When Hartlepool was top of the pecking order in the eggs trade

Of all the many various commodities passing through Hartlepool docks in the late 19th century there was one that made the town world famous.

Not fish, nor timber or metal. It was something much more fragile and historian Graeme Harper tells us more.

“An astonishing 4.2million eggs arrived in Hartlepool from the continent during one week of 1888.

“And yet, this was a fall in numbers from previous years and all because of the severe weather. The eggs mostly originated in Poland or Denmark and were shipped from Hamburg to Hartlepool for distribution to all parts of the UK.

“The trade continued apace. In 1890 the mayor gave a speech in which he noted that 12,000 tons of eggs had been imported into town that year.

“The egg business was such big business for the town that Hartlepool had the largest egg warehouse in the country. By then, Hartlepool saw more eggs than anywhere else, overtaking Harwich and even London for sheer volume of trade.

“On one occasion in 1897, 2400 cases of eggs were dispatched from the goods station and they needed 140 railway trucks to transport.

“Numbers increased year on year. Contemporary newspaper reports stated that, in August 1898, as many as 7 million eggs were dispatched by rail from the town.

“But disaster struck later that same month when a fire broke out in the town’s largest dedicated egg warehouse, T Robinson and Sons, in the Central Dock. The fire had started in the packing department and all the workers had to flee to safety.

“The fire brigade was quickly on the scene and with help from local steam tugs, they poured copious amounts of sea water onto the burning building.

“It was a valiant effort but they were unable to save the building from crashing down.

“Estimates put the number of eggs that were destroyed in the blaze at around 2 million and that around £2000 worth of damage was caused- approximately £250,000 in today’s money.

“This didn’t stop the egg trade from remaining of huge local importance.

“In February 1899 it was estimated that on one single day around 3,750,000 eggs passed through the docks. And in 1902 10,000 tons worth at a value of £400,000 were landed during the course of the year.

“But it wasn’t to last. Domestic egg production increased and the need for such huge importations declined.

“But for over a decade Hartlepool undoubtedly held the highest position in the egg trade’s pecking order.”

Our thanks go to Graeme Harper for yet another contribution from Hartlepool’s past. Why not check out some of his previous stories.

There’s the one about the jewel thief who was nabbed in Hartlepool by a box of American chocolates.

And take a look at the curious case of the Hartlepool healer whose talents turned him into a worldwide name.

George Charlton made headlines as far away as Australia after he healed a Seaton Snook boy who had been unable to walk.