I'm from Hartlepool originally and it is true that it is a widely held belief. Whether it is actually true or not is a different matter. Seaports were (and are) very cosmopolitan places and I personally find it hard to believe that, as late as the Napoleonic Wars, even the folk in Hartlepool hadn't seen a monkey before - at a travelling fair, for instance.

As for the locals being proud of it...the football team may be nicknamed 'The Monkey Hangers' and the electorate may have elected a monkey as mayor BUT take my advice and don't go out on a Friday night down Church Street, asking 'Who hung the monkey?'. Hartlepool people can laugh at themselves but woe betide anyone else who does!!