HARTLEPOOL PAST

Parade on the Headland, 1907

Art display on the 'bullfield' fence. The bullfield is now long gone -  on its' site stands the Civic Centre

Timber ships in Central Dock 1899. Timber for use in the Durham Collieries was a major import at this time.

Church Street 1970. The statue at the bottom of the picture is that of Ralph Ward Jackson, the founder of West Hartlepool

The building being demolished had served as the 'Mail Office' since 1900. It was originally built circa 1856 as the private residence of one of the town's luminaries.

Docks in 1955 showing mothballed fleet

Docks 1957

The Elephant Rock 1885. It finally succumbed to erosion from the sea on May 10th 1891

Empire Day celebrations, Headland Bandstand 1908

Fish Sands 1907. Note the fishing nets hanging over the Town Wall.

West Harbour entrance 1896

Furness Withy and Co shipyard

  German Second World War map of Hartlepool showing potential targets.

Bailes Garage in 1922, the site of the first petrol pump in West Hartlepool. Now Hart Lane Motoport

Headland from Middleton, 1920. The prominent building to the right of St Hilda's Church tower was a flour mill.

The Headland in 1947. The Croft had recently been demolished, and the empty land created by its clearance can be seen on this photograph

The Headland Co-op in the 1930s. It was at around this point that the 'North Gate' of the Town Wall stood.

Another aerial photograph of the Headland.

Looking right from the Fish Sands archway, 1900

Looking up Victoria Road to St Paul's Church

The North Eastern Pub about 1930

The old Croft looking to the end of the town wall, 1895

The ramp which used to be in the shopping centre

The Queen's Rink

Robinsons (later Gales)

Seaton around 1900

Ship cleaning in Middleton dry dock around 1908

Steam drifters leaving the port to fish in the 1930s

Stranton in the early 1920s

Victoria Dock and the coal staithes in the 1930s

The derelict Wesley Church, built 1873, before restoration. Had it not been for the fact that this is a grade 2 listed building it would almost certainly have been demolished.

West Hartlepool around 1925

West Hartlepool's first petrol fire engine in 1920

On the corner of Ward Street and Swainson Street, this was my great-grandparents house. The shopping centre stands here today

Outdoor bathing pool 1930. This was destroyed by a severe storm in 1953

Another shot of the bathing pool in 1930

Church Street 1905

Brougham Street 1910. Notice St Mary's Church still has its spire. This was removed for safety reasons in 1946, following damage caused by exploding Second World War bombs in nearby Lumley Square

Coal staithes in Victoria Dock 1966

The ferry, 1910

Town Wall and Sandwell Gate. The arch on the right, which has now been blocked up, was cut in the wall sometime during the 19th century to allow fish wagons and fishing cobbles easier access to the beach.

High Street and Saint Hilda's. High Street was the commercial centre of medieval Hartlepool.

Headland 1900

Headland 1930

The lighthouse which was built in 1926. This replaced the original stone lighthouse (the world's first to be gas operated), which was dismantled during the First world War after it had for a time prevented retaliatory fire from the batteries during the bombardment. This new lighthouse is situated behind the site of the old one, and out of the line of fire.

Lynne Street 1910

Timber yards full of pit props in 1910

The temporary lighthouse which was sited on the Town Moor from 1916 to 1927. 

The Town Wall 1905

Wesley Church 1901

Aerial photo of Grays Shipyard

Taken from a display in the Museum of Hartlepool, this is how the Headland Monastery may have looked

A plan, dated 1844, showing the proposed West Harbour just above and to the right of the bright spot in the centre of the photograph. Above and to the right of this is the Slake. The Stockton and Hartlepool railway line can be seen stretching from the top left of the picture to the docks on the Headland.

I must confess that I do not own the copyright to many of the photos used on this page - most of them are too old for me to have taken anyway. They are just pictures I have obtained from here, there and I know not where over time. I would like to formally acknowledge that someone may own the copyright to some of them, and I apologise if I upset anybody by using them.