Scarborough, North Yorkshire

A town with a long history

Scarborough in North Yorkshire (35 miles north-east of York) has a good claim to being considered Britain’s first seaside resort, but it has a much older history than that.

There was a settlement here in prehistoric times and the Romans established a signal station here in the 4th century as part of an early warning system against raiders from across the North Sea.

A massive castle was built on the Roman site in the 12th century, with a keep 80 feet high, plus outer walls and other towers. The castle faced many sieges in medieval times and was even targeted during World War I when it was shelled from the sea.

The town of Scarborough grew up between the castle cliff and South Bay harbour.

The narrow passageways known as The Bolts were flushed by the sea twice a day during the 12th and 13th centuries and thus served as hygienic public lavatories! However, after 1300 a new quay was built and The Bolts became dry alleyways.

The church of St Mary is medieval but suffered serious damage during the Civil War in the mid-17th century. The Victorian restoration was not to everyone’s taste. The writer Anne Bronte was buried in the churchyard.