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Cliff House Pottery

Cliff House Pottery was opened at West Hartlepool in 1880 by William Henry Smith, whose family already had a legacy in making pottery. Throughout its short lifetime, Cliff House made many iconic pieces.

John Walker and the friction match

John Walker is well-known in Stockton for being the inventor of the friction match in 1826. However, he went uncredited for his discovery for decades until independent researchers gave him the recognition he deserved.

Trends, Fabric and Fashion, 1967

To celebrate Fashion Week 2021, we are diving into our collections and finding those styles that never go out of style. Hartlepool Museum Service hold an amazing collection of 1960s clothing that was donated by a fashionista who spent her life collecting the top trends.

Ghost Stories at the Railway Station

For Halloween we are looking at ghost stories from one of our most haunted museums – Head of Steam – Darlington Railway Museum. The museum is housed in the original North Road Station, built in 1842 on the Stockton and Darlington Railway line. It is often featured on the UKs most haunted railway stations. So, what is it about this building that is so haunting?

British Railway Uniforms

To celebrate London Fashion Week we are highlighting some of the stories in our collections. Next up we are looking at railway uniforms.

When you think of fashion, railways might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But for a short time in the 1960s, British Railways was as ‘on trend’ as any major fashion label. Well, maybe.

The Liberty Dress

To celebrate London Fashion Week we are highlighting some of the stories in our collections. To kick us off we are looking at the Victorian obsession with tightlacing and the Liberty Dress that fought back against this movement.

In the late Victorian period, the phenomenon known as tightlacing began to rise in popularity, as Victorian women became determined that they and their daughters could be pulled into a corset and tightly laced down to a 16 or 18 inch waist.

The Life and Sketches of Joseph Parrott

Joseph Parrott’s life was filled with the pursuit of knowledge, in any subject which took his interest, and the desire to share that knowledge with those around him. He also completed many highly detailed sketches of Stockton, creating a snapshot of the town during the late Victorian period.

Children’s Clothing

In this blog we are looking into the children’s clothing we hold in our collections. Most of the clothing we keep in our museums covers the last 200 years.

Redcar and Saltburn in Postcards

In Kirkleatham Museum’s collection there are holiday postcards of Redcar and Saltburn, collected when the towns were at their height as tourist destinations.

ICI

ICI was one of the most well-known businesses in the Tees Valley, being a large producer of chemicals, and the Billingham site also had a part to play in the Second World War.

Charles Garnett and Sons

Charles Garnett was a trained grocer who travelled to Middlesbrough in the 1890s to set up his own business. While not a household name, Garnett and Sons was nonetheless a successful business in its time and supplied drinks and confectionary to the people of the Tees Valley.

Ivy Close

Ivy Close was a Stockton born actress who was a big name in the early silent movie era.