Fleamarket Postcards - Hartlepool to Middleton Ferry

The second postcard of Hartlepool  I came across in Stockton fleamarket was this view of the Hartlepool to Middleton Ferry.

Hartlepool Ferry (Photographer Alfred Price)

From 1854 to 1952 the ferry from Old Hartlepool to Middleton provided a means for Hrtlepool people to get to work. The 35 foot boats used had to cover only a short distance of c100 metres. From the 1800s people were employed in boat yards on Middleton beach. The village of Middleton, named after a local Methodist and friend of John Wesley, no longer exists.

The Museum of Hartlepool's photostream has the picture of the ferry boat being rowed by two men.

Hartlepool Old Ferry

The e-podunk website for Hartlepool has a postcard of the ferry in operation. Unfortunately they have not responded to my request to use their picture but you can see for yourself by visiting them here

The last ferry stopped soon after the last true ferryman slipped on the ferry steps.

The ferry man, Bull Boagey, cracked his head and died in 1951 while returning from a fishing trip.

Fleamarket Postcards - Sandwell Gate, Hartlepool

The Heugh a peninsula or headland in the North East of England is familiarly known as Old Hartlepool. It may have been an isolated tidal island in prehistoric times. Excavations in the 19^th century unearthed trunks of trees believed to be the remnants of an ancient forest. Antlers and teeth  recovered indicated that deer inhabited the area in those earlier times.

The Anglo-Saxon name for Hartlepool was Heret eu or Stag Island. This refers either to the shape of the headland or indicates the presence of forest deer. Heret eu later became known as Hart, a district covering the Heugh and the nearby villages of Hart and Billingham. The word ‘pool’ was added to distinguish the headland from Hart,

In the 13^th century the port and fishing town of Hartlepool was fortified by defensive walls built round the headland. Some parts of Hartlepool’s ancient wall remain, including Sandwell Gate.

Sandwell Gate 1908 (unused postcard)

 Photographer Alfred Price

A modern photo from Flickr shows the gate in recent times:

Sandwell Gate

 (ex flickr - by twiggles - CC BY-NC 2.0 license)

The postcard appears to be one of a series of local Heritage Prints by Alfred Price (1890-1912)