Celebrating Hartlepool’s Food and Drink Production in History and Now
Ask people what they think of when they think of Hartlepool and food, and they may suggest parmo’s or monkey football mascots offering free bananas.
Hopefully many would think instead of fishing, and there is even more to Hartlepool, both in history and now. As well as the fish industry there is a thriving allotment community within the town, a local brewery and many independent food producers.
There are also interesting stories to share concerning supply of eggs and salt, and Fair Trade has 20 years of history in the town. Find out more below.
Fishing
When many people think of food production in Hartlepool, they instantly picture fishing, which is not a surprise.
More information forthcoming soon, though a great information resource is the book ‘Fishing in Hartlepool’ by local resident Malcolm Cook, whose family background in the Hartlepool fishing industry goes back three generations.
Eggs
In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, Hartlepool was the biggest importer of eggs within the UK, holding the most important position in the country’s egg trade at the time. Find out more with these links:
https://hhtandn.org/notes/648/egg-imports
Salt
In 1894 a thick 100 metre salt seam was discovered in the locality and then mined for over 75 years. Find out more on this link:
https://www.thisishartlepool.co.uk/history/cerebos-salt-works.asp
Brewing
Cameron’s Brewery was established 1865 in Stranton, Hartlepool and 160 years later is the largest independent brewery in the North East. Find out more here:
Fruit and vegetable production – allotments
For many years Hartlepool residents have grown their own fresh produce on allotments throughout the town. Currently, there are over 1000 allotment plots in the town spread across 16 sites, maintained and managed by Hartlepool Borough Council (Allotments in Hartlepool | Hartlepool Borough Council).
More information forthcoming soon
Fair Trade in the town
Hartlepool this year celebrates twenty years as a recognised Fairtrade Town, the first in the Tees Valley to gain this status. Supported by the Borough Council, and now part of the Hartlepool Food Partnership, we work with schools, churches, community groups and the media to spread the word about fair trade and how the Fairtrade mark guarantees a fair price for the producer, also with retailers and cafes to stock or provide a range of Fairtrade products for the customer.
Find out more on our meet the partners page.