| Middleton | |
|---|---|
 The shops overlooking the Marina | |
  Middleton Location within County Durham | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Middleton is an area of Hartlepool, in the Borough of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. [1] It is on the North Sea coast between the centre of Hartlepool and The Headland.
The area takes its name from a wealthy Wesleyan. [2]
In the medieval era it has long been believed to have served as part of both the sea and military defence for the harbour. However, as Hartlepool went into decline Middleton gradually lost its significance; by the late 18th century half of neighbouring Victoria and Commissioners Harbour was recorded as being half-filled in and used as a cornfield.
In the early 19th century, Hartlepool's fate changed as the town began to industrialise, and the Grays, the Swansons, and the Jacksons began investing in the new docks that would emerge to the South, as the Dyke House Marshes where drained. Gradually Middleton re-emerged becoming more or less an island, in the centre of the new dockyards. Due to its prominent position, it seemed for some to be the ideal place to establish shipyards. A number of shipyards existed at Middleton including those of John Punshon Denton, [3] John Winspear, [4] Alexander Withy, [5] William Gray & Co., [6] Dring & Pattison and Thomas Richardson. [7] At its height in the late 19th century, the area had three shipyards and two engineering works based in Middleton. Middleton was a community in its own right, consisting of three streets of terraced houses and a number of pubs. It was also home to a "Rocket House" which was used for signalling ships.
In the 1940s, this area of Hartlepool was home to many decommissioned or mothballed Royal Navy ships, as well as ships of Axis Powers, waiting to be refitted or dismantled. These included one of Adolf Hitler's yachts.
From the end of the Second World War the dockyards in Hartlepool gradually fell into decline, partly due to the moving of several key industries, the declines in export of coal. For Middleton it was particularly hard hit by a decline, in the commission of ships built in British shipyards, as well as the fact much of the Dockyards at Hartlepool were gradually considered unsuitable for the modern container ships (until the improvements made to Central Dock, which now serves as the main port of the town). This and a combination of the highly polluted, dirty and derelict environment of Middleton, gradually led to the site's depopulation, to a point where by the late 1980s the only inhabited part was a surviving pub. Most of the buildings with the exception of several derelict buildings, mainly belonging to the Engineering Works, warehouses and the modern buildings of Greys Shipyards, had been demolished.
Since 2003 a series of new apartments have been completed, which roughly cover the site of the terrace houses.
Middleton was added as a Local Board District in the Hartlepool Borough in 1883. [8]
On 31 December 1894 Middleton became a civil parish, being formed from the part of Stranton in Hartlepool municipal borough, [9] on 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished and merged with Hartlepool. [10] In 1931 the parish had a population of 16,808. [11] It is now in the unparished area of Hartlepool.
Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Dockyards. This was a major shipbuilding dock and attracted Peter the Great to come and study shipbuilding. Deptford and the docks are associated with the knighting of Sir Francis Drake by Queen Elizabeth I aboard the Golden Hind, the legend of Sir Walter Raleigh laying down his cape for Elizabeth, Captain James Cook's third voyage aboard HMS Resolution, and the mysterious apparent murder of Christopher Marlowe in a house along Deptford Strand.
Hartlepool is a seaside and 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 87,995, it is the second-largest settlement in County Durham.
Pembroke Dock is a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of Pembroke on the banks of the River Cleddau. Originally Paterchurch, a small fishing village, Pembroke Dock town expanded rapidly following the construction of the Royal Navy Dockyard in 1814. The Cleddau Bridge links Pembroke Dock with Neyland.
West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland.
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham.
Blackwell is a suburb in the borough of Darlington and the ceremonial county of Durham, England. It is situated towards the edge of the West End of Darlington, beside the River Tees. Blackwell consists of large 1930s style semi-detached and detached houses, and private, newly built homes. Blackwell Grange is an 18th-century country house converted into a hotel.
Cockerton is an area in the north-west of Darlington in the borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The Cocker Beck flows through the area and empties into the River Skerne via The Denes, an area and string of valleyed parks donated for the town in the early 20th century. It is also near Mowden, Branksome, West Park and Faverdale.
Throston is an area of north Hartlepool within the borough of Hartlepool in County Durham, England. The area name is from the Anglo Saxon thosson meaning hill.
Seaton Carew is a seaside resort in the Borough of Hartlepool in County Durham, England. It gives its name to the Seaton ward, which had an estimated population of 7,194 in 2021. It is deemed part of the Hartlepool built-up area by the Office for National Statistics, but is separated from the main part of the urban area by the Durham Coast Line. The resort is on the North Sea coast and north of the River Tees estuary.
Royal Navy Dockyards were state-owned harbour facilities where ships of the Royal Navy were built, based, repaired and refitted. Until the mid-19th century the Royal Dockyards were the largest industrial complexes in Britain.
His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy. Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is located on the eastern shore of Portsmouth Harbour, north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight. For centuries it was officially known as HM Dockyard, Portsmouth: as a Royal Dockyard, Portsmouth functioned primarily as a state-owned facility for building, repairing and maintaining warships; for a time it was the largest industrial site in the world.
Middleton Grange is a shopping centre in Hartlepool, England. It was built in 1969 and it was opened by Princess Anne on 27 May 1970. The site of the shopping centre was originally terraced streets that were demolished in the late 1960s.
The Borough of Hartlepool is a local government district with borough status in County Durham, England. Since 1996 Hartlepool Borough Council has been a unitary authority, which gives it both district-level and county-level functions; it is independent of Durham County Council. It is named after its largest settlement, Hartlepool, where the council is based. The borough also includes a rural area to the west of the town. The population of the borough at the 2021 census was 92,571, of which over 95% (87,995) lived in the built-up area of Hartlepool itself.
Greatham is a village and civil parish in the borough of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The population of the civil parish was taken in the 2011 census was 2,132. Greatham village is located approximately three miles south of Hartlepool town centre.
His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Royal Navy. The largest naval base in Western Europe, HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth, England.
Graythorp was a village and now a trading estate within the borough of Hartlepool and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is located on the A178 Tees Road about 1 mile south of Hartlepool.
The Cairncross Dockyard was a shipyard beside the Brisbane River at 405 Thynne Road, Morningside, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It included one of Australia's largest graving docks with an 8.5 metre deep water access, capable of taking Panamax vessels of up to 85,000 dwt, up to 263 metres long x 33.5 metres wide. It is second in size only to the Royal Australian Navy's Captain Cook Graving Dock in Sydney.
Stranton is an area of south Hartlepool in the borough of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It is a former village and parish.
HM Tug Char, formally the North Eastern Railway tug Stranton, was a ship requisitioned by the Admiralty during the Great War.
John Winspear was a ship builder in Hartlepool, England.
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