A TOWN landmark is being commemorated on Teesside.

A photographic exhibition to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Hartlepool Art Gallery, formerly Christ Church, has opened.

To coincide with the exhbition, there will be a series of fun and educational events at the Church Square gallery tomorrow and Sunday.

Tomorrow, there will be a family poetry workshop, a balloon launch from the tower; a poetry performance; a wildlife talk called Bats in the Belfry and a talk on the history of the church. On Sunday there will be a guided walk around the church area from the gallery, at 2pm.

The church was built in 1854 because Ralph Ward Jackson, founder of West Hartlepool, decided Stranton Church was too small for the rapidly-expanding population.

An architectural competition was established in 1852, which was won by London architect Edward Buckton Lamb. The church cost £8,000 to build, although the stone came free from Ward Jackson's excavation for Jackson Dock.

A £4,000 peal of six bells was bought from a Loughbrough firm and the church organ was built by James Langley, of Greatham Village. A clock was fitted in the 100ft high church tower in 1921.

Town centre population decline led to the closure of the church in April 1974 and it has been owned by Hartlepool Borough Council ever since.

It was restored at a cost of £2m and reopened as an art gallery and tourist information centre in 1996.

Call (01429) 869706 for more information about the weekend events