The town in 1953 Coronation Year

In 2004, Tees Archaeology, Hartlepool Borough Council and The Headland History Group supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund produced a set of four posters which reconstructed the town of Hartlepool over 1300 years.

Graham Hodgson, an archaeological illustrator painted four watercolours of the town for this project. The images are of the original artwork and the notes give the information which was on the posters.

Hartlepool changed greatly in the years between 1900 and 1953 . Many buildings were extensively damaged in WW1 by the German naval bombardment of 16^th December 1914. Over 100 people were killed and 500 wounded. Bombing by aircraft in the Second World War also took its toll, both in lives and in further damage to local buildings. The effects  of war were still visible in the early 1950s, from the ongoing stationing of troops at the Heugh Gun Battery, to the continuation of rationing in local shops.

The Council also changed the town, demolishing some 1,300 dwellings between 1938 and 1955 in a programme of improvements. While 2500 people were rehoused in the new estates of North Hartlepool, the majority who remained enjoyed new houses with modern facilities and walked in public gardens where the Croft once stood. Luckily, the features of earlier times like the medieval town wall and the Elizabethan manor house survived this upheaval, the latter enclosed within St Hilda’s Hospital run by the new NHS. (NOTE: The hospital is now demolished but the Manor remains currently in a sad state of repair. Sept.2016)

There was much for the town to celebrate  in the 1950s. The 850^th anniversary of the granting of King John’s Charter was remembered in 1951, while 1953 saw celebrations for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth the second.  Hartlepool also remained a popular destination for both traditional seaside holidays and day trips by the growing number of motorists. However, a new form of entertainment was in the air. Council tenants were first allowed to erect television aerials in 1951.

Other notes on poster:

A sea water bathing pool opened in 1923 and was popular with locals and tourists. It was  damaged by a storm in late 1953.

The Borough buildings were built in 1866. They were styled on a Bavarian Town Hall and originally contained public offices, a covered market and a police station.

Date (of image) : 2004

Donor : Hartlepool Museum Service

Creator : Tees Archaeology/ Hartlepool Council