Hartlepool pub undergoes transformation to pay tribute to town heritage

Onlooker Peter Southeran admires the new Pot House mural. Picture by FRANK REID

A new mural has delighted passers-by after a popular pub transformed its side wall with a beautiful mural.

The new artwork at the Pot House depicts iconic Hartlepool landmark the Elephant Rock, which was sadly washed away by a storm at the end of the 19th Century, and the nearby lighthouse.

Pot House owner Elaine Gooding has said the mural has “proved a great hit” with visitors and walkers, who have been stopping by to take pictures.

The pub and its new mural stand just feet away from a statue of cartoon layabout Andy Capp, who was created by late Headland son Reg Smythe.

The Pot House joined forces with Lewis Hobson, from Durham Spray Prints, who created the piece in just two days.

Elaine, who has lived on the Headland her entire life and has owned the pub since 2014, said: “We wanted to depict our Headland heritage and thought of a sketch type painting of the Elephant Rock and lighthouse on that side wall might be nice, overlooking the Andy Capp Statue, so that traffic coming that way can see and enjoy.

"It’s proved a great hit for visitors and walkers to enjoy, stopping for photos with that and Andy of course.

"We are very proud of it and Lewis at Durham Spray paints is a fantastic artist. We are hoping to work with him again soon in the future.

“Hopefully people from the Headland and far and wide can enjoy his great work.”

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Elephant Rock stood guard on the coastline in the town until it was washed away by a storm in 1891.

It was carved from millennia of coastal erosion and cliff mining.

The limestone geological feature eventually collapsed into the sea and all that is left are its feet - a few protruding weathered stones where the gentle giant once lived.

It was immortalised by Victorian artists like JS Holmes and Frances Frith.

A team led by Frith photographed the Elephant Rock in 1886 and their picture was made into a postcard, which sold thousands of copies.

More recently,the landmark was featured in an exhibition at the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (mima) back in 2016.

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