diamond geezer

 Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Gadabout: HARTLEPOOL

Hartlepool is a port town in County Durham, eight miles up the coast from Middlesbrough. Technically it's two towns, the extremely old one on the headland and the Victorian industrial new town across the docks, but since 1967 they've been administratively united as one. Like Sunderland it was once famous for docks and shipbuilding but has since had to reinvent itself, arguably less successfully, and in the 1980s had the highest unemployment rate in the country. But if you fancy a 4-bed detached house for £249,000, enjoy the marina life and like monkeys it could be the town for you. I was definitely intrigued, and as the first stop on my homebound train from Sunderland it seemed only right to alight and explore... [Visit Hartlepool] [23 photos]



I don't think the town gets many tourists because the Hartlepool Art Gallery and Tourist Information Centre is almost all art and barely any information. It's based inside Christ Church, once the liturgical centrepiece of West Hartlepool, now somewhat adrift in an oval piazza overlooked by the town's Wetherspoons and an Irish bar. I enjoyed what art there was, deigned not to join in with the craft activities in the chancel, and spent about half my visit giving answers to increasingly intrusive questions asked by a steward with a tablet. The two gentlemen depicted in the statues to either side are Ralph Ward Jackson (a coal-trading entrepreneur who bought the local sand dunes in 1839) and William Gray (owner of the largest Victorian shipyard), both of whom contributed significantly to the growth of the town.



Church Street was one of Ralph's and, judging by its width, would originally have been the town's commercial centrepiece. It very much isn't today, indeed as I walked down the mostly shuttered street I couldn't decide if was essentially dead or whether it was the socially essential quarter that 'came alive at night'. A gorgeous ex-pub - vacant. A cornerstone former bank - vacant. The original department store - a nightclub topped by student accommodation. The council had clearly tried to smarten up the street, and mostly succeeded, but you can't fight the forces of post-millennial commercial decline.



I hunted for a replacement shopping street elsewhere but everything was a bit subdued for a town the size of St Albans. Instead it seems everything retail's been subsumed into the slablike warren of the Middleton Grange mall, an overoptimistic redevelopment project from the 1960s that's now a very Iceland/Poundland/Primark/New Look/B&M kind of place. Outside I found the civic hub, which is an oversized war memorial opposite a 1970s brick town hall, but the only bustle was teenagers hanging out or pensioners heading home. The splendid Edwardian railway hotel has survived, the well-named Grand, and the derelict Wesleyan chapel is finally being renovated into a boutique hideaway for guests with above-average spending power. But I never really found a heart to Hartlepool, which is sadly ironic, and also hinted that all the best stuff must be elsewhere.



Hartlepool is very proud of its enormous marina and has been since 1993 when the Queen sailed in on the royal barge and opened it. It was originally the town docks and home to William Gray's mega-shipyard, surrounded by graving docks, warehouses, timber yards and a ridiculous number of railway tracks splaying out alongside lines of cranes. These days a horseshoe of offices and low flats rings the perimeter, small boats bob in the centre and a single stone column rises as a beacon to the old days. What brings modern punters is the lengthy strip of cafes, bars and restaurants on the far side, confirming that Church Street is no longer where it's at, and what perhaps keeps them away is the cost of parking. A complete circuit would be just over a mile, including a crossing of the lock gates at the entrance to the harbour.



A statue by the lock gates remembers the town's most unlikely mascot, a hanged monkey. An apocryphal tale from the Napoleonic wars tells how townsfolk found a uniformed monkey on the beach after a shipwreck and in their ignorance assumed it was a French spy, then when it refused to answer their questions hung it from a noose. This incident has provided generations of townsfolk with a derogatory nickname - monkey hanger - especially when hurled by supporters of an opposing football team. That said, Hartlepool FC's monkey mascot had the last laugh when the man inside the costume became the town's first elected mayor in 2002, and did such a good job that he was re-elected twice. The role was then abolished.



The marina is also home to Hartlepool's chief tourist attraction, The National Museum of the Royal Navy. It's not the main one in Portsmouth, it's the RN's other outpost, but it does boast Europe's oldest floating warship, a Horrible Histories exhibition and a recreated 18th century dockside. I arrived half an hour before closing time so it wasn't worth paying £12 to board HMS Trincomalee, but I was able to walk through the opposite door for free to tour the adjacent Museum of Hartlepool. It's been here since 1994 and blimey it looks it, a tired set of boards intermingled with oversized objects, malfunctioning buttons and occasional display cases. Local families were making the best of the child-friendly elements but I was back outside well before closing time, and you get what you pay for.



To end my visit I headed to the old town, now called Headland because that's where it's located. Were it not for the town's current docks it'd be a fairly short walk but they seriously get in the way so I took the bus. The headland's been settled since the 7th century, originally with a double monastery on a low hill looking out to sea lest there be Vikings. Its first abbess Hieu may be England's earliest recorded female boss, and its second abbess Hilda soon moved on to greater things at Whitby Abbey. In its place came St Hilda's church, a familiar sight on the Hartlepool skyline, which I was fortunate to visit in the right slot on the right Saturday afternoon so found it open. It's an Early English gem inside and also staffed by friendly volunteers who made sure to show me the pin-sharp 8th century namestone by the chapel and the herringbone-edged Norman arch in the porch. For centuries this used to be the main entrance, said the guide, but it's too cramped for a ramp so now everyone enters via the back of the Galilee Chapel.



Until the 19th century the entire town of Hartlepool, then more a fishing village, was tucked out here on the headland. You can still see part of the 14th century town walls along the waterside at Fish Sands, and descend a staircase through the Sandwell Gate to the beach if the tide's out. It's a particularly lovely spot an hour before sunset as golden beams illuminate the fine houses and pubs on the promenade, and was a treasured escape for many a local family, hence the remains of a bathing pool and paddling pool by the breakwater. Look out here for the jolly statue of Andy Capp, the fat-nosed layabout cartoon character created for the Daily Mirror by Hartlepool resident Reg Smythe... yes obviously depicted with a pint in hand.



At the far end of the headland is Heugh Battery, a former gun emplacement which is the site of the UK's only First World War battlefield. The date was 16 December 1914 and the Durham gunners at the battery found themselves engaging with a fleet of German battle cruisers, one of which managed to fire a shell killing a soldier on land. The site is now preserved as a small museum open four days a week, plus the inevitable Poppy Tea Rooms, with a "Pay What You Decide" policy on entry. The Heugh lighthouse lies outside the perimeter (it's still functional), as do the gardens where the WW1 memorial is topped by a garlanded representation of youth. It's an evocative spot and must be doubly so on Armistice Day, confirming that the best way to enjoy Hartlepool is to aim for its historic tip not its post-industrial heart.



» 50 photos of sunny Hartlepool and Sunderland
» 23 of Hartlepool + 27 of Sunderland


click for Older Posts >>


click to return to the main page


...or read more in my monthly archives
Jan25  Feb25
Jan24  Feb24  Mar24  Apr24  May24  Jun24  Jul24  Aug24  Sep24  Oct24  Nov24  Dec24
Jan23  Feb23  Mar23  Apr23  May23  Jun23  Jul23  Aug23  Sep23  Oct23  Nov23  Dec23
Jan22  Feb22  Mar22  Apr22  May22  Jun22  Jul22  Aug22  Sep22  Oct22  Nov22  Dec22
Jan21  Feb21  Mar21  Apr21  May21  Jun21  Jul21  Aug21  Sep21  Oct21  Nov21  Dec21
Jan20  Feb20  Mar20  Apr20  May20  Jun20  Jul20  Aug20  Sep20  Oct20  Nov20  Dec20
Jan19  Feb19  Mar19  Apr19  May19  Jun19  Jul19  Aug19  Sep19  Oct19  Nov19  Dec19
Jan18  Feb18  Mar18  Apr18  May18  Jun18  Jul18  Aug18  Sep18  Oct18  Nov18  Dec18
Jan17  Feb17  Mar17  Apr17  May17  Jun17  Jul17  Aug17  Sep17  Oct17  Nov17  Dec17
Jan16  Feb16  Mar16  Apr16  May16  Jun16  Jul16  Aug16  Sep16  Oct16  Nov16  Dec16
Jan15  Feb15  Mar15  Apr15  May15  Jun15  Jul15  Aug15  Sep15  Oct15  Nov15  Dec15
Jan14  Feb14  Mar14  Apr14  May14  Jun14  Jul14  Aug14  Sep14  Oct14  Nov14  Dec14
Jan13  Feb13  Mar13  Apr13  May13  Jun13  Jul13  Aug13  Sep13  Oct13  Nov13  Dec13
Jan12  Feb12  Mar12  Apr12  May12  Jun12  Jul12  Aug12  Sep12  Oct12  Nov12  Dec12
Jan11  Feb11  Mar11  Apr11  May11  Jun11  Jul11  Aug11  Sep11  Oct11  Nov11  Dec11
Jan10  Feb10  Mar10  Apr10  May10  Jun10  Jul10  Aug10  Sep10  Oct10  Nov10  Dec10 
Jan09  Feb09  Mar09  Apr09  May09  Jun09  Jul09  Aug09  Sep09  Oct09  Nov09  Dec09
Jan08  Feb08  Mar08  Apr08  May08  Jun08  Jul08  Aug08  Sep08  Oct08  Nov08  Dec08
Jan07  Feb07  Mar07  Apr07  May07  Jun07  Jul07  Aug07  Sep07  Oct07  Nov07  Dec07
Jan06  Feb06  Mar06  Apr06  May06  Jun06  Jul06  Aug06  Sep06  Oct06  Nov06  Dec06
Jan05  Feb05  Mar05  Apr05  May05  Jun05  Jul05  Aug05  Sep05  Oct05  Nov05  Dec05
Jan04  Feb04  Mar04  Apr04  May04  Jun04  Jul04  Aug04  Sep04  Oct04  Nov04  Dec04
Jan03  Feb03  Mar03  Apr03  May03  Jun03  Jul03  Aug03  Sep03  Oct03  Nov03  Dec03
 Jan02  Feb02  Mar02  Apr02  May02  Jun02  Jul02 Aug02  Sep02  Oct02  Nov02  Dec02 

jack of diamonds
Life viewed from London E3

» email me
» follow me on twitter
» follow the blog on Twitter
» follow the blog on RSS

» my flickr photostream

twenty blogs
our bow
arseblog
ian visits
londonist
broken tv
blue witch
on london
the great wen
edith's streets
spitalfields life
linkmachinego
round the island
wanstead meteo
christopher fowler
the greenwich wire
bus and train user
ruth's coastal walk
round the rails we go
london reconnections
from the murky depths

quick reference features
Things to do in Outer London
Things to do outside London
London's waymarked walks
Inner London toilet map
20 years of blog series
The DG Tour of Britain
London's most...

read the archive
Feb25  Jan25
Dec24  Nov24  Oct24  Sep24
Aug24  Jul24  Jun24  May24
Apr24  Mar24  Feb24  Jan24
Dec23  Nov23  Oct23  Sep23
Aug23  Jul23  Jun23  May23
Apr23  Mar23  Feb23  Jan23
Dec22  Nov22  Oct22  Sep22
Aug22  Jul22  Jun22  May22
Apr22  Mar22  Feb22  Jan22
Dec21  Nov21  Oct21  Sep21
Aug21  Jul21  Jun21  May21
Apr21  Mar21  Feb21  Jan21
Dec20  Nov20  Oct20  Sep20
Aug20  Jul20  Jun20  May20
Apr20  Mar20  Feb20  Jan20
Dec19  Nov19  Oct19  Sep19
Aug19  Jul19  Jun19  May19
Apr19  Mar19  Feb19  Jan19
Dec18  Nov18  Oct18  Sep18
Aug18  Jul18  Jun18  May18
Apr18  Mar18  Feb18  Jan18
Dec17  Nov17  Oct17  Sep17
Aug17  Jul17  Jun17  May17
Apr17  Mar17  Feb17  Jan17
Dec16  Nov16  Oct16  Sep16
Aug16  Jul16  Jun16  May16
Apr16  Mar16  Feb16  Jan16
Dec15  Nov15  Oct15  Sep15
Aug15  Jul15  Jun15  May15
Apr15  Mar15  Feb15  Jan15
Dec14  Nov14  Oct14  Sep14
Aug14  Jul14  Jun14  May14
Apr14  Mar14  Feb14  Jan14
Dec13  Nov13  Oct13  Sep13
Aug13  Jul13  Jun13  May13
Apr13  Mar13  Feb13  Jan13
Dec12  Nov12  Oct12  Sep12
Aug12  Jul12  Jun12  May12
Apr12  Mar12  Feb12  Jan12
Dec11  Nov11  Oct11  Sep11
Aug11  Jul11  Jun11  May11
Apr11  Mar11  Feb11  Jan11
Dec10  Nov10  Oct10  Sep10
Aug10  Jul10  Jun10  May10
Apr10  Mar10  Feb10  Jan10
Dec09  Nov09  Oct09  Sep09
Aug09  Jul09  Jun09  May09
Apr09  Mar09  Feb09  Jan09
Dec08  Nov08  Oct08  Sep08
Aug08  Jul08  Jun08  May08
Apr08  Mar08  Feb08  Jan08
Dec07  Nov07  Oct07  Sep07
Aug07  Jul07  Jun07  May07
Apr07  Mar07  Feb07  Jan07
Dec06  Nov06  Oct06  Sep06
Aug06  Jul06  Jun06  May06
Apr06  Mar06  Feb06  Jan06
Dec05  Nov05  Oct05  Sep05
Aug05  Jul05  Jun05  May05
Apr05  Mar05  Feb05  Jan05
Dec04  Nov04  Oct04  Sep04
Aug04  Jul04  Jun04  May04
Apr04  Mar04  Feb04  Jan04
Dec03  Nov03  Oct03  Sep03
Aug03  Jul03  Jun03  May03
Apr03  Mar03  Feb03  Jan03
Dec02  Nov02  Oct02  Sep02
back to main page

the diamond geezer index
2024 2023 2022
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

my special London features
a-z of london museums
E3 - local history month
greenwich meridian (N)
greenwich meridian (S)
the real eastenders
london's lost rivers
olympic park 2007
great british roads
oranges & lemons
random boroughs
bow road station
high street 2012
river westbourne
trafalgar square
capital numbers
east london line
lea valley walk
olympics 2005
regent's canal
square routes
silver jubilee
unlost rivers
cube routes
Herbert Dip
metro-land
capital ring
river fleet
piccadilly
bakerloo

ten of my favourite posts
the seven ages of blog
my new Z470xi mobile
five equations of blog
the dome of doom
chemical attraction
quality & risk
london 2102
single life
boredom
april fool

ten sets of lovely photos
my "most interesting" photos
london 2012 olympic zone
harris and the hebrides
betjeman's metro-land
marking the meridian
tracing the river fleet
london's lost rivers
inside the gherkin
seven sisters
iceland

just surfed in?
here's where to find...
diamond geezers
flash mob #1  #2  #3  #4
ben schott's miscellany
london underground
watch with mother
cigarette warnings
digital time delay
wheelie suitcases
war of the worlds
transit of venus
top of the pops
old buckenham
ladybird books
acorn antiques
digital watches
outer hebrides
olympics 2012
school dinners
pet shop boys
west wycombe
bletchley park
george orwell
big breakfast
clapton pond
san francisco
thunderbirds
routemaster
children's tv
east enders
trunk roads
amsterdam
little britain
credit cards
jury service
big brother
jubilee line
number 1s
titan arum
typewriters
doctor who
coronation
comments
blue peter
matchgirls
hurricanes
buzzwords
brookside
monopoly
peter pan
starbucks
feng shui
leap year
manbags
bbc three
vision on
piccadilly
meridian
concorde
wembley
islington
ID cards
bedtime
freeview
beckton
blogads
eclipses
letraset
arsenal
sitcoms
gherkin
calories
everest
muffins
sudoku
camilla
london
ceefax
robbie
becks
dome
BBC2
paris
lotto
118
itv