Hartlepool

Hartlepool ( HART-lih-pool) is an industrial port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimated population of 92,600. The old town was founded in the 7th century, around the monastery of Hartlepool Abbey, on a headland. As the village grew into a town, in the Middle Ages, its harbour served as the County Palatine of Durham's official port. The new town of West Hartlepool was created, in 1835, after a new port was built and railway links from the South Durham coal fields (to the west) and from Stockton-on-Tees (to the south) were created. A parliamentary constituency covering both the old town and West Hartlepool was created, in 1867, called The Hartlepools. The two towns were formally merged into a single borough called Hartlepool, in 1967. Following the merger, the name of the constituency was changed from The Hartlepools to just Hartlepool, in 1974. The modern town centre and main railway station are both at what was West Hartlepool; the old town is now generally known as the Headland. Industrialisation and the start of a shipbuilding industry in the later part of the 19th century meant it was a target for the Imperial German Navy at the beginning of the First World War. A bombardment of 1,150 shells on 16 December 1914 resulted in the death of 117 people in the town. A severe decline in heavy industries and shipbuilding following the Second World War caused periods of high unemployment until the 1990s when major investment projects and the redevelopment of the docks area into the Hartlepool Marina saw a rise in the town's prospects. The town also has a seaside resort called Seaton Carew.