St Hildas Church is the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of Hartlepool, County Durham,

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 ...

. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

as a designated Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The church is located in the older part of Hartlepool commonly referred to as the Headland formerly,

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 ...

. It is one of the many visible buildings on Hartlepools skyline. Clifton-Taylor includes it in his list of "best" English

es and describes it as "a glory of Early English architecture in its earliest and purest phase" and as an "architectural gem". The tower contains three bells hung for change ringing, all cast in 1819 by Thomas II Mears, however these are considered 'unringable' as the tower is thought to be too weak to deal with the forces associated with change ringing.

References

;Bibliography *

External links

Church website
Hartlepool Hartlepool Buildings and structures in Hartlepool {{Durham-struct-stub