Hartlepool's Historic Attractions

The Historic Quay

 
The Historic Quay and The Hartlepool Museum is a large redevelopment supported by the council.  It has been redeveloped to be a fine example of the turn of the century architecture.  During holidays it is at it's busiest time, with a lot of families coming for a day trip.  Mainly it attracts the more older clientele through bus trips, another attraction for them must be the fact that there is a large Mecca Bingo Hall built next door.  The theme is to show what life as a sea - farer would have been like during the Napoleonic period.  The main attraction is the HMS Trimcolee, which has been fully restored to it's original state and it is very impressive to look at, if that's your type of thing.  There is also a old paddle steamer The Wingfield Castle which has also been restored to it's former glory. Now where the HMS Trimcolee is expensive at the price of £2.50, The Wingfield Castle is completely free.
 

Gray Art Gallery and Museum

 
The Gray Art Gallery and Museum at one time was the only real museum in Hartlepool until The Historic Quay took it's lime light when it opened.  In the rear gardens of the museum there are a lot of Hartlepools old landmarks which were left to rote, but has since been restored and placed on display.  There is a old nuclear shelter, the gates from the Old Brinkburn School in Eldon Grove, the old tram building and a number of small shops that were originally located on the Headland.  In the front garden is a weird looking red head ( located left in the picture) which was originally placed in the Burn Valley but because of a public demand for it to be removed it was placed here.  It is well worth a look if you fancy a walk down memory lane.
 

The Headland

 
This is the original part of the town, it is an area steeped in History and Myth.  St. Hilda's Church is situated on the headland it is an amazing sight to see,  as it visible from the other side of the town.  It is also said that a nun who lived there hundreds of years ago still walks the grounds at night - The Gray Lady.  On a nice day a walk along the promenade past the Heugh Battery, the light house ( right in picture), the heugh Break water and the town wall is quite rewarding.  The Heugh Battery is were we tried to give the Jerries a jolly good seeing too back in 1916 as they tried to destroy our dock lands where we built battle ships in both wars.  The walk conveniently ends at the Kirkham an old pub on the sea front, which is filled with fisherman and dockers.
 

The Marina

 
Before it was fully completed the new Hartlepool Marina was described to be a place were southerners would sail up to in there yachts and spend weekends in Hartlepool enjoying the bracing sea air away from the hustle and bustle of the big city.  Sadly we are still waiting for all these people to give us a visit.  There is nothing here really interesting unless you are a keen yachts man.  All the character that this place once had, has all gone.  The old coal dock, the old skeleton Pier and the Jackson's dock has all been destroyed, to make room for so called progress.  The marina has also been recently given a Mecca Bingo Hall, KFC and a multi-plex cinema ( Hartlepools first cinema in 20 years) and more redevelopment's on this land are constantly applied for.  The Marina stands opposite Church Street, so after a fun packed day on Hartlepools Marina you can finish it off with a nice pint!!
 
Although there is a long way to go before Hartlepool is rid of all unemployment and has fully redeveloped the town in the areas that need it more, the Hartlepool council are always suggesting ways to make improvements, please look at there web page.