Steel, shipbuilding and port activities brought great wealth to Hartlepool from the 1840s onwards. This wealth helped to create a rich built environment, most of which survives to this day.
Industrial legacy
The Victorian churches of Hartlepool are the most significant part of this legacy. To highlight this, I visited the town on St Valentine’s day, having previously selected 20 places of worship that I thought may be worth a look. Note, however, that some of these buildings pre-date the Victorian era, in some cases by centuries. Here is what I saw:
Number 1: Christ Church, Church Street
Starting at Hartlepool railway station, I headed for what is now Hartlepool Art Gallery on Church Street. The gallery started life as Christ Church back on 20 April 1854. Hartlepool lies at the southern boundary of the Magnesian limestone outcrop, and this pale stonework can be found all over town. Christ Church is topped with a polychromatic tiled roof, and it’s one of the finest buildings in the town. The art gallery is worth a visit in its own right.
Number 2: Wesley Methodist Church, Victoria Road
A few minutes’ walk took me to this outstanding building, superbly executed in stone, and featuring an intricate Corinthian portico.
The wrought iron railings and gates along Victoria Road are worth a look too. The building, which is also known as the Wesley Chapel, dates back to 1873, but ceased to be used as a church in 1972. Having spent some time as a nightclub, and decades in a state of dereliction, the chapel is currently being converted into a ‘boutique’ hotel by a company called Jomast. But, despite having received £1.4mn in public funding, some of Jomast’s work is shoddy. No attempt has been made to match the original brickwork. This won’t cut it for a Grade II listed building, and the work will need to be re-done.
Number 3: Hartlepool Town Hall Theatre, Raby Road
I walked alongside the Wesley Chapel along Wesley Road, then crossed over to the Town Hall Theatre. Okay, I’m busted, this isn’t a church, but it sure looks like one. A minor English Gothic triumph, built in 1897, it began life as West Hartlepool Town Hall. The red telephone box outside was built to a design by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. There are thousands like it, only a few of them are Grade II listed like this one.
Number 4: United Reformed Church, Durham Street, The Headland
I returned along Raby Road to Victoria Road, took the number 7 bus to the Headland, and alighted on Durham Road. For those that don’t know, the Headland is the focus of the town of Hartlepool. Sixteen of the twenty churches that I am describing here are actually in West Hartlepool. If you’re local, you’ll be aware that these two places have very separate identities. The United Reformed Church at 128 Durham Road consists of dressed limestone and a Welsh slate roof, a popular combination back in 1843. A stone plaque in the pediment self-describes the church as ‘Independent’.
Number 5: The Church of the Immaculate Conception (St Mary), Durham Street, The Headland
Just along Durham Street from the United Reformed Church I reached St Mary’s Church. Immaculate conceptions are rare in Hartlepool, so the stocky, Gothic Revival church of St Mary, dating from 1850, is worth a visit. It’s that local limestone again.
Number 6: The Parish Church of St Hilda, Abbess of Hartlepool. St Hilda Crescent, The Headland
St Hilda’s Church, the finest church in the Tees Valley, was founded in 648 AD, although the current building is a mere 925 years old. I was fortunate when I reached the place. Some lay members were arranging a floral display, and they allowed me inside to take a photo. St Hilda’s is surrounded by a large church yard, and can walk right around the building and photograph it from any direction. Or just drink in the view. It doesn’t get enough visitors.
An expert writes
Alec Clifton-Taylor, one of the foremost 20th Century architectural historians, included St Hilda’s in his list of “best” English parish churches, and described it as “a glory of Early English architecture in its earliest and purest phase”. Alec was correct.
Number 7: St Mark’s United Methodist Church, St Hilda Crescent, The Headland
A short walk along the northern boundary of St Hilda’s graveyard took me to the 19th Century church of St Mark’s, latterly known as Morison Hall. The pediment, at 3rd storey level, is bold and unique. After laying derelict for several decades, and being subject to arson attacks, the building has latterly been redeveloped as a housing project by the NDC Trust.
Number 8: The Church of St Oswald, Brougham Terrace
I returned along St Hilda Crescent, picked up the number 7 bus towards Hartlepool town centre on Durham Street, then alighted at Marina Way. From there, right into Middleton Road, right into Lancaster Road, then left into Brougham Terrace and St Oswald’s Church. This building is a rarity. Completed in 1904, it’s a revival of the third, soaring, phase of Gothic architecture known as ‘Perpendicular’. Finished in limestone, with a Lakeland slate roof, it is a gem. There are clocks on all four faces of the tower, but they are out of order. It costs a lot of money to maintain buildings such as this.
Number 9: Nasir Mosque, Brougham Terrace
The Nasir Mosque is across the road from St Oswald’s church. The mosque was built by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and inaugurated in 2005. As with several other Muslim places of worship, Nasir Mosque and its worshippers were threatened by thugs during the riots of August 2024. But the community rallied around, and the mosque remained a place of sanctuary. It’s active in the local community, raising cash for food banks and hospices. In the past few years, the mosque has provided 30,000 free meals to the poor of Hartlepool.
Number 10: Wesley Mission Chapel, Murray Street
I continued west along Brougham Terrace, took a left into Raby Road, right into Hart Lane, then left towards the junction of Murray Street and Lowthian Road. The former Wesley Mission Chapel at 48 Murray Street, built in 1898, isn’t remarkable, but it’s a classic example of the thousands of nonconformist chapels that were built throughout the industrial towns of Victorian Britain. Most of them are still here, but almost all of them have been repurposed. This chapel is now the Church of the Nazarene.
Number 11: Church of St Paul, Grange Road
A short walk along Murray Street took me to the junction with Grange Road, and St Paul’s church. St Paul’s is an ‘Early English’ Gothic Revival red-brick designed by C.Hodgson Fowler in 1886. The Grade II listing describes stone dressings and Westmorland slate roofs. Take a few minutes to enjoy the building. Hardly anyone notices it, which is a shame.
Number 12: Grange Road Primitive Methodist Chapel, junction with Tankerville Street
Grange Road Methodist Chapel is a minute’s walk from St Paul’s Church. The building has a striking eclectic design, which makes it difficult to categorise. The brick turrets resemble minarets. A Sunday School was built next to the chapel, and this can still be found, just along Tankerville Street.
Number 13: Roman Catholic Church of St Joseph, St Paul’s Road
Back along Grange Road to St Paul’s Church, then right into St Paul’s Road. St Joseph’s RC Church is adjacent to St Paul’s, which is Church of England. These two red-brick Gothic Revival buildings are superficially similar. For example, just like St Paul’s, St Joseph’s has stone dressings and a Westmoreland slate roof. St Joseph’s is possibly the more elegant of the two. A stone porch was added in the middle of the 20th Century, which spoils the symmetry of the exterior. But this addition is daring and surprising, and it sets St Joseph’s apart from all of the other Gothic Revival churches of Hartlepool.
Number 14: Church of St George (United Reformed Church), York Road
I continued south down St Paul’s Road, took a left into Thornton Street, then right on to York Road. St George’s handsome square tower is a prominent landmark on York Road. The entire building is tinged green with lichen, but the light was poor, and my phone camera couldn’t do it justice. If you are able to go inside, the stained glass windows are a delight. The church also hosts gigs at St George’s Venue.
Number 15: Church of All Saints, Church Row (Stranton)
Heading south on York Road, I took a left into Elwick Road then reached All Saints Church. All Saints dates back to the 12th Century, but much of the building was altered at the end of the 19th Century. The pale blue clock faces on the tower have recently been restored. This is a beautiful building.
Number 16: St Aidan’s Church, Stockton Road
So, a straightforward ten-minute walk down Stockton Road took me to St Aidan’s Church at the junction with Oxford Road. This brutal, confident essay in red brick and sandstone, was built in 1890. So far so good, but in 1911 the architects went one better by adding a tower. The walls, railings and gates of St Aidan’s Church are Grade II listed too. And, if you can find the time, the interior of this building is a work of art.
Number 17: Stranton Grange Cemetery Chapel, Tanfield Road
I walked along Oxford Road and waited for the 36 bus. One of the locals told me that this part of Hartlepool is known as ‘Foggy Furze’, although he may have been pulling my leg. I alighted the bus at the junction of Catcote Road and Brierton Lane, then made my way along the lane to Stranton Cemetery, and the Stranton Grange Crematorium Chapel. I had been dying to visit this smoking joint in the dead centre of the town. The original chapel was built in 1912, with Arts and Crafts flourishes typical of the time. The crematorium was added in 1954 but the so-called architects of this modern extension failed to build in sympathy with the 1912 chapel.
Number 18: Church of St James the Apostle, Rossmere Way
I made my way back to Brierton Lane, crossed into Ardrossan Road, then took a right into Rossmere Way and the Church of St James the Apostle. The church was built in 1957. Not all 20th Century concrete structures were failures, and this building is a case in point. It’s a tidy piece of modernism. But concrete doesn’t last forever. Damp has got into the rebar of St James’ Church, and the reinforced concrete has started to spall in significant quantities. This building is in trouble.
Number 19: Greatham Independent Methodist Church, High Street, Greatham village
I headed down Balmoral Road, turned right on to Owton Manor Lane, and caught the number 36 bus to Greatham village outside the Rossmere pub. If you’ve never visited Greatham village, you are in for a treat. Greatham is a time capsule of a forgotten Britain, and you thought that such places didn’t exist anymore. Greatham Independent Methodist Church is on the High Street, just down from the bus stop. The church is now an antiques store known as East Coast Vintage. Of course it is.
Number 20: Church of St John the Baptist, West Row, Greatham village
Greatham High Street continues on to Front Street, which then forks into Woodbine Road and West Row. The Church of St John would be the last of twenty visited, and I left one of the best until last. An Anglo Saxon church, but with extant elements dating through from the 12th Century until 1909, when the tower was built. Westmorland or Welsh Slate roofs feature on several churches of Hartlepool. St John’s has got them both, contrasting with the almost obligatory local limestone. A peaceful, well-maintained church yard, and a graveyard straight out of central casting. But I was glad to get on the warm bus back to Stockton. The temperature hadn’t risen above 4℃ all day.
Your visit
If you wish to follow all or part of this route, the starting point is Hartlepool railway station and the end point is Greatham village. The journey includes four short bus rides, the timetables for which can be found in ‘Further reading’ below. The eight-mile walk takes four and a half hours, allowing for meal and comfort breaks.
Further reading
Timetable for bus service 7: Hartlepool town centre to the Headland, and return
Timetable for bus service 36: Oxford St to Catcote Rd, Owton Manor Lane to Greatham village
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