In 1947 we moved from Milton Road to Caledonian Road and found ourselves with a big garden and living on the edge of the countryside. Walk west to Kingsley Avenue you were into fields, cart lanes, and Swinburne's farm with the dog in the cage outside frustratingly barking at every person who passed! They worked in the fields beyond and alongside, I remeber an elderly lady who worked as a servant describing going out to the workers with glass bottles of milk, stoppers in the bottles were rolled up papers.

Going further was an area of huts, bungalows, more tracks, with a stream alongside. Very rural. It was an ideal place for a stroll on an evening with a couple of lads racing up and down the lane on horses ( I had a go as well!) And on a Cubs trip out into the wilderness of Owton Manor/ Brierton Lane I often ended up falling into the stream.

Eventually building of new housing estate encroached and covered the whole area (late 1950's)

The same applied to the far end of Caledonian Road, with the open area and pathway to Seaton Carew and the shops/house that sold 1d cups of Lemonade to prepare you for the walk or refreshments afterwards.

Tony Hay (2025)

Oxford Road Baptist Church, Caledonian Road, Hartlepool

The donor of this image found it on her door mat recently with a covering note that she may be interested. It shows her house and is dated 1935. The house was new , is close to Stratford Road in Caledonian Road and at that time, voters' lists show that the houses  were not numbered but named. It seems by deduction that Hubert Heslop and his wife lived in the property in the mid 1930s.

The reverse says 'To Nancy with love from Audrey and Pat August 1935' and it seems that when clearing her mother's house, whoever put the photo though the door, found it amongst her mother's possessions. Apparently 'Nancy' took care of the children when she was 16 and was very fond of them.

We think, after a bit of research, that the children could be Audrey and Patricia Heslop the children of Hubert Heslop and his wife Dorothy, nee Brough. The current owner of the house and donor of the image says that she was told that a partner of Heslop and Hall glaziers put special and more expensive leaded  windows in her property when it was built, so this all adds up !