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Hartlepool

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Borough of Hartlepool
Image:EnglandHartlepool.png
Geography
Status:Unitary, borough
Region:North East England
Ceremonial County:Durham
Area:
- Total
Ranked 251st
93.86 km²
Admin. HQ:Hartlepool
ONS code:00EB
Demographics
Population:
- Total (2002 est.)
- Density
Ranked 257th
88,237
940 / km²
Ethnicity:98.8% White
Politics
Hartlepool Borough Council
http://www.hartlepool.gov.uk/
Leadership:Mayor & Cabinet
Mayor:Stuart Drummond
(Independent)
MP:Iain Wright

Hartlepool is a North Sea port in North East England. It is part of the traditional county of Durham, and, in 1974, formed part of the new metropolitan county of Cleveland. After the abolition of Cleveland, it was placed in the ceremonial county of Durham, 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 in 2001 had a resident population of 88,611.

Between 8.10 and 9.30 am on the morning of 16 December 1914, units of the Imperial German Navy bombarded Hartlepool, West Hartlepool, Whitby and Scarborough with a total of 1150 shells, killing 137 people and wounding 592. Two coastal defence batteries at Hartlepool returned fire, firing 143 shells, damaging 3 German ships including the battlecruiser SMS Blucher. An attempt by the German High Command to repeat the attack a month later led to the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January 1915.

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.

The Hartlepool constituency was represented in the House of Commons until summer 2004 by Labour MP, Peter Mandelson.

Mr Mandelson resigned to take up a role in the European Commission. The by-election on September 30 was a win for Labour's Iain Wright in spite of an 18% swing to the Liberal Democrats.

External link


Districts of England - North East England Flag of 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

de:Hartlepool

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