Over 1000 people crowded into Grange Road in July 1954 to see Scotland Rugby Captain William Irving Douglas Elliott leaving the St Paul's Church with his new bride Miss Eileen Peart of Stanhope Avenue.

Notice that the trolley bus lines had been removed but the poles remained as at the time they also held street lighting.

W.I.D.(Dougie) Elliott, was a member of Edinburgh Academicals club and played for Scotland on 29 occasions in addition to appearing for the Barbarians. His brother in law Tony Peart (T.G. A. H. Peart) also played International Rugby for England and had over 40 caps for Durham County. He had followed his brother John Peart (J.H. Peart) iino the County XV, John played on 8 occasions for the Durham side.

Ian Simpson's Christening St Paul's Grange Road.

This was a wool shop and on the left is St Paul's Hall. The street beside the hall is Alma Street. This shop, like many in Murray Street is now a take away food shop.

St Paul's Hall is currently a Muslim Community Centre and Polish Centre reflecting  the changing population in the immediate area.

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St. Paul's Church Easter play, 'The Ten Commandments', sometime around 1953/54. Ann Shaw (later Ann Stanbridge), is Commandment No.7, with Valeria Hardwick as No.9. The 'Commandments' are making their way from the Church to the Church Hall in Murray Street.

Grange Road, looking eastwards.  Beside the road junction on the left is Grange Road Methodist Church.  Further down the road, on the right, is the tower of St. Paul's Anglican Church.

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Milton Road area of town. St. Paul's Church and St. Joseph's church can be seen in the background.

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The north-east elevation of St. Paul's Church, Grange Road, circa 1930.

Grange Road on right, St. Joseph's Church on left

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Probably taken in the late 1950s, the image shows Edith Noble in the centre. The choir master was her brother Tom Noble who is closest to camera on the left. also back left are Billy Ryder and Stan Smith.

Tom Noble was for many years deputy head teacher at Seaton school and actually died conducting a choir at Castle Eden Church as they sang ' In the Bleak Midwinter'  at Christmas. He died doing what he loved most.

Edith was for many years head of Hart Road Nursery School and then assistant head at Grantully Nursery and is fondly remembered by many.

Postcard which states that this is York Road. It is actually Victoria Road looking at the York Road junction before the traffic light were installed. You can see St Pauls Church spire in the background.

Another intriguing item from the Robert Wood Collection advertising a fund raiser for Mr J Cuthbert injured at Sunderland, presumably a player from West Hartlepool?

The West team is given and shows a Rev E F Every as playing, sporting clergymen were not uncommon in the sporting scene at this time, especially with the Church support for Muscular Christianity, this Reverend was the curate at St Pauls Church in Grange Road and down as centre-forward.

As to the date 21^st April fell in 1888, and a tantilisingly brief reference in the "Mail" for this time, reveals that due to rain "the Association match at The Oval did not come off," neither did a Rovers v West Match also down for that day.

The site of the match is of interest, it shows it as “on the Oval, Grange Road” which means today the homes between Park and Grange Roads. The poster though states entrances as Bellerby Terrace (Hart Lane) and Grange Road! Could this Oval have been where in the Wilson Street/ Rosebery Road area?  Plus, as usual in Charity match days , an early kick between North Eastern and South Stockton Albion  to whet the appetite for the big game. North Eastern being presumably the N E R team that played on a ground in Belle Vue.

Unusually, this poster has F W Mason giving his name as Fred Mason!

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Taken probably in the late 1950s.