West Hartlepool
Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox UK place West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland.
The former town was originally formed in 1848 as an accompanying settlement for nearby railway and docks, which brought and exported coal from the area. The rail network grew, connecting to docks in Leeds and other cities.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Ritchie/> Further developments in the area led to the 1960s formation of Hartlepool as a town.
HistoryEdit
The town of West Hartlepool was founded by Ralph Ward Jackson who went on to become managing director of the Stockton and Hartlepool Railway in 1848.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The area known as Newburn Raw, part of the ancient village of Stranton, steadily grew into a centre for shipping and railway transport.<ref name=Ritchie/><ref name=Whellan533/> The West Hartlepool Harbour and Dock (Template:Convert) opened on 1 June 1847. Five years later, also on 1 June, the Jackson dock (Template:Convert) opened as well as a railway connecting West Hartlepool to Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool. Massive timber trading with Baltic countries began as timber was needed for pitprops in nearby coal mines. The area's population grew quickly as a result.<ref name=Ritchie>Lionel Alexander Ritchie, Gray, Sir William (1823–1898), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 2 May 2011</ref> Eight shipbuilding yards were established.<ref name=Whellan533/> Supporting shipbuilding and repair were: a canvas manufacturing firm, Bastow Brothers and W. Taylor iron foundries, block and mast makers and other related machinery.<ref name=Whellan534>Whellan, William, & Co. (1856). History, Topography, and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham. Whittaker and Company. p. 534.</ref>
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Streets were laid out along which shops and brick homes were built. Standard town services followed including paved roads, gas and electricity, sewers, a slaughterhouse, cemetery and more.<ref name=Whellan533/>
Jackson built a large church, Christ Church, from stone excavated from the docks and the parish was consecrated in 1854 by the Bishop of Durham.<ref name=Whellan533>Whellan, William, & Co. (1856). History, Topography, and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham. Whittaker and Company. p. 533.</ref> Swainson Dock opened on 3 June 1856, named after Ward Jackson's father-in-law. In 1878 the William Gray & Company 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.<ref name=Ritchie/>
West Hartlepool was formerly a chapelry in the parish of Stranton,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The municipal borough of West Hartlepool was created in 1887, and, with its headquarters at West Hartlepool Town Hall,<ref>Template:NHLE</ref> on 31 December 1894 West Hartlepool became a separate civil parish,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the district was promoted to the status of county borough, outside the control of Durham County Council, in 1902.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On 1 April 1967, a county borough, called Hartlepool, was established by amalgamating West Hartlepool with old Hartlepool,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the parish was also abolished and merged with Hartlepool.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1961 the parish had a population of 77,035.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
SportEdit
The town's Rugby Union football team was formed in 1881 by men who came to the area to build the railway and dig the docks, and continued until 1908 when the Hartlepool Union's round ball game was in vogue.<ref>Picken, Dave. (29 April 2010). West Hartlepool Rugby: A Short History. West Hartlepool Rugby. Retrieved 8 September 2012.</ref> Until 1968, the football team now known as Hartlepool United was shown in the plural - Hartlepools United - to show its links to both Hartlepool and to West Hartlepool.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Notable peopleEdit
- Margaret Green, artist, born in West Hartlepool<ref name="Indep">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Lionel Tertis, viola player who commissioned many new works for the instrument, born in West Hartlepool<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
GalleryEdit
- West Hartlepool Locomotive Depot geograph-2357150-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg
West Hartlepool Locomotive Depot
- West Hartlepool harbour and railway seal.jpg
West Hartlepool harbour and railway seal
- View from Newburn Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 86889.jpg
View from Newburn Bridge. This is the site of the old railways sheds in West Hartlepool.
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Alan Godfrey Maps
- Rob Whitton talks about Hartlepool, History, and H'Angus the Monkey – much about Hartlepool, but also some about West Hartlepool
- Early morning, West Hartlepool, County Durham, 1963.