Hartlepool Art Gallery
Free art gallery in a restored Victorian church in Hartlepool, with changing exhibitions, the local museum service collection, a café and a viewing tower.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Hartlepool Art Gallery is housed in the former Christ Church, a Victorian church in Church Square designed by Edward Buckton Lamb and built in 1854. The building has a 100-foot tower with six bells, which can still be rung. After the church went out of use it was restored and converted into a gallery, which opened in 1996.
The gallery runs a changing programme of exhibitions in two spaces, showing contemporary and fine art, photography and crafts by international, national and regional artists. It also displays works from the permanent collection of Hartlepool Museum Service, which includes about 1,500 oil paintings, watercolours, prints and sculptures, among them works by artists such as L. S. Lowry, Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach.
The gallery also has a café run with students from a local academy, a shop selling work by local makers, and a programme of events and family learning. Visitors can climb the tower for a fee when it is open.
Highlights
- Two exhibition spaces with a changing programme of art, photography and crafts
- Collection of Hartlepool Museum Service with works by Lowry, Freud and Auerbach
- Restored Victorian church with a 100-foot tower
- Vestry Café and a shop with local makers’ work
- Free entry
Permanent exhibition
- Hartlepool Museum Service collection – Selected works from the permanent collection of Hartlepool Museum Service are shown alongside the changing exhibitions.
- Founded
- 1996
- Operated by
- Hartlepool Borough Council (Tees Valley Museums)
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
Entry to the gallery is free. A small fee is charged to climb the tower, with a concession for disabled people and their companions.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible
- Elevator: not available
- Accessible restroom
- Accessible parking
- Service dogs welcome
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
The entrance is level and most of the gallery is on one level, with step-free access to the café. There is no lift; a spiral staircase leads to a small mezzanine, and the tower has 164 steps. There are two accessible toilets (not radar key operated), a hearing loop at the reception desk, free manual wheelchairs to borrow on request, and walking and rest stools. Three accessible parking bays are in the Northern School of Art car park opposite. There is no Changing Places toilet on site; the nearest is on Marina Way at Jackson Dock. Relaxed sessions run at various times of year, and staff can find a quiet space on request.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
- Family tours & workshops
- Stroller-friendly
- Baby changing facilities
The gallery offers family learning activities and events, and its website has a Family Fun section. Baby changing is available in the toilets, and breastfeeding is welcome anywhere in the gallery.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Hartlepool railway station · 2-min walk
Hartlepool railway station and the Transport Interchange are about a 2-minute walk away. Many bus services run from Victoria Road, about 5 minutes’ walk.
By car
Parking available
The gallery has no car park of its own. Three Blue Badge bays are in the Northern School of Art car park opposite, and pay and display parking is at the Transport Interchange, with on-street parking nearby. The Museum of Hartlepool offers free parking and is an 11-minute walk away.
- Accessible parking
Amenities & dining
- Café
- Museum shop
The Vestry Café serves light meals, cakes and snacks and is run with students from Catcote Academy. The shop sells books, art, gifts and jewellery, with a focus on local makers.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
