident in which a monkey was Han ...
" and Chimp Choker are common terms of (semi-friendly) abuse aimed at "Poolies", often from footballing rivals
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
. The mascot of
Hartlepool United F.C. is ''
H'Angus
H'Angus the Monkey is the official mascot of Hartlepool United. The name "H'Angus" is a pun of the word hang and the name Angus, and is derived from the monkey hanger legend of Hartlepool. The mascot made his debut on 31 October 1999, during Ha ...
the monkey''. The man in the monkey costume,
Stuart Drummond, stood for the post of mayor in 2002 as H'angus the monkey, and campaigned on a platform which included free bananas for schoolchildren. To widespread surprise, he won, becoming the first
directly elected mayor of Hartlepool, winning 7,400 votes with a 52% share of the vote and a turnout of 30%. He was re-elected by a landslide in 2005, winning 16,912 on a turnout of 51% – 10,000 votes more than his nearest rival, the Labour Party candidate.
The monkey legend is also linked with two of the town's sports clubs,
Hartlepool Rovers
Hartlepool Rovers F.C. are a rugby union club who play at The New Friarage, West View Road in Hartlepool. The club play in Durham/Northumberland 1, the seventh tier of the English rugby union system after being relegated from North One East at ...
RFC, which uses the hanging monkey as the club logo. Hartlepool (Old Boys) RFC use a hanging monkey kicking a rugby ball as their tie crest.
Notable residents
*
Michael Brown, former
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
footballer
*
Edward Clarke, artist
*
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...
, football manager who lived in the Fens estate in town while manager of
Hartlepools United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
They were founded in 1908 as Har ...
*
John Darwin, convicted fraudster who faked his own death
*
Pete Donaldson
Peter Donaldson (born 30 April 1981) is an English podcaster and radio presenter. He featured on the Danny Wallace Saturday show on Xfm, and the Alex Zane breakfast show and is currently one of the presenters on The Football Ramble, Wrestle M ...
, London radio DJ and podcast host
*
Janick Gers
Janick Robert Gers (; born 27 January 1957) is an English musician who is best known as one of the three guitarists in heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He initially joined to replace Adrian Smith, but remained in the band after Smith rejoined. G ...
, guitarist from British heavy metal band
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
*
Courtney Hadwin
Courtney Hadwin is an English singer-songwriter. She rose to fame by competing prominently on ITV's '' The Voice Kids UK 2017'' and the 13th season of the NBC competition show '' America's Got Talent''.
Early and personal life
She lives in ...
, singer
*
Jack Howe, former
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
international footballer
*
Liam Howe
Liam Coverdale Howe (born 29 September 1974) is an English record producer, musician and songwriter. Since co-founding electronic music band Sneaker Pimps in 1996, he has been a producer for Lana Del Rey, Marina and the Diamonds, FKA Twigs, Ell ...
, music producer and songwriter for several artists and member of the band
Sneaker Pimps
Sneaker Pimps are an English electronic music band, formed in Hartlepool in 1994. They are best known for their debut album, ''Becoming X'' (1996), and its singles " 6 Underground" and "Spin Spin Sugar". The band takes its name from an article ...
*
Saxon Huxley
Ross Cooke (born 1 February 1988) is an English professional wrestler. He is most recently signed to WWE, where he performed on the NXT UK brand under the ring name Saxon Huxley.
Early life
Saxon grew up in Greatham village in Hartlepool, ...
,
WWE NXT UK wrestler
*
Andy Linighan
Andrew Linighan (born 18 June 1962) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender from 1980 until 2000, notably in the Premier League for Arsenal and Crystal Palace.
He also played in the Football League for Hartlepool ...
, former
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
footballer who scored the winning goal in the
1993 FA Cup Final
*
Savannah Marshall
Savannah Rose Marshall (born 19 May 1991) is a British professional boxer who held the WBO female middleweight title between 2020 and 2022. As an amateur, she became the first British female world champion after securing gold at the 2012 Wo ...
, professional boxer
*
Guy Pearce
Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire in England, and raised in Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria in Australia, he started his career portraying Mike Young (Neighbours), Mike Young in ...
, film actor who lived in the town when he was younger as his mother was from the town
*
Narbi Price
Narbi Price born in Hartlepool, UK, in 1979, is a British painter and curator.
Education
Price has a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD) in Fine Art from Newcastle University where he researched the legacy of the Ashington Group painters, he ...
, artist
*
Jack Rowell
Jack Rowell OBE (born 1937) is an English rugby union coach and executive. He is the former coach of Bath and England.
Rugby career Coaching
Between 1978 and 1994 Rowell coached Bath during their ''golden era'', winning eight John Player/Pilki ...
, coached the
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
international rugby team and led them to the semi-final of the
1995 Rugby World Cup
The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country.
The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...
*
Wayne Sleep
Wayne Philip Colin Sleep (born 17 July 1948) is a British dancer, director, choreographer, and actor who appeared on the BBC series '' The Real Marigold on Tour'' and ITV's '' The Real Full Monty''.
Early life
Sleep was born in Plymouth, D ...
, dancer and actor who spent his childhood in the town.
*
Reg Smythe
Reginald Smyth (10 July 1917 – 13 June 1998) was a British cartoonist who created the popular, long-running ''Andy Capp'' comic strip.
Early life and military service
He was born in Hartlepool, County Durham, England, the son of Richa ...
, cartoonist who created
Andy Capp
''Andy Capp'' is a British comic strip created by cartoonist Reg Smythe, seen in the ''Daily Mirror'' and the ''Sunday Mirror'' newspapers since 5 August 1957. Originally a single-panel cartoon, it was later expanded to four panels.
The s ...
*
Jeremy Spencer
Jeremy Cedric Spencer (born 4 July 1948) is a British musician, best known for playing slide guitar and piano in the original line-up of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. A member since Fleetwood Mac's inception in July 1967, he remained with the ...
, guitarist who was in the original
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...
line-up
*
Jeff Stelling
Robert Jeffrey Stelling (born 18 March 1955) is an English television presenter. He currently presents '' Gillette Soccer Saturday'' for Sky Sports and hosted coverage of the Champions League between 2011 and 2015.
He also presented the Chann ...
, TV presenter, famous for hosting
Gillette Soccer Saturday
Local media
*
Hartlepool Life
''Hartlepool Life'' is the free weekly newspaper for Hartlepool in County Durham, England. ''Hartlepool Life'' distributes the newspaper each Wednesday, and the majority of its news articles are "positive" stories about the town of Hartlepool a ...
- local free newspaper
*
Hartlepool Mail
The ''Hartlepool Mail'' is a newspaper serving Hartlepool, England and the surrounding area. As of December 2021, it has an average daily circulation of 1,570.
History
The paper was founded in Hartlepool in 1877 as ''The Northern Daily Mail'' a ...
– local newspaper
*
BBC Radio Tees
BBC Radio Tees is the BBC's local radio station serving the former county of Cleveland which comprises the unitary authorities of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV an ...
–
BBC local radio
BBC Local Radio (also referred to as Local BBC Radio) is the BBC's local and regional radio division for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of forty stations.
History
The popularity of pirate radio was to challenge a change within ...
station
*
Radio Hartlepool –
Community radio
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular ...
station serving the town
*
Hartlepool Post – on-line publication
Town twinning
Hartlepool is
twinned with:
*
Sète
Sète (; oc, Seta, ), also historically spelt ''Cette'' (official until 1928) and ''Sette'', is a commune in the Hérault department, in the region of Occitania, southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sétois'' (male) and ''Sétoises' ...
, France
*
Hückelhoven
Hückelhoven (; li, Hukkelhaove ) is a town in the district of Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the river Rur, approx. 10 km east of Heinsberg, 20 km south-west of Mönchengladbach and approx. 15 km ...
, Germany (since 1973)
*
Muskegon, Michigan
Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expa ...
*
Sliema
Sliema ( mt, Tas-Sliema ) is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Districts of Malta#Northern Harbour District, Northern Harbour District. It is a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, a ...
, Malta
*
Novovolynsk
Novovolynsk ( uk, ÐововолинÑьк) is a city in Volyn Oblast, Ukraine. Novovolynsk, together with the urban-type settlement of Blahodatne, Volyn Oblast, Blahodatne (until 2016 Zhovtneve), is incorporated as Novovolynsk urban hromada, Nov ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
Climate
Hartlepool has an
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
typical of Great Britain. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb"(Marine West Coast Climate).
References
External links
Official Websiteof the
Borough of Hartlepool
* Tide times for Hartlepool from th
BBCEasytidean
Tidetimes
{{Authority control
Towns in County Durham
Places in the Tees Valley
Populated coastal places in County Durham
Populated places established in the 7th century
Unparished areas in County Durham
Borough of Hartlepool