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St Hilda’s church is one of the most important churches in the north of England. The church is huge and dominates the skyline of Hartlepool’s Headland. It stands upon the remains a monastery, founded by St Aidan, in AD640. The building dates from around 1190 but incorporates older elements such as the south doorway from an earlier Norman church erected in the time of Robert de Brus II, founder of Guisborough Priory. It is thought that the church was built by Robert's grandson, Robert de Brus IV, and incorporates the Bruce Chapel and Tomb. A notable feature of its external architecture is the distinctive flying buttresses on its south side, built to retain stability.
The church is constructed of dressed magnesian limestone with slate and stone roofs. It comprises early 12th century architectural fragments, a mid 13th century four-stage tower with flying buttresses and a late 13th century chapel. The chancel and aisles date largely to the 12th and 13th centuries, although the whole chapel underwent restoration in the early 18th century and mid 19th century. The aisles were partly rebuilt in the 15th century. Further restoration work took place in the early portion of the 20th century Link
The area around the church was the subject of a three day Time Team excavation in 2000 in an attempt to locate remains of the early monastic settlement. The main find was a complete female burial, radiocarbon dated to the time of the monastery, confirmeing the existence of the seafront cemetery first unearthed in 1833. The skeleton was subsequently reburied in the present-day churchyard Link
Internally the church has a unique collection of artefacts reflecting a long period of religious significance. These include one of the eight recumbent grave markers of mid-7th-8th century date that were found in the churchyard.
The church hosts a visitor centre which tells its history using storyboards, interactive screens and sound Link