California Hartlepool

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Two Californias of Hartlepool

There were two places in the Hartlepool area called California about this time, one to the west of West Hartlepool (North) Cemetery and another between Northgate and Warren Street on the Headland, just to the north of the station by Victoria Dock.

California, Headland

1857 OS Map

California appears on an 1857 OS map of the Headland between Warren Street and Northgate Street, just by the station to the north of Victoria Dock. It consists of two small terraces running between those streets and two others running along the streets and joining to make a 'V'.

1861 census

Only the 1861 census shows these buildings as California - The return consists of 78 unnumbered households and is distinct to the other return for California in Stranton. However it appears the buildings continued to be called California, unofficially and even in some documents for at least a few decades after this.

1871-1881 census

By 1871 there is a range of new names in this area including Nugget Street, Warren Place, Vollun's Buildings and North Place. Nugget Street made its way onto later maps and is the road separating the two blocks of terraces between Northgate St and Warren Street and is included in the 1871-91 censuses, but the other building names seem more ephemeral and appear in no other census records or maps. By the 1881 census, the buildings are numbered and the buildings formerly known as California are subsumed in either Nugget Street (1-7), Warren Street (2-14), Northgate Street (1-120) or Northgate (21-94).

Goads insurance map

The 1894 Goads insurance map shows these as being 2 storey dwellings but does not give any other information.

Other records

Forcer family

Durham Records Online shows two baptism index records for the Forcer family living at California in 1874 and 1877. Due to other records for the family showing them as residents of the Headland and occupations such as mariner and shipwright in the family it is assumed they were living at the Headland California.

The records were for William Edward Woods Forcer (1874-1905) and Susan Forcer (1877-1954) were baptised in Hartlepool in 1874 and 1877, respectively.^[1].

Susan's baptism record gives their address as "112 California". For my money I think the Forcers must have been at 112 Northgate Street as this is the only one that has numbers that high in the census. John (b1820) and Jane Rowe were living there in 1881, but looking at the plan for the schedule and the order they were recorded might give an idea on the numbering and help identify which building it is.

California, Stranton

One California was a double row of terraces built about the 1850s right next to the newly created West Hartlepool Cemetery, now known as what North Cemetery, on the junction of Jesmond Road and Hart Road. It was present on the census returns between 1861 and 1881 (3 Cottages and numbers 1-38). It is visible on the 1857 OS map but is gone by the next map in 1896.