Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Hartlepool (United Kingdom). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Redheugh Gardens War Memorial, HMS Trincomalee, and National Museum of the Royal Navy. Also, be sure to include Heugh lighthouse in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Hartlepool (England).
Table of Contents
Redheugh Gardens War Memorial
War memorial in Hartlepool, England. Redheugh Gardens War Memorial or Hartlepool War Memorial is a World War I and World War II memorial located in the Headlands of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It commemorates Hartlepool military servicemen and civilians who lost their lives in both wars – with specific mention of the first British soldiers to have died on British soil during 16 December 1914 Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby of World War I. In 2001 a plaque was unveiled to memorialise 240 men and women who succumbed from 1919 to 1967 during war and conflict.[1]
HMS Trincomalee
Leda-class frigate. HMS Trincomalee is a Royal Navy Leda-class sailing frigate built shortly after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. She is now restored as a museum ship in Hartlepool, England.[2]
Address: Jackson Dock, TS24 0SQ Hartlepool
National Museum of the Royal Navy
National museum in Hartlepool, England. The National Museum of the Royal Navy is a maritime exposition and visitor attraction in Hartlepool, County Durham, Northern England. The concept of the attraction is the thematic re-creation of an 18th-century seaport, in the time of Lord Nelson, Napoleon and the Battle of Trafalgar. HMS Trincomalee, a Royal Navy frigate and Britain's oldest warship afloat is at the centre of the quay. She was built in Bombay, India in 1817. The 190th anniversary of the ship's official launch was on Friday 12 October 2007.
The attraction consists of gift shop and reception, Marine Barracks and Guard Room, a number of period shops and houses, Fighting Ships, Pressganged, Sir William Gray Suite and Baltic Rooms, Skittle Square and children's playship, Bistro and Quayside Coffee Shop, Children's Maritime Adventure Centre, HMS Trincomalee, PS Wingfield Castle and the Museum of Hartlepool.[3]
Address: Hartlepool Marina Maritime Avenue, TS24 0XZ Hartlepool
Heugh lighthouse
Lighthouse in Hartlepool, England. The Heugh Lighthouse is a navigation light on The Headland in Hartlepool, in north-east England. The current lighthouse dates from 1927; it is owned and operated by PD Ports. It is claimed that its early-Victorian predecessor was the first lighthouse in the world reliably lit by gas.[4]
PS Wingfield Castle
Ferry. The PS Wingfield Castle is a former Humber Estuary ferry, now preserved as a museum ship in Hartlepool, County Durham, England.
The Wingfield Castle was built by William Gray & Company at Hartlepool, and launched in 1934, along with a sister ship, the Tattershall Castle. A third similar vessel, the Lincoln Castle built in Glasgow, was launched in 1940.
She was earmarked to become a floating restaurant in Swansea Marina in the early 1980s but was too wide to fit through the lock gates. She is now preserved at the Museum of Hartlepool as a floating exhibit at Jackson Dock, as part of the Hartlepool's Maritime Experience visitor attraction, which also includes HMS Trincomalee.[5]
Spion Kop Cemetery
Cemetery in Hartlepool, England. Spion Kop Cemetery, originally known as Hartlepool Cemetery, is a disused cemetery on the coast near Hartlepool in England. It was opened in 1856 to replace St. Hilda's churchyard and designed by John Dobson. The area took its name from the Battle of Spion Kop in 1900 during the Boer War.
The cemetery was formed from a combination of sand dune and ship's ballast. It is closed to new burials and is now managed as a local nature reserve. Species found there include thrift, the pyramidal orchid, and the lesser meadow-rue.[6]
Heugh Battery
History museum in Hartlepool, England. The Heugh Gun Battery is located on the Headland at Hartlepool, Cleveland, England. The museum bills itself as the only battlefield of World War I in Great Britain.[7]
Address: Moor Terrace, TS24 0PS Hartlepool
St Hilda's Church
Church in Hartlepool, England. St Hildas Church is a parish church in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.
Clifton-Taylor includes it in his list of "best" English parish churches and describes it as "a glory of Early English architecture in its earliest and purest phase" and as an "architectural gem".
The tower contains three bells hung for change ringing, all cast in 1819 by Thomas II Mears, however these are considered 'unringable' as the tower is thought to be too weak to deal with the forces associated with change ringing.[8]
Address: The Rectory Church Close, TS24 0PW Hartlepool
Nasir Mosque
Mosque in Hartlepool, England. Nasir Mosque is the first purpose-built mosque in Hartlepool, located on Brougham Terrace. The mosque was built by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and inaugurated in 2005 by Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The mosque participates in several local community events and provides regular services for the wider community.
During the opening session, town dignitaries such as Hartlepool MP Iain Wright and Hartlepool Borough Council's chief executive Paul Walker were in attendance. As a gesture, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, the main organisation behind the project, donated around £20,000 to local charities and causes, including Hartlepool and District Hospice, Butterwick Children's Hospice and Brougham Primary School.[9]
Address: Brougham Terrace, Hartlepool
Ward Jackson Park
Park in Hartlepool, England. Ward Jackson Park is a municipal park located in Hartlepool, England. It is named after Ralph Ward Jackson, a local industrialist, who founded West Hartlepool in the 19th century. In later life, Ward Jackson encountered financial difficulties and a fund was established to help him out in his old age. In view of his sudden death, the money collected was used to create a public park.
The park contains a small children's playground, pond with various bird visitors, band stand, fountain and a cafeteria as well as open green space.[10]
Address: Ward Jackson, Hartlepool
Seaton Carew lighthouse
The Seaton Carew lighthouses were a pair of leading light towers built in Seaton Carew to guide ships into the River Tees. The low light was demolished over a century ago and what remained of the high light has been rebuilt in Hartlepool Marina.
Under increasing commercial pressure from the docks at West Hartlepool the Tees Navigation Company decided to improve access to the River Tees by providing a pair of leading lighthouses (navigation light towers) on the coast at Seaton Carew. These were not the first lighthouses in Seaton Carew as there is evidence of an earlier lighthouse in the 15th century.[11]