St Hilda's Church

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Not only is St Hilda's a beautiful church, it also represents the whole of the Headland and tells the story of the town within its walls.

The Headland is a holy site, originally developed as the monastic community of St Hild in the 7th Century, and goes back to earliest cultural beginnings of English identity and rise of Christianity in this country.

So it's hardly surprising that in the centre of it all lies a well-loved church, St Hilda's, which is used not only as a church, but also as a visitor and community centre.

You can 'virtually' tour the Headland from within the church, with its interactive screens and short films - just remember to ask for one of the red hand-held players that will tell you the story of how Hartlepool came to be as you look around the sites inside.

The virtual tour tells the story the original Anglo-Saxon Hartlepool monastery, founded in 640 AD by St Aidan for both men and women, and destroyed by the Danes in the ninth century.

It tells of the occupation of the De Brus family in the 13th Century in which the church that stands today was built as a burial place for the family.

The tour concludes with Hartlepool's establishment as a port and fishing centre and life in the town today, and points out that the church has returned to it's medieval purpose, being used as a community space.