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Hartlepool
Did you know that residents of Hartlepool are known as Monkey Hangers?
As the story goes, during the Napoleonic Wars a ship was wrecked off the coast and the only survivor who made it to land on a raft was a monkey. The people of old Hartlepool - known as Crofters - being unable to understand a word this little stranger spoke decided that he must have been either a Frenchman, or a spy, so they hanged him. The only problem with this tale is that the people of Hartlepool, being sailors and fishermen and living on a large natural harbour, would certainly have known the difference between an animal and a Frenchman! Nevertheless, the monkey legend has stayed with the townsfolk of Hartlepool ever since.
A folk song which was written by Alan Wilkinson and sung by the Teesside Fettlers tells the story of "The Hartlepool Monkey." It appears on their CD called "Noting The Changes" which you can buy direct from their website.
To see larger images of the photographs below, click on the smaller picture.
Holy Trinity Church, Seaton Carew
Seaton Carew Clock Tower - this is a Grade II Listed Building.
The bandstand in Ward Jackson Park is also Grade II listed. You can see here the decorative iron work on the top of the building which has the words "E Mare Ex Industria" (From the Sea Comes Industry) which is the motto for the town of West Hartlepool.
The base of the Grade II listed fountain in Ward Jackson Park. You can see more photographs of this beautiful fountain on the British Listed Buildings website.
Victoria Park - home of Hartlepool United Football Club as seen from the top of Christ Church.
St. Oswald's Church - another fine old building in Hartlepool which is Grade II Listed.
St. Oswald's Church - West Hartlepool Golden Jubilee, January 16th, 1954. Photograph © Geo. Holdsworth & Son Ltd.
Once a grand old cinema, known as the Regal and later the Essoldo, it is just one of two old cinemas that remain in the town. The building is now used as a bingo hall. I'm told some of the original seating is still in place on the upper level - although now recovered. The owners informed me that it was 'against company policy' to allow me inside to take photographs.
Hartlepool Odeon as it was. Photograph courtesy of Mawgram's Odeon Cavalcade
How many old town cinemas do you recall? There was the Lex, Regal - later named the Essoldo - The Gaiety, Northerns, Picture House (later named the Gaumont) West End, ABC - Forum and later Fair World - Odeon, Empire, The Palladium and The Queens. Even the great Irish tenor Josef Locke appeared at the Empire in the good old days of variety. It was so full he actually came onto the steps in Lynn Street and sang a song to those who couldn't get it in!
The Empire Theatre in Lynn Street, West Hartlepool as it used to be. You can now view images from Hartlepool’s history thanks to an exciting new project. Hartlepool Council’s Cultural Services Section is adding photographs from the town’s collection to the photosharing website Flickr where they can be seen and downloaded free for private use.
A view of the beautiful Empire Theatre from the inside. Photograph © Douglas R.P. Ferriday.
Over 170 photographs have been placed there so far and more are being added each week. They cover the 19th and 20th centuries and show historic events as well as views of the town and general aspects of daily life.
The Sir William Gray statue in Church Square.
This old tiled map, in Hartlepool railway station, shows the London & North Eastern Railway route and dates back more than 100 years. Thankfully, the tiles are still in excellent condition and can be seen on the platform near the station's cafe.
The 4-6-2 A3 locomotive 4472 (60103) "Flying Scotsman" arrives in West Hartlepool on September 10th, 1967. These two photographs show her, first of all, as she crosses the subway which went from lower Church Street to Old Town and, on the second image, as she approaches the signal box at Bridge Street with Tennant Street to the left. Photographs © Alan Grange.
The "Flying Scotsman" at West Hartlepool Sheds. She was the last steam locomotive to be watered and bunkered in the old sheds in Mainsforth Terrace before they finally closed. Photograph © Stan Laundon.
Another two views of the "Flying Scotsman" in West Hartlepool sheds in 1967. Photographs © Alan Grange.
Dockland Cranes photographed in April, 1968 © Alan Grange.
Two photographs of the vessel "Sagamore" in the Victoria Dock taken in 1967 by Alan Grange who says: "They were taken from Central Road, by the swing bridge, looking across the Old Harbour with the North Basin behind me on my way from Throston Bridge to Richardsons & Westgarth. "In the rear you can see the now demolished Coal Staithes".
The Victoria Dock and Old Harbour from the air. Copyright unknown. Thanks to Alan Grange for the dockland scenes photographs.
To see larger images of the photographs above, click on the smaller picture.
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Copyright © Stan Laundon
Hartlepool - formerly West Hartlepool
The Make A Wish For The Monkey statue is in Hartlepool Marina, near the lock gates. Coins thrown into the monkey's lap are donated to Hartlepool & District Hospice.
Young and old enjoying a Spring day in Ward Jackson Park.
Ward Jackson Park was opened in July 1883. It commemorates Ralph Ward Jackson, a victorian entrepeneur and founder of West Hartlepool. The money to purchase the land was raised by public subscriptions. This was presented to West Hartlepool Improvements Commissioners, the forerunner of Hartlepool Borough Council. The former paid for the laying out the Park and its continual maintenance. Thousand of people joined the celebrations on the opening day. The march started in Church Street and, after a ceremony of unlocking the gates, circled around the Park to hear several speeches. Ward Jackson Park covers 7.38 hectares and provides 'a place for recreation, of amusement and where young and old may enjoy themselves' The Park is listed as being of historical significance by English Heritage.
The Bandstand in Ward Jackson Park is a Grade II listed building. In the left hand column you can view a photograph of the decorative iron work on the top of the building which has the words "E Mare Ex Industria" (From the Sea Comes Industry) which is the motto for the town of West Hartlepool.
The Clock Tower, in Ward Jackson Park, Hartlepool which dates to 1921 and is Grade II Listed. There's a stone plaque on the tower which is inscribed: "The gift of Alderman John Brown J.P. Mayor 1902-3-4. In Consideration for others 1921".
The name of Hartlepool, according to the author Sir Cuthbert Sharp, comes from origins unknown. But in the time of Bede, the old town on the peninsula, was called Heruteu - the island of the stag. By mediaeval times, the town was known as Hertepol - the pool of the hart or, hart in the pool - becoming Hart-le-Pool.
Old Hartlepool and the Abbey Church of St. Hilda in the background with the modern apartments of Hartlepool Marina in the foreground. This photograph was taken from the top of Christ Church which is now the home of the local Art Gallery. I climbed 174 flights of stairs to get to the top which cost me all of 50p!
The Holy Trinity Church in Seaton Carew is in a very picturesque setting.
Seaton Carew, as seen from the North Gare, showing the Grade II Clock Tower with a modern wind turbine on the distant hillside.
The spring tides during March, 2009 exposed the skeleton of an old wooden boat on Middleton Beach, in Hartlepool.
Three Piers - the Banjo Pier in the foreground which used to be in old Middleton, the Pilot's Pier, with the lighthouse in the centre, and the New Pier (Heugh Breakwater) with a few waves crashing over it, in the distance.
St. Oswald's Church, in Brougham Terrace, which was built in 1904. In my youth I was a choir boy at this grand old church.
Sir William Gray, the first Mayor of West Hartlepool between 1887-8. The statue is situated in Church Square in front of the Art Gallery and Information Centre.
As the saying goes 'the best things in life are free' and Hartlepool Art Gallery is no exception. With a frequently changing exhibition programme, you can see contemporary art exhibitions, photography, sculpture and work of national, regional and local importance.
For those who like to read about the history of Hartlepool, you maybe interested in a website that lists all the Grade I and Grade II listed buildings in town. British Listed Buildings has a comprehensive list of sites, and buildings, in Hartlepool and the surrounding area. One such building is the old Hartlepools Co-operative Society in Park Road, with its magnificent stonework. It was built between 1913-15.
Visitors to Hartlepool might well be impressed with the multi-millon pound marina with its bars and restaurants, but not all about this town is pretty. Take, for example, the former Odeon cinema, in Raby Road, which has been standing in the state of dereliction for quite a number of years. The Odeon is a Grade II listed building which means that English Heritage would need to see that any future redevelopment was justified - especially if the old cinema had to be demolished and rebuilt.
Hartlepool Odeon as it was - and still showing moving picture shows back then. Photograph courtesy of Mawgram's Odeon Cavalcade.
Not exactly in Hartlepool but born here. This is the "SS Danby" which was built in West Hartlepool in 1937 by William Gray for Ropner Shipping. The ship, which was 4,258 tons, was sold to a company in Spain in 1952 and renamed "Astro." She was sold again in 1971 when it was renamed "Gopegui." Five years later she was scrapped. She is photographed here at the King George Dock in London and came from my late father's collection. He was second engineer on board this ship and served on several Ropner vessels during the Second World War.
The offices of Sir William Gray in West Hartlepool. This came from the collection of Ian Malcolmson.
The offices of the Central Marine Engine Works in Middleton Road. A very impressive building at the time - just a shame that many of those wonderful buildings had to be demolished. Thanks to Ian Malcolmson for this photograph.
Middleton Pier - photograph copyright © Stan Laundon. From 1854 to 1952 old Hartlepool and Middleton were connected by a ferry service using 35 feet long passenger boats. The last ferry stopped soon after the last true ferryman, Bull Boagey, slipped on the ferry steps, cracked his head and died in 1951 while returning from a fishing trip. The ferry provided an important means of getting to work for Hartlepool folk employed in the boat yards that sprang up on Middleton beach from the 1800's. Middleton Village, which has been long demolished, was named after John Middleton, a prominent local Methodist and friend of John Wesley. Wesley visited and preached in the High Street six times from 1759 to 1790. Middleton Village was at the lower part of Middleton Road in the town - passing Navigation Point at the Marina entrance - and towards the sea. The Small Crafts' Association Club is the only original building left in old Middleton. It was previously the Prince of Wales public house.
If you'd like to take a memorable trip through Hartlepool during 1951, be sure to see a YouTube video uploaded by Bresslaw - it will certainly take you back!
Copyright © Stan Laundon.com
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