Hartlepool
| Hartlepool | |
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Hartlepool is a North Sea port in North East England. It was traditionally part of County Durham, but was removed in 1974 to form part of the new county of Cleveland. After the abolition of Cleveland, it reverted to Durham for ceremonial purposes, but is governed by a unitary authority.
It was founded as a village in the 7th century AD, springing up around a nearby monastery. By the start of the nineteenth century it still had a population of only a thousand, but it boomed during the industrial revolution and now has about 100,000 inhabitants.
Hartlepool is famous for executing a monkey, the sole survivor of a shipwreck, during the Napoleonic Wars. Not knowing what a Frenchman looked like, and with the monkey unable to defend himself against accusations of spying, they hanged the monkey.
In accordance with this legend, the mascot of Hartlepool United F.C is H'Angus the monkey, real name Stuart Drummond, who in 2002 became the first directly-elected Mayor of Hartlepool. He campaigned on a platform which included free bananas for schoolchildren.
Hartlepool is represented in the House of Commons by Labour MP, Peter Mandelson.
| Districts of England - North East England | |
| Alnwick - Berwick-upon-Tweed - Blyth Valley - Castle Morpeth - Chester-le-Street - Darlington - Derwentside - Durham - Easington - Gateshead - Hartlepool - Middlesbrough - Newcastle upon Tyne - North Tyneside - Redcar and Cleveland - Sedgefield - South Tyneside - Stockton-on-Tees - Sunderland - Teesdale - Tynedale - Wansbeck - Wear Valley | |
| 1974 counties: Cleveland - County Durham - Northumberland - Tyne and Wear |