DDiscover AloneMapAbout

Heugh Battery Museum

Museum
Heugh Battery Museum
Photo: David Robinson, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Original Geograph photograph · Report the wrong picture

What is recorded here

Heugh Battery defended Hartlepool when German warships shelled the town on 16 December 1914. Its guns returned fire in the only First World War action between British and German forces on British soil, while shells killed soldiers and civilians across the town, breaking the assumption that the home front was safely…

Read the whole record

Heugh Battery defended Hartlepool when German warships shelled the town on 16 December 1914. Its guns returned fire in the only First World War action between British and German forces on British soil, while shells killed soldiers and civilians across the town, breaking the assumption that the home front was safely distant.

What this place is

The museum occupies a coastal artillery battery built to defend the Hartlepool port, docks and approaches with guns, observation and protected ammunition spaces.

People and events

Battery crews fought the German ships; Private Theo Jones was the first British soldier killed, while townspeople were struck in homes and streets.

How it was used

On 16 December the battery identified targets, supplied shells and fired under bombardment until the German force withdrew after attacking the east coast.

What survives

Gun positions, magazines, observation structures, later weapons, uniforms, records and shell-damaged local evidence survive at the restored battery.

Why it mattered

Heugh mattered because naval war directly reached a British town here, joining military resistance to civilian death and changing how people understood the home front.

Sources for this account

Sources checked 16 August 2026.

From OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) w54239965

This does not grant access. Check current paths, opening conditions and ownership before entering.

What do you know about this place?Tap to add a comment or ask a question

What you write will be public.

Places near here

Photo credits
  • David Brown, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Andrew Curtis, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Jonathan Thacker, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Neil Theasby, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Mick Garratt, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • JThomas, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Richard Atkinson, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Mike Quinn, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Heugh LighthouseLighthouse · 92 ydRedheugh Gardens War MemorialMemorial · 176 ydBlock SandsBeach / strand · 328 ydRemains of Town Wall Remains of Town Wall to South East Side of South CrescentListed building · 333 ydCroft GardensPark · 549 ydStatue of Andy CappStatue · 585 ydFish SandsBeach / strand · 612 ydTown Wall and Sandwell GateScheduled monument · 710 ydThe Highlight Monument, HartlepoolMonument or public art · 1.1 miSpion Kop CemeteryCemetery · 1.4 miHartlepool Family WoodWood · 2.6 miHart Warren Dunes Local Nature ReserveNature reserve · 2.7 mi

More things to do in Hartlepool · All of Hartlepool

Add to this placeAdd a picture Add a detailed tip Add a story

Explore the map1,093,392 places to discover

Next place · or swipeThe Heugh Lighthouse