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 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.

The spring tides during March, 2009 exposed the skeleton of an old wooden boat on Middleton Beach, in Hartlepool. The Port Cities website has the full story.

Night and day photographs of St. Oswald's Church, in Brougham Terrace, which was built in 1908. 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 people who like to read about the history of Hartlepool, you maybe interested in a website that lists all the Grade l and Grade ll 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 Hartlepool Co-operative Society, in Park Road, with its magnificent stonework.

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.