Hartlepool Headland

Summary

A coastal promontory with medieval town walls, a Norman church, a Victorian fish quay, and the working-class street pattern of an original fishing settlement distinct from the Victorian town inland.

About this location

The Headland is the historic core of Hartlepool — a small promontory jutting into the North Sea that was the original settlement long before the Victorian industrial town grew to the south and west. The Headland has a partial circuit of medieval town walls, St Hilda’s Church (Norman, 12th century, Grade I), the Victorian fish quay with working fishing vessels, and the dense streets of Victorian fishermen’s terraces that fill the promontory.

The National Museum of the Royal Navy at Hartlepool (the Historic Quay) is at the southern end of the headland, with recreated period quayside environments and HMS Trincomalee, the oldest British warship still afloat. The fish quay operates commercially; the headland streets are residential.

For productions, the Headland gives a north-east coastal community environment — working harbour, medieval church, Victorian fishing-town streets — that is entirely distinct from the Victorian industrial town and from standard period drama settings. Hartlepool Borough Council handles filming permits.