Doing the Pools
This week, we continue our mission to visit all the Northern League clubs, with a trip to FC Hartlepool.
Ironically, they will be facing Grangetown Boys Club in a Division Two game, after we visited their home last weekend.
Boysie will be hoping for a very different result from that FA Vase game against Tadcaster Albion. That said, they will find it tough going against a solid Hartlepool side.
FC Hartlepool play at the Grayfields Enclosure, just over a mile away from Hartlepool United‘s Victoria Park.
By visiting both, I like to think I will be ‘doing the Pools’ for the first time since Littlewoods collectors used to knock on doors.
Does anyone else remember those days?
I always enjoy going to Hartlepool, and it will be nice to see a little more of the town.
So, let’s get right on with it!
Hartlepool – The Journey
The day began by catching the 10:21 X1 to Peterlee. I told the driver I was heading to Hartlepool and asked which saver ticket would be best.
After buying the North East Saver for £7.50, we set off, arriving in Peterlee at 10:45.
Ten minutes later, I caught the connecting #23 bus to Hartlepool, arriving at 11:25.
I had decided I would like to see around the Headland area of Hartlepool before the game, as I hadn’t been there before.
I walked through the High Point Retail Park to the bus stop on the other side.
The 11:33 #7 bus arrived at 11:42, and I presented my TNE ticket to the driver. He frowned, shrugged, and waved me on board, and I thought nothing more of it.
While we make our way around, I will let you read about the town of Hartlepool.
Hartlepool
The town of Hartlepool sits on the Northeast Coast in southern County Durham.
It lies 13 miles north of Middlesbrough, 18 miles southeast of Durham, and 22 miles south of Sunderland.
In the 2021 Census, Hartlepool had a population of 92,338, a minimal rise from ten years previously.
The etymology of the town’s name stems from the Old English words ‘heort‘ (stag) and ‘pōl‘ (pool). Thus, Hartlepool is the ‘Pool of water used by stags‘. This also explains the use of a stag on the official club crest of Hartlepool United.
The town grew up around the spur of land now known as the Headland, where a monastery was constructed around 640 AD. Though long gone, its foundations were found on the grounds where St. Hilda’s Church now stands.
Hartlepool served as the harbour and official port for the County Palatine of Durham, and by the Middle Ages was also an important market town.
Gun battery emplacements were positioned on Hartlepool’s coast to ward off the threat of French attacks ahead of the Napoleonic Wars. These were added to as the war with Russia began in the Crimea, and were known as the Lighthouse Battery and the Heugh Battery.
These help explain FC Hartlepool’s use of a canon on the club crest.
Monkey Hangers
People from Hartlepool are officially known as Hartlepudlians, though you will often hear them referred to as ‘Monkey Hangers’. This refers to the folklore tale of a monkey being hanged as a French spy during the Napoleonic Wars.
A French ship was wrecked off the coast of the town, and the sole survivor was the ship’s mascot, a monkey. Unfortunately for the primate, the ship’s crew had dressed it in a French uniform for their amusement, which ultimately led to its demise.
Though no factual evidence of this event exists, the town has embraced the tale. The BBC did an article researching the veracity of the lore, which you can read here.
Hartlepool United have a mascot called H’angus the Monkey, while their fans happily call themselves the Monkey Hangers.
Amazingly, H’angus (Stuart Drummond) has been elected as town mayor on three occasions
Two statues of monkeys can be found in the town to memorialise the tale.
The Arrival of Railways and Change
In 1833, the Hartlepool Dock and Railway Company was founded. Coal from County Durham was freighted to newly built docks and distributed via ship, thus bringing a new industry to the town.
By 1839, Ralph Ward Jackson was in charge of the company and became frustrated by planning restrictions in the old docks. His solution was to purchase land to the south and establish a new town called West Hartlepool.
If you have ever heard the term ‘Hartlepools United’, it is because Hartlepool was initially formed from these two towns, both old and new.
War and Modern Hartlepool
The heavy industries of the Hartlepools made it a prime target for Germany during both World Wars.
On 16th December 1914, 1,150 shells were fired at Hartlepool from the seaborne forces of Kaiser Wilhelm. The first British soldier to die in an attack on Great Britain in the war, Private Theophilus Jones, fell on The Headland that day.
During World War II, Hartlepool experienced a resurgence in its shipbuilding industry, but it paid a heavy price. The German Luftwaffe raided the town on 43 occasions, with 75 civilian deaths recorded in the combined Hartlepools.
As with most of England, the town suffered from the losses of its industrial past.
In 1961, the last ship built there left the docks, while the British Steel works in the town was closed in 1977. Like most of the Northeast region, the closure of the mining industry also impacted the town.
West Hartlepool became so successful that it eclipsed the old town, and, on April 1st 1967, the two were merged into one larger town under the name Hartlepool.
Queen Elizabeth II was on hand to open the redeveloped docks as a marina.
The Hartlepool Historic Quay was opened a year later, alongside the National Museum of the Royal Navy. It is here that the HMS Trincomalee lies in dock for visitors to wander around.
Tourism is a draw for the town’s economy, and a significant factor in this is the Tall Ships event, most recently held in 2023.
The town’s largest current employer is Hartlepool’s nuclear power station.
Notable People from Hartlepool
Actors: Kieran Bew, Philip Middlemiss and Darren Morfitt – Dancer, Wayne Sleep – sci-fi author, Niel Bushnell – guitarists, Janick Gers (Iron Maiden) and Jeremy Spencer (Fleetwood Mac) – fashion designer, Scott Henshall – record producer, Liam Howe – naval architect, Joseph Isherwood – TV’s Scott Garthwaite, AKA the Punk Chef – TV presenter and actor, Peter Wheeler, and Andy Capp Creator, Reg Smyth.
Of course, Jeff Stelling, Hartlepool United’s star fan and sports presenter, is probably the best-known native of the town among sports lovers.
The Headland
So, while you were reading about the Hartlepools, I had made my journey to the Headland, or Old Hartlepool.
The Headland almost has the feel of a separate, neighbouring town, which makes sense given that it once was.
Cash is king here, with credit cards not accepted in either the chip shop or the pub I visited.
I got off the bus near St. Hilda’s Church, and despite being an atheist, I do appreciate the architecture of some religious buildings.
I made my way around the corner, crossed the car park and into Verrills Chip Shop.
Fish and chips had been calling me since the decision to come here had been made. There is nothing like eating them with the smell of the sea in the air.
It seemed like I had chosen the right place, with a large queue of locals already in situ. I joined the line and ordered my lunch at a cost of £11.70.
Looking for a suitable place to sit and eat wasn’t difficult. The Squircle is situated next to the chip shop and features a large circle surrounded by benches, located opposite the magnificent Hartlepool Borough Hall.
You also have the choice to walk towards the sea and sit in the lovely Croft Gardens.
A nice flaky fish and decent chips were soon demolished, and it was time to find my next target.
The Home of Andy Capp
As a kid, I used to love the comic strips in the newspapers, and Andy Capp was a staple of that. The archetypal bad husband, always at the pub, gambling, landing in jail, or getting home late.
All that said, it was entertaining and funny in days when people still had a sense of humour about human frailties, traits and weaknesses.
What I didn’t know then, but do now, is that Andy Capp was created by Hartlepool man, Reg Smyth, and was set in the town.
Fitting then that a statue of the comic strip anti-hero is located here.
Speaking of bars, time to find one… what’s that? Oh, look, there is one right next door to the statue!
The Pot House
If I were in Amsterdam, I would probably expect to find something quite different in an establishment of this name.
Here in Hartlepool’s Headland, The Pot House has a more local vibe, with lobster pots being the likely source of its name.
Unfortunately, lobster fishing off Hartlepool is in severe decline due to the fall in numbers of the crunchy crustaceans
I walked in to find the barmaid trying to start a coal fire at the other side of the room.
She served me a pint of Coors, costing £3.70, before we both set about trying to get her fire going. It’s a bit of a dying art these days, isn’t it?
With neither of us being very good at it, it took a while, but eventually Stacey got a nice roaring fire going.
Having told her I review the towns and pubs I visit, we decided to get a photo of the ‘Great Fire Mission’.
The pub is a nice place for a pint, and it’s pretty big, too. Aside from the room I sat in, I think there were as many as three other rooms, too.
The décor evokes an old-school pub atmosphere, with a few themed pieces.
After finishing my drink, I said goodbye to Stacey and made my way out to catch the #7 bus back into town.
Nope, Sorry!
Having arrived at the bus stop, the driver looked at my ticket and told me it wasn’t valid in Hartlepool.
I told him the ticket was valid for the whole of the North East, including as far as Berwick-upon-Tweed in the north, down to County Durham. Hartlepool is part of County Durham, though the driver told me it isn’t.
A geography teacher he will never be.
However, he wasn’t going to be budged, so I told him I would walk instead of paying, and hoped he had a nice day.
I did at least get the satisfaction of seeing a guilty look on his face as he drove away.
With these buses running every 10 minutes, I walked a couple of stops further and waited for the next one to appear. This driver had no problem letting me on board, despite the other one saying he’d get sacked if he let me on… 🙄
Long story short, I arrived in town, caught the #3 bus (again, no problem with my ticket) from Victoria Road, and disembarked at Challoner Road at 14:25.
From here, it was a simple case of turning left, crossing the road and entering Grayfields Sports Pavilion.
FC Hartlepool – Grayfields Enclosure
Getting In
Entry into the Greyfields Enclosure (which is a part of the larger Greyfields Sports Pavilion), is via cash or card and costs £5.00.
I also bought a programme from the guys in the gate hut.
Programme
FC’s programme costs £1.50, and for that you get 24 semi-glossy pages of content, 10 of which are adverts.
There is a page welcoming you to Grayfields, along with three pages dedicated to the away team, a photo gallery of a previous game, FC Hartlepool player profiles, and club history. Additionally, you’ll find the usual league table and fixtures.
With nearly half of the pages dedicated to adverts, I feel that £1.00 would be a more appropriate price for the programme, but well done for producing one!
East End
Entry is in the northeast corner of the ground, and we will start by heading left, along the east end.
Not a lot to say here, other than this backs onto the Jesmond Gardens road, with a fence and some bushes helping to keep the ball away from passing traffic.
South Side
Moving around, we come to the south side, where a single, covered and seated stand straddles the halfway line.
The stand has the capacity to hold around 100 spectators.
Three floodlights complete the furnishings on this side.
West End
At the west end are two more of the temporary-style stands.
One is a covered, all-seated stand with a capacity of 50, while the other is a covered terrace.
North Side
The North side is the central hub of the ground.
While there are no spectator structures on this side, it does contain the beer tent, the Sports Pavilion, dressing rooms, players’ entrance and technical dugouts.
There is also a modified shipping crate called Murray’s Munchbox, which sells snacks and soft drinks.
In front of the Sports Pavilion, a few picnic tables are available for people to enjoy their food and drinks.
Toilets are located within the main pavilion building.
FC Hartlepool – Grayfields Enclosure Gallery
The playing surface at Grayfields Enclosure is natural grass, and the capacity is recorded as 1,000.
However, the record crowd at Grayfields Enclosure is 1,516.
This was set as recently as 8th July 2025, when the visitors were Hartlepool United for a pre-season friendly.
FC Hartlepool Tidbits
According to the matchday programme, FC Hartlepool Football Club was founded in 1979.
Originally called the Fens Hotel, they played in a local Hartlepool-based league.
The club went through a few different name changes along the way, with Mowbray, Warrior and Teesside Arriva being among them.
As Hartlepool Arriva, they won the Durham Minor Cup, the Durham Trophy and the Teesside League.
In 2006, another change saw them rebranded as Hartlepool FC, and so-called, they entered the Wearside League.
In May 2018, Hartlepool won the Alan Hood Trophy, defeating Hebburn Town Reserves on penalties.
Further club rebranding occurred in 2019, with a switch to the current name of FC Hartlepool, which also became a registered charity in the process.
This helped the club secure the Grayfields Enclosure as its permanent home from the local council.
The Wearside League Cup was won in 2017/18, and in 2022 the Alan Hood Trophy was recaptured.
However, the big prize was promotion to the Northern League in the 2023/24 season, following a Wearside League title success.
Now, the club encompasses forty teams of all ages, from U-6s to over 40s.
The club motto is ‘Sic itur ad astra‘, which translates from Latin as ‘Thus one journeys to the stars‘.
FC Hartlepool is currently managed by Terry Hill, who will aim to push the club ever higher.
FC Hartlepool – Pre-Game View of Grayfields Enclosure
FC Hartlepool v Grangetown Boys Club – The Game
Form
Coming into today’s game, FC find themselves in third position in the Northern League Division Two.
After playing 17 games, they have 30 points with nine wins and three draws. During those matches, they have scored 29 times, while conceding 15.
However, they have been defeated in their last two league games against Jarrow and Durham United. Last time out, they were knocked out of the FA Vase by West Allotment Celtic.
Meanwhile, their opponents in today’s game, Grangetown Boys Club, sit in 18th position.
From 16 games played, they have won just three times and drawn five. While scoring 18 times, they have conceded 32 goals, revealing their Achilles’ heel.
Having watched them ship four goals against Tadcaster Albion last week, I know that the back line needs to improve and those stats back it up.
I foresee a win for FC Hartlepool with multiple goals scored, though I also fancy Grangetown to score.
Pre-match prediction: FC Hartlepool 3 Grangetown Boys Club 1
Kick-Off
Summary
Things didn’t start too badly for the visitors, and they matched the home side’s attacking efforts.
That all changed once FC took the lead in the 25th minute, though.
After conceding a corner, the resulting cross was met by the head of Jake Stott at the near post. He flicked it over the goalkeeper to make it 1-0.
Eight minutes later, another corner, another header, and another goal for FC, with Grangetown’s keeper displaying a Dracula-like aversion to crosses.
Two became three just two minutes later.
With FC rampant, a forward move saw the ball crossed to the far side of the area, where Lewy Green was lurking unmarked.
He hit a speculative effort towards the goal and was rewarded when it went under the keeper’s hands and into the net.
If you don’t buy a ticket, you can’t win!
A miserable first half for Boysie was completed in the 43rd minute, when Stott helped himself to a second goal.
A speculative effort at goal rebounded favourably for the onrushing Stott, who swept it into the far corner from twelve yards out.
Halftime – FC Hartlepool 4 Grangetown Boys Club 0
During the first half, I had been chatting to my neighbour in the seat to my right.
As always, football is a great place to talk to complete strangers, and you never know who you might end up talking to.
On this occasion, I found myself talking to Eddie Kyle, the former BBC Radio Tees Sport co-commentator for Hartlepool United.
It was a pleasure to speak with him, and it was clear that he has had a long career in football, discussing his playing days and various management roles as well.
At halftime, he had gone to stretch his legs and was talking to Hartlepool United, Ipswich and Sunderland midfielder Tommy Miller.
I decided to be a cheeky git and wandered up to ask them to sign my programme for me. Not something I would normally do, but both guys were friendly and approachable, so a big thank you to them.
In fact, Tommy Miller was at the game watching his son, also called Tom, who plays for FC. I’m sure they were both happy with today’s efforts.
Second Half
The second half began with Grangetown trying to stem the flow and shore up the defence.
They succeeded to some degree, but they couldn’t prevent Mikey McGee from making it five in the 55th minute.
Good work from Joe Spalding on the left-hand side saw his cross met by the head of McGee.
Again, I felt the ‘keeper could have done better, but he couldn’t prevent the effort going into the net.
After that, I’m not sure if Grangetown tightened things up or if FC took their foot off the pedal, but it was a much closer game for the rest of the contest, with no further goals.
As the final whistle blew, both teams were happy to hear it. FC, happy to keep the pressure up on the teams around them, with Boysie heading home to lick their wounds.
If and when a Match Report becomes available, I will post it here.
Full-time – FC Hartlepool 5 Grangetown Boys Club 0
Attendance – 107
Entrance Fee – £5.00
Programme – £1.50
FC Hartlepool v Grangetown Boys Club – Match Highlights
League Table After Today’s Game
Up Next
Next up for FC is a trip to Park View AFC’s (formerly Chester-Le-Street United) Riverside ground on 4th October.
Back-to-back fixtures at Grayfields follow, with first Prudhoe YC Seniors (11th) and then Sunderland West End (18th) the visitors.
October ends with two away games at Tow Law Town on the 21st and Sunderland RCA on the 25th.
For Grangetown BC, they will look for immediate improvements when they host Sunderland West End on October 4th.
A trip to Sunderland RCA on the 11th is followed by hosting high-flying Seaham Red Star on the 18th.
October ends with a visit to Ryton & Crawcrook Albion on the 25th.
FC Hartlepool Thoughts
FC Hartlepool is a surprisingly good venue to watch football.
There was more to it than I was expecting and I came away pleasantly surprised.
Facilities are good, with plenty of covered seating provided for an average home game.
The bar in a tent was unexpected, and though I never drink while watching a game, it’s a good thing for people who do.
Accepting cards and cash is always a bonus, as it prevents nasty surprises for those who don’t carry cash.
A printed programme is a good thing, though it is pretty heavy on adverts, and some of the content is probably the same in every programme issued.
I would suggest lowering the price to £1.00, though I do appreciate the fact that the club bother to print one when many don’t.
The other thing missing from the experience, for me personally, was the lack of pin badges for sale.
As you can imagine, trying to find one online just brings up loads of Hartlepool United badges. I really hope to find one to keep my collection going.
If anyone knows where I can get one, please let me know!
All in all, Grayfields gets a thumbs up from me, and I have no problem recommending it to other non-league fans.
After the Game
Following the final whistle, I realised I would have to wait nearly an hour for the bus.
Rather than stand around waiting, I resolved to check out a little more of the town.
I walked around 1.3 miles to the Marine Point site, where new homes are being built on Hartlepool Beach.
Keeping an eye on the time, I had a quick wander on the beach before making my way back to West View Road to catch the bus.
From here, I caught the #24 bus at 17:53, heading to Peterlee.
Again, I encountered a driver who claimed my ticket was invalid, and, not being in a position to walk the rest of the way, I had to pay again.
It’s weird how I had no problem getting to Hartlepool on the same service, eh?
Honestly, they need to recognise that Hartlepool is in County Durham, or adapt those tickets so that people know where they can and can’t travel within the area!
Arriving in Peterlee at 18:15, I had only a short wait before catching the 18:23 X1 home.
After grabbing a few things for Mrs Hopper in Tesco, I was through my front door by 19:00.
Another successful Hop in the books.
Next Up for Hoppers Guide
Next weekend, the mission continues apace, with a trip to another Northern League outpost.
Newly promoted Darlington Town are the hosts, with Esh Winning the visitors to the Eastbourne Sports Complex.
I now have just six teams left to visit in the Northern League, four of which play on 3G surfaces, with Darlington Town being one of them.
Another newly promoted team, Durham United, along with Park View AFC and Boro Rangers, are the other three. Alnwick Town and Redcar Town complete the teams missing from my reviews.
Hopefully, I will complete them all this season, and there are a good few that will receive repeat visits from me.
For now, our focus turns to Darlington Town…
Onto the next!
