A couple of weeks ago, I went with my family to watch Hartlepool United play Halifax Town in a football match. After Hartlepool's victory, I discovered that the nickname of the Hartlepool team is the “Monkey-Hangers”. Intrigued, I looked more into the reasons for this strange name and discovered an interesting story. 

 The legend goes that during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, a French ship got into trouble off the coast of Hartlepool. The local townspeople went onto the beach to search for survivors, suspicious of an invasion by the French. They found no one, aside from a monkey. This poor creature was reportedly dressed in a sailor’s uniform. And so the people of Hartlepool believed the monkey to be a spy! A trial followed, in which the monkey was found guilty (unsurprisingly, as the monkey was unable to answer any of the local’s questions) and so was then swiftly dragged into the town centre and hung.  

 As a result, the people of Hartlepool seem to have embraced this tale and are known as the “Monkey-Hangers". There are even various depictions of this story and the monkey throughout the town. 

Thinking about it, perhaps it is understandable that the people of Hartlepool acted as they did. In the 19th century, most of England’s population would never have seen a monkey or a Frenchman. People would also have been quite a bit shorter than they are today, which might explain the monkey's size. So it was a valid conclusion to reach- especially as the onlookers could not take the risk that the monkey/Frenchman would turn out to be a spy.  

 This story goes to show how interesting the local area is, replete with fascinating tales and historical stories. Despite living nearby, I had no idea about this local legend. After an exciting football match I learned an interesting local story.