1954 Scarborough Lifeboat disaster
1954 Scarborough Lifeboat disaster One of the duties of the lifeboat is to escort fishing boats back to port during bad weather. Storms can whip up out of no where and the lifeboat would be there to help just in case. On the 8th December 1954 such...
Attacks On Trawlers in Scarborough in WW2
Attacks On Trawlers in Scarborough in WW2 It was Scarborough's fishing fleet that first felt the effects of the war as far as enemy action was concerned. Fishing was only allowed between the hours of sunrise and sunset. The first incident occu...
Scarborough boats Written by George Westwood - Scarborough boats from the turn of the century Picture above : A typical mounts bay lugger unloads its catch of herring onto a cart at low water at Scarborough.One such boat is recorded to ha...
The Brigantine along the Scarborough and Whitby coast This page features articles on this site which mention Brigantines in some way. The most relevant articles are placed at the top of the list. Those at the bottom may just mention brigs once. ...
Britain's First seaside resort
Britain's First Seaside Resort As the first seaside resort in Britain, 50 years before Brighton, Scarborough pioneered "bathing machines" for women, who entered the ocean clad in vast garments, helped by servant women, from horse dra...
Captain Sidney Smith was an important figure in Scarborough's maritime history. He kept detailed lists of ships entering the harbour, built or registered here. He donated much of this information to the Maritime Centre. Read some more about...
Scarborough captains and shipbuilding Scarborough has long been a nursery of seamen. The coming of the railways and the broadening of share ownership made the 19th century town, for some decades, a modest centre for ship owning, for vessels which ...
Church Tithes in early Scarborough
Church tithes in early Scarborough The local representatives of the abbot and conventof Citeaux collected the Scarborough church fishtithes from their fishermen parishioners. Afterdisputes, in 1251, Roger Ughtred negotiated a new tithe agreement o...
Coals from Newcastle - Scarborough's trade in coal Scarborough has a harbour side inn called the Newcastle Packet and once had another known as the Sunderland Bridge. These names recall the profitable trade in shipping coals from Newcastle and...
The coast, cliffs, and harbours This page features articles which mention the cliffs and coastline in some way. The most relevant articles are placed at the top. Those towards the bottom will maybe just feature the name once. • Coastal er...
Cobles along the Scarborough and Filey coast
The Coble along the Scarborough and Filey coast This page features articles on this site which mention cobles in some way. The most relevant articles are placed at the top of the list. Those at the bottom may just mention coble once. • Lo...
Cobles sunk gravelling in Carnelian bay
Scarborough Cobles sunk gravelling in Carnelian bay Fishing cobles often used to do other work to help make ends meet. They would transport building materials of various kinds. Boats would go as far as Flamborough. The following article was taken ...
When the Colliers came to Scarborough The greatest stimulus to the north east Yorkshire ports over several centuries was the expansion in the despatch of coal from the Northumberland and Durham coal fields . The port of Sunderland was improved and...
Early industries in Scarborough
Scarborough's early industries - By John Rushton Scarborough shipbuiding in the 19th century Scarborough shipbuilding was a contracting industry after the ending of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. The 1824 reciprocity treaties were blamed for the...
Entering Scarborough harbour This excerpt is taken from John Wilson's stories "Entering Scarborough in a north east gale." from a series of articles by G Forrest Frank. This was printed in the Scarborough Post in 1920 and is in a fil...
Ernest Dade Ernest Dade landed at Filey in October 1883. He wanted to get to Scarborough so went aboard another yawl which was ready to go. The skipper was a tall good looking man of sixty with no teeth. Also with him as crew members were his thre...
Scarborough Fish in Mediaeval monasteries. Yorkshire saw the foundation of many Norman monasteries, mostly in the 12th century. The prayer-full lives of the monks and nuns were intended to be governed by rules of poverty, chastity, and obedience. ...
The Foreshore in olden times Extract from Meadley's Memorials of Scarborough Page 78. "The Foreshore in olden times" Now that the Foreshore is an acknowledged improvement, it may perhaps be interesting to many readers of these &q...
THE DEATH OF YOUNG FRANK BAYES, age 24, by granddaughter of James Ruffen Bayes On December 8th,1954 three scarborough Lifeboatmen lost their lives. Amongst them was young Frank Bayes. Local Ann Moncrief remembers this day well. Her uncl...
Godfrey Sheader - stories of the herring fleet and Lifeboats
Godfrey Sheader - stories of the herring fleet and Lifeboats Reproduced from an old article Thursday, 22nd August 1929 in the Scarborough Post - an interview with an old Scarborough fisherman and lifeboatman - Godfrey Sheader Old Godfrey Sheade...
Graham Sea Training School, a history
The history of the Graham Sea Training School The School building was provided by the Mayor Mr C C Graham in 1918. He bought the building and donated it to Scarborough Corporation. Paradise House is situated just beneath the castle - a large house...
The Great March Gale 1863 From the book North Sea fishers and Fighters - by Walter Wood 1911 I do not know - I doubt if anyone can tell - how many lives the North Sea gales have claimed amongst the fishermen, nor how often it has been necessary...
Hangings and Shipwrecks - Life onshore and off shore in Scarborough
Hangings and Shipwrecks - Life onshore and off shore in scarborough George Tinker described harbour events at Scarborough. There was the singular instance of no ship in the harbour except new ships on the 28th June 1814. Shipbuilder Joseph Heward ...
Harbour and the coal trade - Thomas Hinderwell
Scarborough's harbour and the coal trade. Thomas Hinderwell An old historical account of Scarborough Harbour written word for word from "The history and antiquities of Scarborough and the vicinity " By Thomas Hinderwell, 1811. This f...
Scarborough Harbour Scarborough Harbour - List of documents we hold in our archive file (updated 2014): 1. 14th Century Harbour Tolls 2. 17th Century Coastal Trade 3. 1846 Report by the Harbour Commission 4. Additional Supplement to a R...
A Harbour quarrel A well frequented Scarborough hostelry in Carr Streetor Leading Post street witnessed a squabble between Samuel Wharton, sailcoth manufacturer and ship owner Francis Clark in the early 19th century. New plans wereafoot for ...
The history of the Hatherleigh, side winder trawler. An article by Matthew Newsome about the history of the Hatherleigh. She had a strong connection with Scarborough up until the end of 2013 as she was owned by a member of the Scarborough Sub-Aqua...
Havens on the North Yorkshire coast.
Havens on the North Yorkshire coast. An old historian called Holinshed listed "such ports and creeks as our seafaring men do note for their benefit" upon the coast of Yorkshire in 1596. This was in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, t...
The Visit of Princess Mary To Scarborough 1927 Today a Royal visit can go almost unnoticed. There are so many distractions in terms of media. Yet in the 1920's Princess Mary visited the town and the whole town seemed to turn out. She had come ...
The loss of the Scarborough trawler Heritage in 1993 Fishermen and their families are aware of the dangers in the industry. Yet when tragedy strikes it always seems so unexpected. They somehow think accidents will happen to others - it won't h...
John Rushton MBE (1927-2013) was a local historian & founding member of the SMHC. He carried out extensive research into the town and port. The eleven 'position papers' that follow show that work. John was in his 80s when he wrote th...
Here is the tenth "position paper" for the 2012 Harbour Research project. Corrections and additions are welcomed. The purpose of the document is to seek people who will undertake serious research on aspects of the history of the ...
Here is the eleventh "position paper" for the Harbour Research project. Corrections and additions are welcomed. The purpose of the document is to seek people who will undertake serious research on aspects of the history of the ha...
Position Paper.- Harbour Research No 12. J.Rushton.2012 Scarborough and the Royal Navy etc. Additions and corrections are welcomed to this introductory note on connections between Scarborough and the royal Navy. The ...
Here is the second "position paper" for the 2012 Harbour Research project. Corrections and additions are welcomed. The purpose of the document, with others to come, is to seek people who will undertake serious research on aspects of t...
Here is the third "position paper" for the 2012 Harbour Research project. Corrections and additions are welcomed. The purpose of the document, with others to come, is to seek people who will undertake serious research on aspects...
Here is the fourth "position paper" for the Harbour Research project. Corrections and additions are welcomed. The purpose of the document, with others to come, is to seek people who will undertake serious research on aspects of the history ...
Here is the fifth "position paper" for the 2012 Harbour Research project. Corrections and additions are welcomed. The purpose of the document is to seek people who will undertake serious research on aspects of the history of the harbo...
Here is the sixth "position paper" for the 2012 Harbour Research project. Corrections and additions are welcomed. The purpose of the document is to seek people who will undertake serious research on aspects of the history of the ...
Here is the seventh "position paper" for the Harbour Research project. Corrections and additions are welcomed. The purpose of the document is to seek people who will undertake serious research on aspects of the history of the harbour. ...
Here is the eighth "position paper" for the 2012 Harbour Research project. Corrections and additions are welcomed. The purpose of the document is to seek people who will undertake serious research on aspects of the history of the...
Here is the ninth "position paper" for the Harbour Research project. Corrections and additions are welcomed. The purpose of the document is to seek people who will undertake serious research on aspects of the history of the ...
History of the Scarborough fishing industry
The history of the Scarborough fishing industry For hundreds of years the Scarborough fishing industry chugged along at the same pace. The fishermen paid tithes to the monastries for the right to fish the seas. The industry never really took off b...
Scarborough hospital for mariners This article is entitled "Sewing a Safety Net:Scarborough's Maritime Community, 1747-1765" and was written by Charles R. Foy [note 1]. It appeared in the International Journal of Maritime History, XX...
Inns, smuggling and illicit stills
Scarborough's heyday of Inns, Smuggling and Illicit stills Since Roger the Vintner sold ale and wine in 1175 to the burgesses of the new borough of Scarborough this town has imported wine, and, until recent years, brewed ale. The early Norm...
John Ley A Forgotten Talent by Johannes Erdmann John A. Ley, a Scarborough man, built splendid little yachts. Only one of them became famous when a German yachtsman sailed the 23-foot-sloop ‘Kathena’ around the world. But it w...
John Parkin, Scarborough sailmaker turned bailiff.
John Parkin - Scarborough sailmaker turned bailiff. Wyvill Todd in 1782 and Thomas Parkin in 1796 were Scarborough sailmakers. Little is known of them or of others in the craft. Their sail lofts were near the harbour. Both Scarborough and Whitby a...
Life in the Old Town of Scarborough and harbour - the fishing families
Life in the Old Town of Scarborough and harbour - the fishing families "When I was about 10 year old I was playing wave dodging on the lifeboat slip way and a wave hit me and pulled me down the slip way and old man gabber pulled me out got me...
Lives of Scarborough fishermen
The life of Scarborough fishermen "6 of us here where our lives depended on getting the right conditions, and there was many a time when you got caught out at sea and the weather sometimes got that so bad that you could not get back into Scar...
The loss of the Blucher 1915 The German bombardment of Scarborough in December 1914 was followed by another attempted raid in January 1915. This time the Royal navy was ready and the raiding party got caught. One of the ships involved in the raid ...
Loss of the Scarborough Lifeboat November 2nd, 1861
Loss of the Scarborough Lifeboat November 2nd, 1861 The lifeboat tragedy of November 2nd,1861 was perhaps the most memorable in Scarborough's RNLI history. It took place just yards off the Spa Walls. It was witnessed by many who watched the dr...
Maritime Art Scarborough has been called 'The Naples of the North' and many artists have enjoyed painting here. The Scarborough Museums Trust house the town's wonderful collection (http://www.scarboroughmuseumstrust.com/#!scarbor...
Mark Riley - superstitions in Scarborough
Mark Riley - superstitions in Scarborough The following was written by Mark Riley, author of "Haunted Scarborough". Whilst researching ghost stories for the book he conducted several interviews with some of the old local fish...
A Scarborough Merchant - John Rushton Robert Schylbotyll was the ancestor of a Scarborough family who were once well known. He probably came from Northumberland to take up grants of land at two places in Scarborough in 1399 and 1403. His descen...
Origins of Fishermen versus Firemen Football match on Boxing Day
Scarboroughs Fishermen versus Firemen Football match on Boxing Day Every year people congregate on the South Bay beach in Scarborough. They watch the Fishermen versus the Firemen football match and then usually move on to the Harbour quayside to w...
Passing on our maritime heritage to the younger generation
Passing on our maritime heritage to the younger generation Scarborough Maritime Heritage Project has recently been involved in a pioneering project to bring members of our respected fishing community together with the Old Town's younger genera...
Personal account of 1880 storm at Scarborough
Personal account of 1880 storm at Scarborough From a letter written by a schoolboy in the latter part of the nineteenth century printed in Rowntree's 'History of Scarborough'. I feel I must write you an account of what happened this...
Pleasure boats of Scarborough - the Bilsdale, Coronia and Royal Lady
Scarborough's pleasure boats Scarborough's visitors have always enjoyed trips on the sea and even to Whitby or London in times past. In 2015 only the 'Regal Lady' was operating and the 'Coronia' has been ...
SCARBOROUGH PORT AND HARBOUR Was there a Roman port at Scarborough: By John Rushton A great storm - A great tempest in the 1100's at Scarborough. Scarborough History: A very general history covering the Civil war, collier trade, Norman Cas...
Port of Scarborough in the late 15th Century
The port of Scarborough in the late 15th Century An article on the port of Scarborough in the late 15th century by John Rushton Scarborough had been an active borough for about three hundred years. The old borough sited on a bounded plot west o...
Radio 270 - pirate radio station off Scarborough
Radio 270 - pirate radio station off Scarborough Most people associate pirate radio with Radio Caroline but in truth there were pirate radio stations all arouind the UK. Radio Scotland went on air on New Years Eve. Then Radio 270 intended to start...
Was there a Roman port in Scarborough? By John Rushton The Romans had merchant shipping around Britain and maintained a war fleet known as " the ClassisBritannica", perhaps based on Dover . The inland Roman fortress and town that w...
Rowing lifeboats in Scarborough
Scarboroughs rowing lifeboats THE ROWING LIFEBOATS OF THE RNLI The following history is reprinted from Arthur Godfreys book "The Scarborough Lifeboats" The RLNI began in 1824, but as we have seen Scarborough already had a well esta...
A short history of Scarborough Scarborough has a major fort, an important portand was the first seaside resort. Since the 12thcentury, the great rock carried a Norman castle,visited by the mediaeval Kings from Henry II toRichard III, who made...
Scarborough quick timeline history 10,000 BC - Earliest signs of human habitation in Britain at Staxton, Starr Carr. https://www.york.ac.uk/research/themes/star-carr/ or https://sites.google.com/site/starcarrfieldwork/Home&nb...
Scarborough trawlers sunk and wrecked in the modern era
Scarborough trawlers sunk and wrecked in the modern era Many people assume that shipwrecks are a thing of the past. In the 1800's wrecks were expected especially in the era of the sailing ship as vessels were driven onto the shore by huge stor...
Scarborough's heydays of inns,smuggling and illicit stills
Since Roger the Vintner sold ale and wine in 1175 to the burgesses of the new borough of Scarborough this town has imported wine, and , until recent years, brewed ale. The early Normans brought the taste for wine, after their conquest of England, ...
Scarborough's Old Town and its connection to the sea
Scarborough's Old Town and its connection to the sea Scarboroughs rich maritime heritage revolves around the Old Town. This comprises the area around the harbour and on the castle hill. The Old Town extends as far as Friargate and Scarboroughs...
History of the Scarborough Sea Rangers of S R S Scarborough Written by Dorothy Morrison, ex Sea Ranger of SRS Scarborough & Sea Ranger Lieutentant 1950s / 60s. (2013). This is by no means a complete history but rather bits and pieces of tim...
Sea Urchin Stall on the West Pier at Scarborough
Sea Urchin Stall on the West Pier at Scarborough In my younger years the harbour was our playground and there were many ways to earn a few bob in our play. With friends we use to get permission to climb on the boats in the harbour after the boa...
Seafaring casualties from Scarborough in World War One
Scarborough seafaring casualties in World War One R.I.P. - Skipper Robert Heritage - Second Hand John Chamberlain Barker - Third Hand Arthur Houghton Wright - Chief Engineer Frederick Nathan Mills - Second Engineer James Robert Hunter - Deck...
Scarborough : A seaside resort in the 1820s A book seller called John Cole moved to Scarborough in 1821. His diary recorded some of the delights, awaiting both the resident and the genteel visitor, in those years before the railways brought the cr...
Scarborough ship owners The following story is based upon a real life account written by Forrest Frank based upon a story by Captain John Wilson. These appeared in the Scarborough Daily Post in 1920 as part of the 'Sea Dogs' stories by For...
Ships from Scarborough in the Yorkshire coastal trade of 1638-9.
Scarborough ships in the Yorkshire coastal trade of 1638-9 The port of Scarborough was born as a fishing community and remains one yet. That side of its life saw many ups and down over time. The rich story of line, trawl and drift fishing fro...
Sinking of HMS Esk The following was written by Herbert Vaughan, and provides a first hand account of the sinking of HMS Esk. NO RETURN TICKET - At war with Germany, September, 1939. A diary written by Herbert Vaughn (Telman (Communications ...
Smugglers of Yorkshire - the smuggling of contraband
The Yorkshire smuggler - the smuggling of contraband This article was first published by the Scarborough Evening News in 1968. Written by our own John Rushton it is now reprinted here. Smuggling was not new in the eighteenth century - it existe...
Smuggling of contraband along the Scarborough coast
Smuggling of contraband along the Scarborough coast Few records exist of the smuggling which happened on the North East coast. It was an activity which was carried on in secret and supported often by Customs Officers in secret. The memories of the...
Smuggling trade in Yorkshire and Scarborough
The Yorkshire and Scarborough smuggling trade This page features articles on this site which mention smuggling or words related to smuggling in some way. The most relevant articles are placed at the top of the list. Those at the bottom may just me...
The wreck on the South Bay Scarborough On the south Bay at Scarborough lies a wreck of an old wooden boat. This article explores some of the theories as to the name of the ship. George Westwood presents some compelling ideas as to its origin and a...
Stories of human interest from the sea port of Scarborough
Stories of human interest from the sea port of Scarborough Some stories of human interest from Bakers history of Scarborough • 1694 : John Collings was executed at Tyburn, York for stealing lead and copper from St Marys Church, Scarboroug...
Theakston's guide to the Scarborough fisheries 1866
Theakston's guide to the Scarborough fisheries 1866 THE FISHERIES. "To weary toil while others sleep, The sturdy fisher wends his way, To reap the harvest of the deep, He labours on till break of day." Varieties of Fish - Pa...
Thomas Hinderwell - History of Scarborough's fisheries
Thomas Hinderwell - history of Scarboroughs fisheries This article is taken word for word from Thomas Hinderwells History of Scarborough printed 200 years ago. FISHERIES The Fisheries would "be a profitable branch of trade at Scarboroug...
Tindalls the shipbuilders by John Rushton.
Tindalls the shipbuilders by John Rushton. The Tindall family were major contributors to the maritime history of Scarborough. A University student could usefully produce a thesis on the family. We can only offer a preliminary glance. There is a st...
Tunny fishing in Scarborough This page features articles on this site which mention Tunny fishing. The most relevant articles are placed at the top of the list. Those at the bottom may just mention tunny once. • Theakston's guide...
Tunny fishing in Scarborough in the 1930's
Tunny fishing in Scarborough in the 1930's In the early 1930's someone discovered that huge Tunny fish lived in the North Sea. They were not easy to capture and so big game anglers turned this into a sport. This was a useful sideline for t...
Watching for ships by the harbour walls
Watching for ships by the harbour walls in Scarborough The fishing industry was always dangerous. The sailing ships were always vulnerable to gales and bad weather which could come out of nowhere. These huge seas and treacherous storms could endan...
What the sea means to me Local fishermen, mariners & residents were asked what the sea means to them. Here are some of their answers:- “The sea feeds us, it entertains us and it excites us. It takes us to new countries to me...
Whisper Cammish One of the few survivors of the men who used to man the big sweeps when Scarborough had an oar-propelled lifeboat is Harry 'Whisper' Cammish, aged eighty-one, Longwestgate. He got his nickname because he had a voice truly &...
Women and children in local history
Women & children in local history Here is a list of some of the articles on this website which mention women and children. 32 Sandside My grandfather's house at 32 Sandside The following story was surrounded with great mystery....
