Blogs

Make Up and Beauty

In this blog we are counting down our top five make up and beauty objects in the collection at Preston Park Museum and Grounds.

Women Railway Workers in World War One

As part of Women’s History Month, we are telling the stories of the many women who worked for the North Eastern Railway and kept the Service running during a dark time in England’s history.

The Rondo wage slip

Hartlepool Museum’s collections include many pieces of shipping paperwork. This is a wage slip for a seaman working on a ship, the ‘Rondo’.

The Zetland Lifeboat

The design and building of lifeboats began around the 1780s, and it was at this time that a pioneering boatbuilder made the first lifeboats, one of which was the Zetland.

A Dickensian Christmas

Inspired by Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol', we are looking at the Victorian Christmas. The Victorians created many of our best loved Christmas traditions and decorations!

The Three Brothers Grant Coble

This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the building of the Three Brothers Grant Coble, a fishing boat currently displayed at the Museum of Hartlepool.

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.