British Listed Buildings

Listing Text

HARTLEPOOL HIGH STREET
NZ 5233
(north side),
Headland.

8/76 Church of
St. Hilda
31.3.49 (formerly listed
under Church Walk)

G.V. I

Church, c.1200, incorporating remains of early C12 church, on site of C7
monastery; aisles partly rebuilt C15; restored c.1724 and mid C19 by C.
Hodgson Fowler; chancel partly rebuilt c.1870 by J.B. Pritchett (Darlington)
and 1925/32 by W.D. Caroe, in Early English style, when whole church was
restored. Mid C13 tower, restored 1838, 1893 and 1930. Late C13 Galilee
chapel restored 1928; south porch 1932. Dressed limestone with roofs of
Westmorland slate; stone slates to porch. Clearstoried and aisled nave and
chancel, Bruce chapel (ambulatory), south porch, west tower with north and
south aisles, and Galilee chapel. 3-stage tower has angle buttresses,
massive late C13 shoring walls on 3 sides and flying buttresses to south
side. Vice at south-west angle is carried up as turret. Above tower aisles
with renewed windows, are blind 4-bay arcades. Mid C12 west-doorway of 4
chamfered orders, flanked by earlier doorway remains : 2 orders of shafts
with stiff-leaf capitals and dogtooth moulding between them. North, south
and west faces of middle stage have paired lancets behind 2-bay arcades with
clock faces in spandrels. East face of upper stage has 2 lancets, other
faces have 2 lancets behind 4-bay arcades. Embattled parapet has crocketed
angle pinnacles. Galilee chapel adjoining west side of tower, has late C13
doorway of 4 chamfered orders. Buttressed 6-bay nave and 4-bay chancel have
mid C13 lancet set behind partly blind 3-bay arcade in each bay of
clearstories. Nave aisles have mid C19 windows. Altered early C12
round-headed south doorway of 2 lozenge-and-chevron moulded orders, those
below springing moved outwards to allow 3rd order of nook shafts. 2-bay
chancel aisles are spanned by flying buttresses and have paired lancets.
Single-bay Bruce chapel has tall grouped lancets and octagonal angle
turrets. Tower has quadripartite vaulting to lower stage and tower arches
on 3 sides, that to east being shouldered and of 3 orders; others of 2
orders; all with filleted keel and roll mouldings. North arcade of nave has
5 rolled and keeled orders on compound piers with circular abaci and
octagonal bases. South arcade has 5 keeled orders and compound piers, each
with circular abacus and chamfered circular plinth. Round wall-shafts to
clearstories. Chancel arcades similar to nave; 2 east bays rebuilt and
blank but for lancets. Chancel arch of c.1200 has 4 moulded orders and
compound responds of keeled, and filleted round shafts with waterleaf
capitals and square abaci. 3-bay lancet arcade divides Bruce chapel from
chancel. Font of c.1728 : scalloped marble basin and baluster shaft, with
wood crown cover. Oak rood screen, 1894, by C. Hodgson Fowler. Piscina in
south aisle of chancel, has nailhead ornament. Late C16 brass on north
aisle wall, has female figure and inscription. Late C7 grave marker with
runic inscription, on south wall of chancel. Worn medieval grave slab with
effigy, on late C13 chest tomb in Bruce chapel. Many Saxon and medieval
architectural fragments throughout church. V.C.H., Durham, Vol. 3, 1928,
pp. 278-283.


Listing NGR: NZ5283633682

Source: English Heritage

Listed building text is © Crown Copyright. Reproduced under licence: PSI Click-use licence number C2008002006.