# Middleton, Hartlepool

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Area of Hartlepool, County Durham, England

Human settlement in England

Middleton The shops overlooking the Marina Middleton Location within County Durham Unitary authority Hartlepool Ceremonial county Durham Region North East Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom List of places UK England County Durham 54°41′35″N 1°11′43″W / 54.693°N 1.1954°W / 54.693; -1.1954

**Middleton** is an area of [Hartlepool](/source/Hartlepool), in the [Borough of Hartlepool](/source/Borough_of_Hartlepool), [County Durham](/source/County_Durham), England.[1] It is on the [North Sea](/source/North_Sea) coast between the centre of [Hartlepool](/source/Hartlepool) and [The Headland](/source/The_Headland).

## History and Etymology

The area takes its name from a wealthy Wesleyan.[2]

In the [medieval](/source/Medieval) era it has long been believed to have served as part of both the sea and military defence for the [harbour](/source/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](/source/Maize).

In the early 19th century, Hartlepool's fate changed as the town began to [industrialise](/source/Industrialise), and the Grays, the Swansons, and the Jacksons began investing in the new [docks](/source/Dock_(maritime)) that would emerge to the South, as the Dyke House Marshes were 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](/source/Shipyard). A number of shipyards existed at Middleton including those of John Punshon Denton,[3] [John Winspear](/source/John_Winspear),[4] Alexander Withy,[5] [William Gray](/source/William_Gray_%26_Company) & 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](/source/Terrace_houses) and a number of [pubs](/source/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](/source/Reserve_fleet) [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) ships, as well as ships of [Axis powers](/source/Axis_powers), waiting to be refitted or dismantled. These included one of [Adolf Hitler](/source/Adolf_Hitler)'s yachts.

From the end of the [Second World War](/source/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](/source/Container_ship) (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](/source/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.

The apartments

Since 2003 a series of new apartments have been completed, which roughly cover the site of the [terrace houses](/source/Terrace_houses).

## Governance

Middleton was added as a Local Board District in the Hartlepool Borough in 1883.[8]

On 31 December 1894 Middleton became a [civil parish](/source/Civil_parish), being formed from the part of [Stranton](/source/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](/source/Unparished_area) of Hartlepool.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-OS93_1-0)** *Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 93*Middlesbrough (Darlington & Hartlepool) (Map). Ordnance Survey. 2010. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780319228777](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780319228777).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Surtees, Robert (1816–1840). [*The history and antiquities of the county palatine of Durham*](http://worldcat.org/oclc/1298760393). J. B. Nichols and son; [etc.etc.] [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [1298760393](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1298760393).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Hartlepool History Then & Now"](https://www.hhtandn.org/hartlepool-ships-and-shipping/shipbuilding/207/dentons-shipyard). *hhtandn.org*. Retrieved 22 August 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Hartlepool History Then & Now"](https://www.hhtandn.org/hartlepool-ships-and-shipping/shipbuilding/202/winspears-shipyard). *hhtandn.org*. Retrieved 22 August 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Hartlepool History Then & Now"](https://www.hhtandn.org/hartlepool-ships-and-shipping/shipbuilding/206/withys-shipyard). *hhtandn.org*. Retrieved 22 August 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Hartlepool History Then & Now"](https://www.hhtandn.org/hartlepool-ships-and-shipping/shipbuilding/200/grays-shipyard). *hhtandn.org*. Retrieved 22 August 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Hartlepool History Then & Now"](https://www.hhtandn.org/hartlepool-ships-and-shipping/shipbuilding/201/richardsons-shipyard). *hhtandn.org*. Retrieved 22 August 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Cookson, Gillian.; Page, William (1905). [*The Victoria history of the county of Durham; ed. by William Page*](https://dx.doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.36479). London: [A. Constable and Co.] [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.5962/bhl.title.36479](https://doi.org/10.5962%2Fbhl.title.36479).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Hartlepool Registration District"](https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/hartlepool.html). UKBMD. Retrieved 31 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Relationships and changes Middleton CP through time"](https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10058016). A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 31 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Population statistics Middleton CP through time"](https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10058016/cube/TOT_POP). A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 31 March 2024.

v t e Borough of Hartlepool Towns, villages & areas Brierton Claxton Dalton Piercy Elwick Graythorp Greatham Hart Hartlepool Headland High Throston Middleton Newton Bewley Owton Manor Rift House Seaton Carew West Park West View Wynyard Postcodes History Hartlepool Abbey Museum of Hartlepool West Hartlepool Town Hall Trolleybuses in Hartlepool Maritime Hartlepool's Maritime Experience Heugh Battery HMS Trincomalee PS Wingfield Castle Seaton Tower Governance By-elections Local elections Parliamentary constituency Buildings Hartlepool Borough Hall Heugh Battery West Hartlepool Town Hall Memorials Redheugh Gardens War Memorial Seaton Tower West Hartlepool War Memorial Places of worship Nasir Mosque St Hilda's Church St Joseph's Church St Mary's Church St Mary Magdalene Church Retail, Culture, Leisure & Tourism Hartlepool Art Gallery Ward Jackson Park Hartlepool's Maritime Experience HMS Trincomalee Middleton Grange Shopping Centre Museum of Hartlepool PS Wingfield Castle Seaton Tower Services Education Hartlepool College of Further Education Hartlepool Sixth Form College Schools Health Epilepsy Outlook University Hospital of Hartlepool Police: Cleveland Police Tees and Hartlepool Harbour Police Transport Rail lines Durham Coast Rail stations Hartlepool Seaton Carew Road A19 A178 A179 A689 A1086 Sport Clubs Football Hartlepool United F.C. FC Hartlepool Seaton Carew F.C. Golf Hartlepool Golf Club Seaton Carew Golf Club Rugby West Hartlepool R.F.C. Hartlepool Rovers Venues Victoria Park SSSIs Hart Bog Hartlepool Submerged Forest Seaton Carew Wreck Seaton Dunes and Common Tees and Hartlepool Foreshore and Wetlands Miscellaneous People Category

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Middleton, Hartlepool](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middleton%2C_Hartlepool) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middleton%2C_Hartlepool?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.