Hartlepool
Encyclopedia
Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England
.
It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbria
n monastery
of Hartlepool Abbey
. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham
. A railway link from the north was established from the South Durham coal fields to the historic town. An additional link from the south, in 1835, together with a new port, resulted in further expansion, with the establishing of the new town of West Hartlepool
. Industrialisation and the establishing of a shipbuilding industry during the later part of the 19th century caused Hartlepool to be a target for the German Navy at the beginning of the First World War. A bombardment of 1150 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 have seen a rise in the town's prospects.
Hartlepool is within the unitary authority area of the Borough of Hartlepool
, for ceremonial purposes part of County Durham
; it was a major component of the short-lived County of Cleveland.
s seen, and pol, "pool". Records of the place-name from early sources confirm this:
Hart is the Old English name for a stag or deer which appears on the town's crest and le pool meant by the sea, people moved here to hunt where there were deer by the sea and eventually settled there. The petrified forest below the sea provides proof that hart (deer) did once live in a forest by the sea.
(8 miles): Darlington
(25); Durham
(17); Middlesbrough
(12); Newcastle upon Tyne
(30); Peterlee
(8); Seaham
(17); Sedgefield
(13); Stockton-on-Tees
(10) and Sunderland (21). The monument at Eston Nab
can be seen, beyond the far side of the Tees Bay, to the south.
left England, the east coast began to be raided by Anglo-Saxons
. They then settled in the area, creating what is today Northumbria
. Hartlepool began as an Anglian
settlement, but was founded as a village in the 7th century AD, springing up around Hartlepool Abbey
, founded in 640 on a headland overlooking a natural harbour. Founded by St Aidan, the monastery became famous under St Hilda, who served as its abbess
from 649-657. But it fell into decline and was probably destroyed by the Vikings in 800. In March 2000, the Time Team
archaeological investigation television programme located a lost Anglo-Saxon monastery in the grounds of St Hilda's Church.
After Norman conquest of 1066, the De Brus family gained ownership of the lands surrounding Hartlepool. William the Conqueror built Durham Castle
and brought stability to the area, and the villages were first mentioned in records in 1153 when Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale
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 time of the Middle Ages
, Hartlepool had grown into an important (though still small) town, gaining a market. A major part of the reason for growth was that its harbour was improved to serve as the official port of the County palatine of Durham
. The main trade developed as fishing, making Hartlepool one of the major ports in the east of the UK. In 1306, Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scotland, and became the last Lord of Hartness. Angered, King Edward I confiscated the title to Hartlepool, and began to improve the towns defences. But in 1315, before they were completed, the Scots
under Sir James Douglas
attacked and sacked the town. The town recovered, with a pier built in the late 15th century. Occupied by Scots who supported the roundhead
s during the English Civil War
, they were replaced by English troops after 18months.
Hartlepool established gun emplacements and defences in 1795 to repel a possible French
invasion. The later Crimean War
revived the idea of protection from seaborne attack, and two batteries were built close together, the lighthouse battery in 1855 and the Heugh Battery
in 1859. The town had medicinal springs, particularly the chalybeate
spa near the Westgate. Thomas Gray
the famous poet ('Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
') visited in July 1765 to take the waters, and wrote to his friend Dr Wharton:
A few weeks later, he wrote in greater detail:
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
. It was in this endeavour that Isambard Kingdom Brunel
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. 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) to the north, the Marquis of Londonderry had approved the creation of the new Seaham Harbour (opened July 31, 1831), while to the south the Clarence Railway
connected Stockton-on-Tees
and Billingham
to a new port at Port Clarence
(opened 1833). Further south again, in 1831 the Stockton and Darlington Railway
had extended into the new port of Middlesbrough
.
The council agreed the formation of the Hartlepool Dock and Railway Company to extend the existing port by developing new docks, and link to both local collierys and the developing railway network in the south. In 1833, it was agreed that Christopher Tennant of Yarm
establish the HD&RCo, having previously opened the Clarence Railway. 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.
But 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 southwest, and established West Hartlepool
. Jackson was so successful in the century at shipping coal from West Hartlepool through is West Hartlepool Dock and Railway Company, and the fact that as technology developed ships grew in size and scale, that the new town would eventually dwarf the old town.
The 8 acre (0.03237488 km²) West Hartlepool Harbour and Dock opened on June 1, 1847. On June 1, 1852 the 14 acre (0.05665604 km²) Jackson dock opened on the same day that a railway opened connecting West Hartlepool to Leeds
, Manchester
and Liverpool
. This allowed the shipping of coal and wool products east, and the shipping of fresh fish and raw fleeces west, enabling another growth spurt in the town. This resulted in the opening of the Swainson Dock on June 3, 1856, named after Ward Jackson’s father-in-law. In 1878 the William Gray & Co ship yard 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 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.
In 1891, the two towns had a combined population of 64,000. But by 1900 the two Hartlepools were one of the four busiest ports in the country, and West Hartlepool had a population of 63,000.
The modern town represents a joining together of "Old Hartlepool", locally known as the "Headland", and West Hartlepool
. What was West Hartlepool
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
teams still proudly retain the name (See Sports below)
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 renaming itself Hartlepool United in the 1970s. Many fans of the club still refer to the team as "Pools".
The area became heavily industrialised with an ironworks
(established 1838) and shipyard
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. One of the first German offensives against Britain was the Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby
on the morning of 16 December 1914, when units of the Imperial German Navy
bombarded Hartlepool, West Hartlepool, Whitby
and Scarborough. Hartlepool was hit with a total of 1150 shells, killing 117 people.
Two coastal defence batteries at Hartlepool returned fire, firing 143 shells, 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, who fell as a result of this bombardment, is sometimes described as the first military casualty on British soil since the English Civil War. This event (the death of the first soldiers on British soil) is commemorated by a 1921 memorial in Redheugh Gardens 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 cartouches 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.
An attempt by the German High Command to repeat the attack a month later led to the Battle of Dogger Bank
on 24 January 1915 at which the Blücher was sunk. During World War II, RAF Greatham
(also known as RAF West Hartlepool) was located on the current South British Steel
Works. Hartlepudlians voluntarily subscribed more money per head to the war effort than any other town in Britain.
Hartlepool suffered badly in the Great Depression
of the 1930s and suffered high unemployment until the start of the Second World War, during which its shipbuilding and steel-making industries enjoyed a renaissance. Most of its output for the war effort were "Empire Ships". German bombers raided the town 43 times. After the war, both industries 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 [of England]...I would live near Hartlepool. If I had the luck". There was a boost to the retail sector in 1969 when Middleton Grange Shopping Centre
was opened by Princess Anne
, with over 130 new shops including Marks & Spencer
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 British Steel
announced the closure of its Hartlepool steelworks with the loss of 1500 jobs. By the 1980s the area was affected by unemployment figures of over 30 per cent, the highest in the country. 630 jobs at British Steel were lost in 1983. A series of major investment projects in the 1990s revived the town centre with a new marina
, rehabilitation of derelict land, the indoor conversion to modernise Middleton Grange Shopping Centre
from the 1960s brutalist architecture, the Historic Quay regeneration, and the construction of much new housing.
by one Member of Parliament
. The current MP for the Hartlepool constituency is Iain Wright
of the Labour Party
. He was first elected in a by-election on 30 September 2004
with a much-reduced majority following an 18% swing to the Liberal Democrats. He retained the seat with a greatly increased majority in the 2005 general election
, and was re-elected in the 2010 general election, which saw a substantial drop in the Liberal Democratic and smaller drop in the Labour votes, but left Wright with half-again the votes accorded the second-place (Tory) candidate.
Former Members of Parliament
for Hartlepool since 1945 have been:
Mandelson resigned to take up a role in the European Commission
. On 13 October 2008 he was created Baron Mandelson of Foy
and Hartlepool following his appointment as Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in the British Government.
. Prior to 1974, it was under the jurisdiction of the Durham Constabulary
.
s: Dyke House Sports and Technology College, English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College
, High Tunstall College of Science
, Manor College of Technology
, and St Hilda'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
programme, but this was cancelled because of government spending cuts.
Hartlepool College of Further Education
is an educational establishment located in the centre of the town, and existed in various forms for well over a century. but the current campus was built in the 1960s. This building are set to be replaced with a new £52million custom-designed building; the new campus was approved in principle July 2008, and construction is now nearing completion.
Hartlepool also has its own specialist sixth form college, Hartlepool Sixth Form College
. A former grammar and comprehensive school, the college provides a number of AS and A2 Level courses for students across the town.
A campus of Cleveland College of Art & Design, the only remaining specialist art and design college in the North East in either of the Further
or Higher Education
sectors, is located in Hartlepool, alongside the Art Gallery in Church Square. The College has two further sites, both in nearby Middlesbrough.
employ around 350 people in the manufacture of steel tubes, predominantly for the oil industry. Within the greater docks development, Able UK
are a leading maritime recycler, which in the Teesside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre (TERRC), owns and operates the largest purpose-designed facility for recycling redundant marine structures. TERRC dismantled 13 former US Naval Ghost fleet vessels in 2003, and in February, 2009, decommissioned the French Navy
aircraft carrier
Clemenceau
. Able UK run the largest dry dock
in Europe just outside the town.
Hartlepool nuclear power station is an advanced gas-cooled reactor
(AGR) type nuclear power plant opened near Hartlepool in the 1980s. It is the single largest employer in the town, employing 1 per cent of the town's working age people. If it is agreed to build a new plant on the site, it is forecast that 12,000 construction jobs, 5,000 operational jobs, and 1,000 manufacturing jobs would be created.
The chemicals industry is important to the local economy. Companies include Huntsman Corporation, who produce titanium dioxide
for use in paints, Omya
, Baker Hughes
and Frutarom
.
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 around the Maritime Experience
, and the supporting exhibits PS Wingfield Castle
and HMS Trincomalee
.
Camerons Brewery
was founded in 1852 and currently employs around 85 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
plant. It brews a range of cask
and bottled beers, most famously Strongarm, a 4% abv
bitter
. The brewery is heavily engaged in contract brewing such beers as Kronenbourg 1664, John Smith's 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
, the site was closed down in 2009.
Middleton Grange Shopping Centre
is the main shopping location. 2800 people are employed in retail. The ten major retail companies in the town are Tesco
, Morrisons
, Asda
, B&Q
, Next, Argos
, Marks & Spencer
, Aldi
, Boots
and Matalan
. Aside from the local sports clubs, other local entertainment venues include a VUE Cinema
, Mecca Bingo and UK Super Bowl.
and the A689 road
, both linking the town to the A19 road
. The A179 road
is the main road to the north west which leads to the A19 road
, Durham
and Tyneside
. The A689 road
is the main road to the south west towards the A19 & Billingham
, Stockton
, Middlesbrough
and York
. The A178 road
leads south to Seaton Carew
, Graythorpe
, Seal Sands
, Port Clarence
and Middlesbrough
via the Transporter bridge
. The A1086 road
leads north to Crimdon
, Blackhall
, Horden
and Easington
.
and Seaton Carew
railway stations, both of which lie on the Durham Coast Line
with hourly services to Sunderland
, Newcastle
and Middlesbrough
, which are operated by Northern Rail
. A service to London from Sunderland, operated by Grand Central that uses Class 43
and Class 180
trains capable of 125 miles per hour (201.2 km/h) operates from the former of the two stations. The service marks the first time in 15 years that Hartlepool has had a direct rail link with London.
.
The Stagecoach Group
and Tees Valley travel operate services from Hartlepool to Billingham
, Stockton
and Middlesbrough
. Other services are provided by Arriva
and Go North East
from Hartlepool to Peterlee
, Durham
, Dalton Park
, Seaham
, Hetton-le-Hole
, Houghton-le-Spring
, Sunderland, Washington
, Gateshead
and Newcastle
.
Now owned by PD Ports, the docks are still in use today and still capable of handling vessels of virtually all shapes and sizes. However, the capacity of the docks is now a fraction of what it once was, as after years of industrial downturn, a large portion of the former dockland was converted into a Superior 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 being determined by a lock, and visitors are always welcome to lay over and enjoy the hospitality of the town.
Hartlepool also has a permanent RNLI lifeboat station.
typical to the United Kingdom.
. They won promotion to League One for the 2007–08 season. Their first season back in League One, after a brief absence, they finished 15th. In December 2008, the club parted company with manager Danny Wilson. The club's most famous day, was back in 2005, just 8 minutes away from England's 2nd tier, Championship
, when Chris Westwood gave away a penalty and Sheffield Wednesday pipped Hartlepool to a place in the Championship
. The 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.
are more commonly known as "West" play in National League 3 North which is the 5th tier of the national league structure. In the mid-1990s, West were the pride of North East rugby union
(as were Newcastle Gosforth), and played in what is now the Guinness Premiership
. West were then hit by bankruptcy and controversially sold their Brierton Lane stadium. There then followed a succession of relegations as professional players deserted the club, leaving West to pay off their debts which was a consequence of the clubs ambitious pursuit of professionalism.
Hartlepool Rovers
play in the Durham/Northumberland 1
division are the 3rd best team with Hartlepool RFC coming in 2nd behind West. Other clubs include, Hartlepool BBOB, Hartlepool Athletic & Seaton Carew.
West Hartlepool TDSOB (Tech) folded last year due to a high number of players leaving, the majority of which now play for either West or Rovers.
. The town welcomed up to 125 tall ship
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
in Norway on the second and final leg of the race.
Although a popular story, it seems unlikely to be true. Historians have also pointed to the prior existence of a Scottish folk song called "And the Boddamers hung the Monkey-O". It describes how a monkey survived a shipwreck off the village of Boddam
near Peterhead
in Aberdeenshire. Because the villagers could only claim salvage rights if there were no survivors from the wreck, they allegedly hanged the monkey.
"Monkey hanger
" and Chimp Choker are common terms of (semi-friendly) abuse aimed at "Poolies", often from bitter footballing rivals Darlington
. The mascot of Hartlepool United F.C.
is H'Angus
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 another of the town's sports clubs, Hartlepool Rovers
RFC, which uses the hanging monkey as the club logo. On tours it would hang a monkey on the posts of the rugby pitch to spread the story.
In June 2005, a large bone was found washed ashore on Hartlepool beach by a local resident, which initially was taken as giving credence to the monkey legend. Analysis revealed the bone to be that of a red deer
which had died 6,000 years ago. The bone is now in the collections of Hartlepool Museum Service.
In 2008, a novel
based on the legend called The Hartlepool Monkey, written by Sean Longley, was published. The novel tells the story of the monkey, named Jacques LeSinge by the French doctor who discovers him, that was supposedly hanged. In the book, the monkey talks and possesses several other human characteristics.
The Hartlepool Monkey also featured prominently in the play Bestiary, written by Jim Burke and broadcast on BBC Radio 4
in 2003.
, Germany Muskegon
, Michigan
Sliema
, Malta
Betty James described how she "found more friendliness in Hartlepool than anywhere else in the North East [of England]".
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
n monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
of Hartlepool Abbey
Hartlepool Abbey
Hartlepool Abbey was a Northumbrian monastery founded in 640 CE by Hieu, the first of the saintly recluses of Northumbria, and Aidan of Lindisfarne, on the Headland Estate of Hartlepool now called the Heugh or Old Hartlepool, in County Durham, England....
. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham
County Palatine of Durham
The County Palatine of Durham was an area in the North of England that was controlled by the Bishop of Durham.-Liberty of Durham:The territory was originally the Liberty of Durham under the control of the Bishop of Durham. The liberty was also known variously as the "Liberty of St Cuthbert's...
. A railway link from the north was established from the South Durham coal fields to the historic town. An additional link from the south, in 1835, together with a new port, resulted in further expansion, with the establishing of the new town of West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool
This article refers to the place; for the Rugby Football Club see West Hartlepool R.F.C.West Hartlepool refers to the western part of the what has since the 1960s been known as the borough of Hartlepool in North East England...
. Industrialisation and the establishing of a shipbuilding industry during the later part of the 19th century caused Hartlepool to be a target for the German Navy at the beginning of the First World War. A bombardment of 1150 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 have seen a rise in the town's prospects.
Hartlepool is within the unitary authority area of the Borough of Hartlepool
Hartlepool (borough)
Hartlepool is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of County Durham, north east England. In 2003 it had a resident population of 90,161. It borders the non-metropolitan county of County Durham to the north, Stockton-on-Tees to the south and Redcar and Cleveland to the south-east along the...
, for ceremonial purposes part of County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
; it was a major component of the short-lived County of Cleveland.
Origins of name
The place name derives from Old English *heort-ieg "hart island", referring to stagSTAG
STAG: A Test of Love is a reality TV show hosted by Tommy Habeeb. Each episode profiles an engaged couple a week or two before their wedding. The cameras then follow the groom on his bachelor party...
s seen, and pol, "pool". Records of the place-name from early sources confirm this:
- 649: Heretu, or Hereteu
- 1017: Herterpol, or Hertelpolle
- 1182: Hierdepol
Hart is the Old English name for a stag or deer which appears on the town's crest and le pool meant by the sea, people moved here to hunt where there were deer by the sea and eventually settled there. The petrified forest below the sea provides proof that hart (deer) did once live in a forest by the sea.
Geography
Nearby towns and cities include: BillinghamBillingham
Billingham is a town in the unitary authority of Stockton on Tees, in north east England, with a population of 35,765 . It was founded circa 650 by a group of Saxons known as Billa's people, which is where the name Billingham is thought to have originated...
(8 miles): Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
(25); Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
(17); Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
(12); Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
(30); Peterlee
Peterlee
Peterlee is a new town in County Durham, England. Founded in 1948, Peterlee town originally mostly housed coal miners and their families.Peterlee has strong economic and community ties with Sunderland and Hartlepool.-Peterlee:...
(8); Seaham
Seaham
Seaham, formerly Seaham Harbour, is a small town in County Durham, situated south of Sunderland and east of Durham. It has a small parish church, St Mary the Virgin, with a late 7th century Anglo Saxon nave resembling the church at Escomb in many respects. St Mary the Virgin is regarded as one of...
(17); Sedgefield
Sedgefield
Sedgefield is a small town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It has a population of 4,534.Sedgefield has attracted particular attention as the Member of Parliament for the wider Sedgefield constituency was the former Prime Minister Tony Blair; he was the area's MP from 1983 to 2008,...
(13); Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
(10) and Sunderland (21). The monument at Eston Nab
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 clear sandstone cliff on the northernmost edge of Eston Moor...
can be seen, beyond the far side of the Tees Bay, to the south.
Early history
After the RomansRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
left England, the east coast began to be raided by Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
. They then settled in the area, creating what is today Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
. Hartlepool began as an Anglian
Angles
The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
settlement, but was founded as a village in the 7th century AD, springing up around Hartlepool Abbey
Hartlepool Abbey
Hartlepool Abbey was a Northumbrian monastery founded in 640 CE by Hieu, the first of the saintly recluses of Northumbria, and Aidan of Lindisfarne, on the Headland Estate of Hartlepool now called the Heugh or Old Hartlepool, in County Durham, England....
, founded in 640 on a headland overlooking a natural harbour. Founded by St Aidan, the monastery became famous under St Hilda, who served as its abbess
Abbess
An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....
from 649-657. But it fell into decline and was probably destroyed by the Vikings in 800. In March 2000, the Time Team
Time Team
Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...
archaeological investigation television programme located a lost Anglo-Saxon monastery in the grounds of St Hilda's Church.
After Norman conquest of 1066, the De Brus family gained ownership of the lands surrounding Hartlepool. William the Conqueror built Durham Castle
Durham Castle
Durham Castle is a Norman castle in the city of Durham, England, which has been wholly occupied since 1840 by University College, Durham. It is open to the general public to visit, but only through guided tours, since it is in use as a working building and is home to over 100 students...
and brought stability to the area, and the villages were first mentioned in records in 1153 when Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale
Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale
Robert I de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale was an early 12th century Norman baron and knight, the first of the Bruce dynasty of Scotland and England...
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 time of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Hartlepool had grown into an important (though still small) town, gaining a market. A major part of the reason for growth was that its harbour was improved to serve as the official port of the County palatine of Durham
County Palatine of Durham
The County Palatine of Durham was an area in the North of England that was controlled by the Bishop of Durham.-Liberty of Durham:The territory was originally the Liberty of Durham under the control of the Bishop of Durham. The liberty was also known variously as the "Liberty of St Cuthbert's...
. The main trade developed as fishing, making Hartlepool one of the major ports in the east of the UK. In 1306, Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scotland, and became the last Lord of Hartness. Angered, King Edward I confiscated the title to Hartlepool, and began to improve the towns defences. But in 1315, before they were completed, the Scots
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
under Sir James Douglas
James Douglas, Lord of Douglas
Sir James Douglas , , was a Scottish soldier and knight who fought in the Scottish Wars of Independence.-Early life:...
attacked and sacked the town. The town recovered, with a pier built in the late 15th century. Occupied by Scots who supported the roundhead
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
s during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, they were replaced by English troops after 18months.
Hartlepool established gun emplacements and defences in 1795 to repel a possible French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
invasion. The later Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
revived the idea of protection from seaborne attack, and two batteries were built close together, the lighthouse battery in 1855 and the Heugh Battery
Heugh Battery
The Heugh Gun Battery is located on the Headland at Hartlepool, County Durham, England.- History :Heugh Battery was one of three erected in 1860 to protect the fast growing port of Hartlepool. Heugh and Lighthouse Battery were placed close by the lighthouse and armed with four and two 68pr...
in 1859. The town had medicinal springs, particularly the chalybeate
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, "chalybs", which follows from the Greek word "khalups"...
spa near the Westgate. Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray was a poet, letter-writer, classical scholar and professor at Cambridge University.-Early life and education:...
the famous poet ('Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is a poem by Thomas Gray, completed in 1750 and first published in 1751. The poem’s origins are unknown, but it was partly inspired by Gray’s thoughts following the death of the poet Richard West in 1742. Originally titled Stanza's Wrote in a Country...
') visited in July 1765 to take the waters, and wrote to his friend Dr Wharton:
A few weeks later, he wrote in greater detail:
19th century
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 TradeBoard of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
decided that the town needed new industry, so the decision was made to propose a new railway to make Hartlepool a coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
port, shipping out minerals from the Durham coalfield
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...
. It was in this endeavour that Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
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. 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) to the north, the Marquis of Londonderry had approved the creation of the new Seaham Harbour (opened July 31, 1831), while to the south the Clarence Railway
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 Bridge.-History:...
connected Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
and Billingham
Billingham
Billingham is a town in the unitary authority of Stockton on Tees, in north east England, with a population of 35,765 . It was founded circa 650 by a group of Saxons known as Billa's people, which is where the name Billingham is thought to have originated...
to a new port at Port Clarence
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 Bridge.-History:...
(opened 1833). Further south again, in 1831 the Stockton and Darlington Railway
Stockton and Darlington Railway
The Stockton and Darlington Railway , which opened in 1825, was the world's first publicly subscribed passenger railway. It was 26 miles long, and was built in north-eastern England between Witton Park and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, and connected to several collieries near Shildon...
had extended into the new port of Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
.
The council agreed the formation of the Hartlepool Dock and Railway Company to extend the existing port by developing new docks, and link to both local collierys and the developing railway network in the south. In 1833, it was agreed that Christopher Tennant of Yarm
Yarm
Yarm is a small town and civil parish in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in North East England. It is on the south bank of the River Tees and for ceremonial purposes is in North Yorkshire...
establish the HD&RCo, having previously opened the Clarence Railway. 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.
But after Tennant died in 1839, the running of the HD&RCo was taken over by Stockton on Tees solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
, Ralph Ward Jackson
Ralph Ward Jackson
Ralph Ward Jackson founded West Hartlepool, England in the nineteenth century. A Conservative, he was elected at the 1868 general election as the first the Member of Parliament for The Hartlepools, but was defeated at the 1874 general election.Ward Jackson Park, which is located on the westerly...
. 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 southwest, and established West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool
This article refers to the place; for the Rugby Football Club see West Hartlepool R.F.C.West Hartlepool refers to the western part of the what has since the 1960s been known as the borough of Hartlepool in North East England...
. Jackson was so successful in the century at shipping coal from West Hartlepool through is West Hartlepool Dock and Railway Company, and the fact that as technology developed ships grew in size and scale, that the new town would eventually dwarf the old town.
The 8 acre (0.03237488 km²) West Hartlepool Harbour and Dock opened on June 1, 1847. On June 1, 1852 the 14 acre (0.05665604 km²) Jackson dock opened on the same day that a railway opened connecting West Hartlepool to Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. This allowed the shipping of coal and wool products east, and the shipping of fresh fish and raw fleeces west, enabling another growth spurt in the town. This resulted in the opening of the Swainson Dock on June 3, 1856, named after Ward Jackson’s father-in-law. In 1878 the William Gray & Co ship yard 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 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.
In 1891, the two towns had a combined population of 64,000. But by 1900 the two Hartlepools were one of the four busiest ports in the country, and West Hartlepool had a population of 63,000.
20th century
West Hartlepool
This article refers to the place; for the Rugby Football Club see West Hartlepool R.F.C.West Hartlepool refers to the western part of the what has since the 1960s been known as the borough of Hartlepool in North East England...
. What was West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool
This article refers to the place; for the Rugby Football Club see West Hartlepool R.F.C.West Hartlepool refers to the western part of the what has since the 1960s been known as the borough of Hartlepool in North East England...
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
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
teams still proudly retain the name (See Sports below)
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 renaming itself Hartlepool United in the 1970s. Many fans of the club still refer to the team as "Pools".
The area became heavily industrialised with an ironworks
Ironworks
An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...
(established 1838) and shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
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. One of the first German offensives against Britain was the Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby
Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby
The raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby, which took place on 16 December 1914, was an attack by the Imperial German Navy on the British seaport towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool, West Hartlepool, and Whitby. The attack resulted in 137 fatalities and 592 casualties, many of which were civilians...
on the morning of 16 December 1914, when units of the Imperial German Navy
Kaiserliche Marine
The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...
bombarded Hartlepool, West Hartlepool, Whitby
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a combined maritime, mineral and tourist heritage, and is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey where Caedmon, the...
and Scarborough. Hartlepool was hit with a total of 1150 shells, killing 117 people.
Two coastal defence batteries at Hartlepool returned fire, firing 143 shells, 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, who fell as a result of this bombardment, is sometimes described as the first military casualty on British soil since the English Civil War. This event (the death of the first soldiers on British soil) is commemorated by a 1921 memorial in Redheugh Gardens 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 cartouches 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.
An attempt by the German High Command to repeat the attack a month later led to the Battle of Dogger Bank
Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)
The Battle of Dogger Bank was a naval battle fought near the Dogger Bank in the North Sea on 24 January 1915, during the First World War, between squadrons of the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet....
on 24 January 1915 at which the Blücher was sunk. During World War II, RAF Greatham
RAF Greatham
RAF Greatham was an RAF base situated in Greatham, County Durham, England.Also known as RAF 'West Hartlepool', was located at Hartlepool and was little more than a grass airstrip, a satellite station of RAF Thornaby. It was home to four of 403 Squadron's Spitfires from 19 June 1942 to 22 January...
(also known as RAF West Hartlepool) was located on the current South British Steel
British Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
Works. Hartlepudlians voluntarily subscribed more money per head to the war effort than any other town in Britain.
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
of the 1930s and suffered high unemployment until the start of the Second World War, during which its shipbuilding and steel-making industries enjoyed a renaissance. Most of its output for the war effort were "Empire Ships". German bombers raided the town 43 times. After the war, both industries 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 [of England]...I would live near Hartlepool. If I had the luck". There was a boost to the retail sector in 1969 when Middleton Grange Shopping Centre
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 27th May 1970. The site of the shopping centre was originally terraced streets until most of them were bombed during World War II....
was opened by Princess Anne
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, with over 130 new shops including Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
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 British Steel
British Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
announced the closure of its Hartlepool steelworks with the loss of 1500 jobs. By the 1980s the area was affected by unemployment figures of over 30 per cent, the highest in the country. 630 jobs at British Steel were lost in 1983. A series of major investment projects in the 1990s revived the town centre with a new marina
Marina
A marina 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 or cargo from freighters....
, rehabilitation of derelict land, the indoor conversion to modernise Middleton Grange Shopping Centre
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 27th May 1970. The site of the shopping centre was originally terraced streets until most of them were bombed during World War II....
from the 1960s brutalist architecture, the Historic Quay regeneration, and the construction of much new housing.
Council
Hartlepool is divided into seventeen wards, each of which elect councillors who make up the borough council.| Brus | Burn Valley | Dyke House | Elwick | Fens |
| Foggy Furze | Grange | Greatham | Hart | Owton |
| Park | Rift House | Rossmere | Seaton | St. Hilda |
| Stranton | Throston |
Members of Parliament
Hartlepool is represented in the House of CommonsBritish House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
by one Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
. The current MP for the Hartlepool constituency is Iain Wright
Iain Wright
Iain David Wright is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Hartlepool since 2004, and was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State with responsibility for apprenticeships and 14-19 reform in the Department for Children, Schools and Families until 11 May...
of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. He was first elected in a by-election on 30 September 2004
Hartlepool by-election, 2004
On 23 July 2004, the Member of Parliament for Hartlepool, in England, Peter Mandelson , was nominated as the United Kingdom's new European Commissioner. On 8 September he accepted the office of Steward of the Manor of Northstead, thereby disqualifying himself from Parliament and causing a by-election...
with a much-reduced majority following an 18% swing to the Liberal Democrats. He retained the seat with a greatly increased majority in the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, and was re-elected in the 2010 general election, which saw a substantial drop in the Liberal Democratic and smaller drop in the Labour votes, but left Wright with half-again the votes accorded the second-place (Tory) candidate.
Former Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Hartlepool since 1945 have been:
- David Thomas JonesDavid Thomas JonesDavid Thomas Jones was a British Labour Party politician.He was elected as Member of Parliament for The Hartlepools at the 1945 general election, and held the seat until his defeat by only 182 votes at the 1959 general election. Left school at 12 after passing Labour examination, started on the...
, Labour (1945–1959) - John Simon KeransJohn Simon KeransCommander John Simon Kerans was an officer in the Royal Navy and later a Conservative Party politician....
, Conservative (1959–1964) - Edward LeadbitterEdward LeadbitterEdward Leadbitter, known as Ted Leadbitter, was a British Labour politician.Leadbitter was a teacher and served as a councillor on West Hartlepool Borough Council....
, Labour (1964–1992) - Peter MandelsonPeter MandelsonPeter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, served in a number of Cabinet positions under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and was a European Commissioner...
, Labour (1992–2004)
Mandelson resigned to take up a role in the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
. On 13 October 2008 he was created Baron Mandelson of Foy
Foy, Herefordshire
Foy is a hamlet and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, north of Ross-on-Wye. The civil parish of Foy includes Hole-in-the-Wall, and Old Gore, within its boundaries. The ward is intersected by the River Wye....
and Hartlepool following his appointment as Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in the British Government.
Emergency services
Hartlepool falls within the jurisdiction of Cleveland PoliceCleveland Police
Cleveland Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the area of former county of Cleveland in north east England. The Cleveland Police area covers approximately and has a population of over 554,000....
. Prior to 1974, it was under the jurisdiction of the Durham Constabulary
Durham Constabulary
Durham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the non-metropolitan county of County Durham and the unitary authority of Darlington. The force covers the 2,232 km² of the county which has a resident population of 595,308. It is one of the smaller forces of the...
.
Education
Hartlepool has five secondary schoolSecondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s: Dyke House Sports and Technology College, English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College
English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College
For the school of the same name in Leicester, see English Martyrs Catholic School.English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College is a secondary school and sixth form college located in Hartlepool. English Martyrs is the only Catholic secondary school in Hartlepool...
, High Tunstall College of Science
High Tunstall College of Science
High Tunstall College of Science is a secondary school in Hartlepool, England.-History:...
, Manor College of Technology
Manor College of Technology
Manor College of Technology is a secondary school in the Owton Manor area of Hartlepool, County Durham. It is a 'coeducational comprehensive' school, and caters for students aged 11–16.- Students :...
, and St Hilda'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
Building Schools for the Future is the name of the previous UK Government's investment programme in secondary school buildings in England. The program is very ambitious in its costs, timescales and objectives, with politicians from all English political parties supportive of the principle but...
programme, but this was cancelled because of government spending cuts.
Hartlepool College of Further Education
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 18 and over.- External links :* * *...
is an educational establishment located in the centre of the town, and existed in various forms for well over a century. but the current campus was built in the 1960s. This building are set to be replaced with a new £52million custom-designed building; the new campus was approved in principle July 2008, and construction is now nearing completion.
Hartlepool also has its own specialist sixth form college, Hartlepool Sixth Form College
Hartlepool Sixth Form College
Hartlepool Sixth Form College, otherwise known as 'Brinkburn Sixth Form College', '6fc' & 'HSFC', is one of fewer than 100 specialist sixth form colleges in England.-History:...
. A former grammar and comprehensive school, the college provides a number of AS and A2 Level courses for students across the town.
A campus of Cleveland College of Art & Design, the only remaining specialist art and design college in the North East in either of the Further
Further education
Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
or Higher Education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
sectors, is located in Hartlepool, alongside the Art Gallery in Church Square. The College has two further sites, both in nearby Middlesbrough.
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. Engineering related jobs employ around 1700 people, with companies such as Heerema employing around 400 people. CorusTata Steel Europe
Tata Steel Europe is a multinational steel-making company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest steel-maker in Europe and is a subsidiary of Tata Steel of India, one of the ten largest steel producers in the world.Corus Group was formed through the merger of Koninklijke...
employ around 350 people in the manufacture of steel tubes, predominantly for the oil industry. Within the greater docks development, Able UK
Able UK
Able UK is a British based company specialising in the rehabilitation and development of disused sites and facilities, demolition, site reclamation, re-mediation, regeneration and waste disposal...
are a leading maritime recycler, which in the Teesside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre (TERRC), owns and operates the largest purpose-designed facility for recycling redundant marine structures. TERRC dismantled 13 former US Naval Ghost fleet vessels in 2003, and in February, 2009, decommissioned the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
Clemenceau
Clemenceau (R 98)
Clemenceau , often affectionately called "le Clem'", was the lead ship of her class, and the 6th aircraft carrier of the French Navy, serving from 1961 to 1997. She was the second French warship to be named after Georges Clemenceau, the first one being a battleship of the Richelieu class, laid...
. Able UK run the largest dry dock
Dry dock
A drydock is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform...
in Europe just outside the town.
Hartlepool nuclear power station is an advanced gas-cooled reactor
Advanced gas-cooled reactor
An advanced gas-cooled reactor is a type of nuclear reactor. These are the second generation of British gas-cooled reactors, using graphite as the neutron moderator and carbon dioxide as coolant...
(AGR) type nuclear power plant opened near Hartlepool in the 1980s. It is the single largest employer in the town, employing 1 per cent of the town's working age people. If it is agreed to build a new plant on the site, it is forecast that 12,000 construction jobs, 5,000 operational jobs, and 1,000 manufacturing jobs would be created.
The chemicals industry is important to the local economy. Companies include Huntsman Corporation, who produce titanium dioxide
Titanium dioxide
Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium oxide or titania, is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6, or CI 77891. Generally it comes in two different forms, rutile and anatase. It has a wide range of...
for use in paints, Omya
Omya
Omya is a privately owned global producer of industrial minerals, mainly fillers and pigments derived from calcium carbonate, and a worldwide distributor of chemical products. The company's major markets are paper, plastics, coatings and adhesives....
, Baker Hughes
Baker Hughes
Baker Hughes Baker Hughes provides the world's oil & gas industry with products and services for drilling, formation evaluation, completion, production and reservoir consulting. Baker Hughes operates in over 90 countries worldwide mainly based in countries with a mature petroleum industry as is...
and Frutarom
Frutarom
Frutarom Industries Ltd. is one of the world's leading flavor and fragrance companies, in 2008 it had sales of over $473 million. The company’s shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, where it is a constitute of the TA-100 Index of leading...
.
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 around the Maritime Experience
Hartlepool's Maritime Experience
Hartlepool's Maritime Experience is a visitor attraction in Hartlepool, County Durham, in the northeast of England. The concept of the attraction is the thematic re-creation of an 18th century seaport, in the time of Lord Nelson, Napoleon and the Battle of Trafalgar. HMS Trincomalee, a Royal Navy...
, and the supporting exhibits PS Wingfield Castle
PS Wingfield Castle
The PS Wingfield Castle is a former Humber Estuary ferry, now preserved as a museum ship in Hartlepool, County Durham, England.The Wingfield Castle was built William Gray & Company at Hartlepool, and launched in 1934, along with a sister ship, the Tattershall Castle...
and HMS Trincomalee
HMS Trincomalee
HMS Trincomalee is a Royal Navy Leda-class sailing frigate built shortly following the end of the Napoleonic Wars. She is now restored as a museum ship in Hartlepool, UK.-History:...
.
Camerons Brewery
Camerons Brewery
Camerons Brewery ' is a brewing company founded in 1865 by John William Cameron in Hartlepool, County Durham.-History:...
was founded in 1852 and currently employs around 85 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
For the similarly named castle in Aberdeenshire, see Eden Castle.Castle Eden is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated a short distance to the south of Peterlee, Wingate, the A19 and Castle Eden Dene...
plant. It brews a range of cask
Cask ale
Cask ale or cask-conditioned beer is the term for unfiltered and unpasteurised beer which is conditioned and served from a cask without additional nitrogen or carbon dioxide pressure...
and bottled beers, most famously Strongarm, a 4% abv
ABV
ABV is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* Alcohol by volume, a measure of the alcohol content of alcoholic drinks* Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria, from its IATA airport code...
bitter
Bitter (beer)
Bitter is an English term for pale ale. Bitters vary in colour from gold to dark amber and in strength from 3% to 7% alcohol by volume.-Brief history:...
. The brewery is heavily engaged in contract brewing such beers as Kronenbourg 1664, John Smith's 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
Purdey's
Purdey's is a soft drink produced by Orchid Drinks Ltd. which is owned by Britvic. It is sold in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Australia, Holland and Belgium...
and Amé
Amé
Amé is a soft drink manufactured by Orchid Drinks Ltd, a subsidiary of Britvic. There are several flavours but none contain sugar. It comprises fruit juices and herbal extracts and is usually sold in 1-litre glass bottles. A television advertising campaign for Britvic, voiced by actor Tony Clarkin,...
. Following a £67 million takeover by Britvic
Britvic
Britvic plc is a British producer of soft drinks. It is the number two soft drinks producer in the UK. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index...
, the site was closed down in 2009.
Middleton Grange Shopping Centre
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 27th May 1970. The site of the shopping centre was originally terraced streets until most of them were bombed during World War II....
is the main shopping location. 2800 people are employed in retail. The ten major retail companies in the town are Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
, Morrisons
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
, Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
, B&Q
B&Q
B&Q plc is a multinational DIY and home improvement retailer headquartered in Eastleigh, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1969 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kingfisher plc, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange....
, Next, Argos
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
, Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
, Aldi
ALDI
ALDI Einkauf GmbH & Co. oHG, doing business as ', short for "Albrecht Discount", is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany...
, Boots
Boots UK
Boots UK Limited , is a leading pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom, with outlets in most high streets throughout the country...
and Matalan
Matalan
Matalan is a British retailer that specialises in shoes and clothes. It was founded by John Hargreaves in 1985. It currently has 200 stores across the UK. The 200th store opened on 22 September 2006 in Croydon...
. Aside from the local sports clubs, other local entertainment venues include a VUE Cinema
Vue (cinema)
Vue Entertainment , formerly known as SBC International Cinemas, is a cinema company in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The company was formed in May 2003 when SBC acquired 36 Warner Village cinemas. There are now 69 Vue cinemas, with 654 screens totaling 140,500 seats, including the rebranded...
, Mecca Bingo and UK Super Bowl.
Territorial Army
Situated in the New Armoury Centre, Easington Road are the following units.- Royal Marines ReserveRoyal Marines ReserveThe role of the Royal Marines Reserve of the United Kingdom is to support the regular Royal Marines in times of war or national crisis. The RMR consists of some 600-1000 trained ranks distributed among the five RMR Centres within the UK...
- 90 (North Riding) Signal Squadron34 (Northern) Signal Regiment34 Signal Regiment was a Territorial Army regiment in the Royal Corps of Signals in the British Army. The regiment formed part of 12 Signal Group, providing command and control communication for NATO's Headquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps...
Road
Hartlepool is served by two primary routes which are the A179 roadA179 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 behind some of the biggest wind turbines in the UK....
and the A689 road
A689 road
The A689 is a road in northern England, that runs east from Junction 44 of the M6 motorway, north of the centre of Carlisle in Cumbria, to Hartlepool, in the North East....
, both linking the town to the A19 road
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 route of the A1 was changed to the A638. From Sunderland...
. The A179 road
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 behind some of the biggest wind turbines in the UK....
is the main road to the north west which leads to the A19 road
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 route of the A1 was changed to the A638. From Sunderland...
, Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
and Tyneside
Tyneside
Tyneside is a conurbation in North East England, defined by the Office of National Statistics, which is home to over 80% of the population of Tyne and Wear. It includes the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside — all settlements on...
. The A689 road
A689 road
The A689 is a road in northern England, that runs east from Junction 44 of the M6 motorway, north of the centre of Carlisle in Cumbria, to Hartlepool, in the North East....
is the main road to the south west towards the A19 & Billingham
Billingham
Billingham is a town in the unitary authority of Stockton on Tees, in north east England, with a population of 35,765 . It was founded circa 650 by a group of Saxons known as Billa's people, which is where the name Billingham is thought to have originated...
, Stockton
Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
, Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
and York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. The A178 road
A178 road
The A178 is a road that runs from Hartlepool to Middlesbrough in the former county of Cleveland, England.The route of the A178 starts at the junction of the A179 and A689 in Hartlepool. It runs east as Church Street passing Hartlepool railway station...
leads south to Seaton Carew
Seaton Carew
Seaton Carew is a small seaside resort within the Borough of Hartlepool, in North East England with a population of 6,018 . It is situated on the North Sea coast between the town of Hartlepool and the mouth of the River Tees...
, Graythorpe
Graythorpe
Graythorpe is a village within the borough of Hartlepool and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is located about 1 mile south of Hartlepool....
, Seal Sands
Seal Sands
Seal Sands is a 294.37 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Cleveland, England, notified in 1966.Situated in the mouth of the River Tees next to Greatham Creek and Seaton-on-Tees Channel, and accessible from the A178 road running between Seaton Carew and Port Clarence.- Source...
, Port Clarence
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 Bridge.-History:...
and Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
via the Transporter bridge
Transporter bridge
A transporter 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 used to cross navigable rivers or other bodies of water, where there is a requirement for ship traffic to be...
. The A1086 road
A1086 road
The A1086 is a road in County Durham, north-east England.The route of the A1086 starts from the A19 junction in Easington and runs to the A179 junction in Hartlepool via Peterlee, Horden, Blackhall Colliery, Blackhall Rocks, Crimdon and Hart Station. It is known locally as the Coast Road. The road...
leads north to Crimdon
Crimdon
Crimdon is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated on the North Sea coast, between Blackhall Rocks and Hartlepool on the A1086 road. Crimdon was formerly a popular holiday resort for miners and their families from nearby towns and villages, on account of its affordability for low-income...
, Blackhall
Blackhall
Blackhall can refer to* two adjoining villages in County Durham, in England:** Blackhall Colliery** Blackhall Rocks** Blackhall Gaels* Blackhall, Edinburgh, in Scotland* Blackhall townland near Clane, County Kildare...
, Horden
Horden
Horden is a village 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 Colliery in 1987. Main features include the Welfare and Memorial Parks and St...
and Easington
Easington, County Durham
Easington is a town in eastern County Durham, England. It comprises the ancient village of Easington Village and the ex-mining town of Easington Colliery, which are separate civil parishes. It is located at the junction of the A182 leading north-west to Hetton-le-Hole. Seaham Harbour and...
.
Rail
Hartlepool is served by HartlepoolHartlepool railway station
Hartlepool railway station serves the town of Hartlepool within the borough of Hartlepool and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. The railway station is located on the Durham Coast Line north of Middlesbrough. The station is operated and served by Northern Rail...
and Seaton Carew
Seaton Carew railway station
Seaton Carew railway station serves the village of Seaton Carew, within the borough of Hartlepool and is close to the Ceremonial County of County Durham, England...
railway stations, both of which lie on the Durham Coast Line
Durham Coast Line
The Durham Coast Line is the name given to the railway line which links Newcastle upon Tyne with Middlesbrough, via Sunderland and Hartlepool...
with hourly services to Sunderland
City of Sunderland
The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...
, Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
and Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
, which are operated by Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
. A service to London from Sunderland, operated by Grand Central that uses Class 43
British Rail Class 43 (HST)
The British Rail Class 43 is the TOPS classification used for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train power cars, built by BREL from 1975 to 1982....
and Class 180
British Rail Class 180
The Class 180 is a type of British diesel multiple unit train built by Alstom between 2000 and 2001 for use on then-new express services by First Great Western . They were built at Washwood Heath in Birmingham and are part of the Coradia 1000 family along with the Class 175. FGW stopped using the...
trains capable of 125 miles per hour (201.2 km/h) operates from the former of the two stations. The service marks the first time in 15 years that Hartlepool has had a direct rail link with London.
Bus
Local bus services are provided around the town mainly by StagecoachStagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
.
The Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
and Tees Valley travel operate services from Hartlepool to Billingham
Billingham
Billingham is a town in the unitary authority of Stockton on Tees, in north east England, with a population of 35,765 . It was founded circa 650 by a group of Saxons known as Billa's people, which is where the name Billingham is thought to have originated...
, Stockton
Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
and Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
. Other services are provided by Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
and Go North East
Go North East
Go North East is the largest operator of bus services in North East England, United Kingdom. Go North East operates services in the counties of Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Northumberland...
from Hartlepool to Peterlee
Peterlee
Peterlee is a new town in County Durham, England. Founded in 1948, Peterlee town originally mostly housed coal miners and their families.Peterlee has strong economic and community ties with Sunderland and Hartlepool.-Peterlee:...
, Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
, Dalton Park
Dalton Park
Dalton Park is a shopping centre in Murton, County Durham. It is built on the site of the former colliery's slag heaps. It is the largest factory outlet style shopping centre in the North East, where branded goods are sold at discounted prices, usually discontinued lines of stock...
, Seaham
Seaham
Seaham, formerly Seaham Harbour, is a small town in County Durham, situated south of Sunderland and east of Durham. It has a small parish church, St Mary the Virgin, with a late 7th century Anglo Saxon nave resembling the church at Escomb in many respects. St Mary the Virgin is regarded as one of...
, Hetton-le-Hole
Hetton-le-Hole
Hetton-le-Hole is a town and civil parish situated in the City of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the A182 between Houghton-le-Spring and Easington Lane. It is located on the southwest corner of Sunderland on the A182, off A690 close to the A1. It has a population of 14,402 but this...
, Houghton-le-Spring
Houghton-le-Spring
Houghton-le-Spring is part of the City of Sunderland in the county of Tyne and Wear, North East England that has its recorded origins in Norman times. It is situated almost equidistant between the cathedral city of Durham 7 miles to the south-west and the centre of the City of Sunderland about 6...
, Sunderland, Washington
Washington, Tyne and Wear
Washington is a town in the City of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear, England. Historically part of County Durham, it joined a new county in 1974 with the creation of Tyne and Wear...
, Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
and Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
.
Sea
Hartlepool has been a major seaport virtually since it was founded, and has throughout its entire history maintained a proud 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.Now owned by PD Ports, the docks are still in use today and still capable of handling vessels of virtually all shapes and sizes. However, the capacity of the docks is now a fraction of what it once was, as after years of industrial downturn, a large portion of the former dockland was converted into a Superior 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 being determined by a lock, and visitors are always welcome to lay over and enjoy the hospitality of the town.
Hartlepool also has a permanent RNLI lifeboat station.
Climate
Hartlepool has an oceanic climateOceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
typical to the United Kingdom.
Football
Hartlepool United is the town's professional football club and they play at Victoria Park, HartlepoolVictoria Park, Hartlepool
Victoria Park is a 7,856 capacity football ground in Hartlepool, County Durham, England and it is the home of Hartlepool United.The four sides of the ground are known as the Town End Terrace , the Niramax Stand , the Cyril Knowles Stand and the Rink End Victoria Park is a 7,856 capacity football...
. They won promotion to League One for the 2007–08 season. Their first season back in League One, after a brief absence, they finished 15th. In December 2008, the club parted company with manager Danny Wilson. The club's most famous day, was back in 2005, just 8 minutes away from England's 2nd tier, Championship
Championship
Championship is a term used in sport to refer to various forms of competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.- Title match system :...
, when Chris Westwood gave away a penalty and Sheffield Wednesday pipped Hartlepool to a place in the Championship
Championship
Championship is a term used in sport to refer to various forms of competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.- Title match system :...
. The 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.
Rugby Union
West Hartlepool R.F.C.West Hartlepool R.F.C.
West Hartlepool Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club who play in the National League 3 North league after gaining promotion by winning the 2010 / 2011 North 1 East league.-History:...
are more commonly known as "West" play in National League 3 North which is the 5th tier of the national league structure. In the mid-1990s, West were the pride of North East rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
(as were Newcastle Gosforth), and played in what is now the Guinness Premiership
Guinness Premiership
The English Premiership, also currently known as the Aviva Premiership because of the league's sponsorship by Aviva, is a professional league competition for rugby union football clubs in the top division of the English rugby system. There are twelve clubs in the Premiership...
. West were then hit by bankruptcy and controversially sold their Brierton Lane stadium. There then followed a succession of relegations as professional players deserted the club, leaving West to pay off their debts which was a consequence of the clubs ambitious pursuit of professionalism.
Hartlepool Rovers
Hartlepool Rovers
Hartlepool Rovers are an English rugby union club who play at The Friarage, West View Road in Hartlepool. Hartlepool Rovers have a coaching set-up with Alan Brown as head coach and Ian Cook as fitness guru.-History:...
play in the Durham/Northumberland 1
Durham/Northumberland 1
- Durham/Northumberland 1 :Rugby Union, regional league. Level 7 of the Rugby Union pyramid.Following the restructuring of the league system in England, Durham/Northumberland 1 contains 14 clubs. The bottom two clubs are relegated to Durham/Northumberland 2...
division are the 3rd best team with Hartlepool RFC coming in 2nd behind West. Other clubs include, Hartlepool BBOB, Hartlepool Athletic & Seaton Carew.
West Hartlepool TDSOB (Tech) folded last year due to a high number of players leaving, the majority of which now play for either West or Rovers.
Tall Ships' Races
On 28 June 2006, Hartlepool celebrated after winning its bid to host The Tall Ships' RacesThe Tall Ships' Races
The Tall Ships' Races are races for sail training "tall 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 consists of two racing legs of several hundred nautical miles, and a...
. The town welcomed up to 125 tall ship
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 festival....
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
-History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...
in Norway on the second and final leg of the race.
Local media
- Hartlepool MailHartlepool MailThe Hartlepool Mail is a newspaper serving Hartlepool and the surrounding area. It has an average daily circulation of 14,198.The paper was founded in Hartlepool in 1877 as The Northern Daily Mail and continued to be printed in the town until August 2006, when the printing staff were told they...
- local newspaper - BBC Tees - BBC local radio station
- Radio HartlepoolRadio HartlepoolRadio Hartlepool is a full time Community Radio Station that broadcasts to the various communities in Hartlepool, England on 102.4 FM and online. The station went on air full time on 14 October 2008...
- Community radioCommunity radioCommunity radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting. Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of interest...
station serving the town
Monkeys
Hartlepool is famous 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 unsophisticated fishermen assumed that this must be what Frenchmen looked like, and after a brief trial, summarily executed the monkey.Although a popular story, it seems unlikely to be true. Historians have also pointed to the prior existence of a Scottish folk song called "And the Boddamers hung the Monkey-O". It describes how a monkey survived a shipwreck off the village of Boddam
Boddam, Aberdeenshire
Boddam is a coastal village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is north of Aberdeen and south of Peterhead. Sea cliffs rise to , south of the village: a coastal path leads along these to the Bullers of Buchan....
near Peterhead
Peterhead
Peterhead is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement , with a population of 17,947 at the 2001 Census and estimated to have fallen to 17,330 by 2006....
in Aberdeenshire. Because the villagers could only claim salvage rights if there were no survivors from the wreck, they allegedly hanged the monkey.
"Monkey hanger
Monkey hanger
"Monkey hanger" is an affectionate term by which Hartlepudlians are often known.According to local folklore, the term originates from an incident in which a monkey was hanged in Hartlepool. During the Napoleonic wars, a French ship of the type chasse marée was wrecked off the coast of Hartlepool...
" and Chimp Choker are common terms of (semi-friendly) abuse aimed at "Poolies", often from bitter footballing rivals Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
. The mascot of Hartlepool United F.C.
Hartlepool United F.C.
Hartlepool United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hartlepool that currently play in League One. The team won promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season...
is H'Angus
H'Angus
H'Angus the Monkey is the official mascot of Hartlepool United F.C.. 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 October 31, 1999, during Hartlepool’s first round F.A...
the monkey. The man in the monkey costume, Stuart Drummond
Stuart Drummond
Stuart Drummond is the first directly-elected mayor of Hartlepool in North East England. He was first elected in 2002 and was re-elected in 2005 and 2009. He was the first elected mayor in Britain to win a third term.-Biography:...
, 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
Elected mayors in the United Kingdom
Directly elected mayors are council leaders elected by the general electorate of a council area for local government, instead of being appointed by members of a local authority, which is common in the United Kingdom. The Elected Mayor is elected from a number of candidates who put themselves up for...
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 another of the town's sports clubs, Hartlepool Rovers
Hartlepool Rovers
Hartlepool Rovers are an English rugby union club who play at The Friarage, West View Road in Hartlepool. Hartlepool Rovers have a coaching set-up with Alan Brown as head coach and Ian Cook as fitness guru.-History:...
RFC, which uses the hanging monkey as the club logo. On tours it would hang a monkey on the posts of the rugby pitch to spread the story.
In June 2005, a large bone was found washed ashore on Hartlepool beach by a local resident, which initially was taken as giving credence to the monkey legend. Analysis revealed the bone to be that of a red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
which had died 6,000 years ago. The bone is now in the collections of Hartlepool Museum Service.
In 2008, a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
based on the legend called The Hartlepool Monkey, written by Sean Longley, was published. The novel tells the story of the monkey, named Jacques LeSinge by the French doctor who discovers him, that was supposedly hanged. In the book, the monkey talks and possesses several other human characteristics.
The Hartlepool Monkey also featured prominently in the play Bestiary, written by Jim Burke and broadcast on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
in 2003.
Town twinning
HückelhovenHückelhoven
Hückelhoven is a town in the district Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the river Rur, approx. 10 km east of Heinsberg and 20 km south-west of Mönchengladbach.-Town twinning: Hartlepool, England, UK...
, Germany Muskegon
Muskegon, Michigan
Muskegon is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,401. The city is the county seat of Muskegon County...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
Sliema
Sliema
Tas-Sliema is a city located on the northeast coast of Malta. It is a centre for shopping, restaurants and café life. Tas-Sliema is also a major commercial and residential area and houses several of Malta's most modern hotels. Tas-Sliema, which means 'peace, comfort', was once a quiet fishing...
, Malta
People from Hartlepool
- For a complete list, see :Category:People from Hartlepool (district)
Betty James described how she "found more friendliness in Hartlepool than anywhere else in the North East [of England]".
External links
- Official Website of the Borough of HartlepoolHartlepool (borough)Hartlepool is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of County Durham, north east England. In 2003 it had a resident population of 90,161. It borders the non-metropolitan county of County Durham to the north, Stockton-on-Tees to the south and Redcar and Cleveland to the south-east along the...
- Tide times for Hartlepool from the BBC and Easytide.