TWO books celebrating the fascinating seaside history of Saltburn have been published over the summer by author Chris Scott Wilson.
The first is his authoritative history of the town, which most people view as a Victorian railway resort but which Chris traces back to 2,300BC when Bronze Age people left their mark on Huntcliffe, which he describes as “a huge lion’s paw reaching out into the North Sea” such is its dominance of the landscape.
Then there are stories of alum working and smuggling – much smuggling – before Henry Pease came along in 1859 and had a vision of railways bringing tourists to a resort perched on the cliffs above the sea.
Chris first published his History of Saltburn in 1983, and it is a hugely useful point of reference. This new edition has extra illustrations and takes the town’s story in to the 21st Century.
Britannia Mansions, on the clifftop above the clifflift, were the first terrace to be built, with work starting in 1863. They were designed by John Ross of Darlington, and Henry Pease, the resort's founder, had his summer residence in No 9
The Valley Gardens were an integral part of Henry Pease's vision for his seaside resort as a place for visitors to go if ever the beach was just that little bit too untempting. At the top is the Ha'Penny Bridge, which cost only a halfpenny to cross
A crowded beach scene from the 1940s, with tents on the beach and plenty of huts built on the side of Hazelgrove
Croquet in the Pleasure Gardens in the valley, near the Italian Gardens, in about 1890
The pier was opened in 1869 and this picture shows the original octagonal houses on the prom. Behind the pair of houses is the cliff lift, which opened in June 1884
The Zetland Hotel's stables at the rear of the hotel. Trains came into the rear of the hotel so visitor's luggage could be unloaded directly, but if customers did fancy a trip out, they could hire a horse and carriage for an excursion
An Edwardian poster extolling the virtues of Saltburn
The second book is Saltburn Today & Yesterday, which features Chris’ bitesize historical stories – the yesterday – alongside beautiful colour photographs – the today – taken by Mike Hampson. It tells the story of Saltburn in a different, more picturesque, way: the imposing terraces, and the endless golden sands watched over by Huntcliff, and all captured by Mike’s lens.
“We really don’t celebrate our beautiful North Yorkshire coast enough, but Mike’s images bring it home,” says Chris. “What did you want to do when you were a child? Go to the seaside. How lucky are we, we’re already there.”
The mouth of Skelton Beck with the Zetland Hotel on the top left of the cliff, along with the Britannia Mansions which come to an end on the right with the Alexandra Hotel. Teddy's Nook is halfway down
The sun sets behind Saltburn Pier
The railway viaduct at the top of Riftswood towers above the Skelton Beck. It carried "the mineral railway" over the glen to Skelton and then looped round Huntcliff to serve the mines
The History of Saltburn by Chris Scott Wilson is £11.99. Saltburn Today & Yesterday by Chris with full colour photographs by Michael Hampson is £12.99. Both are available from the Holly Blue gift shop in Milton Street, Saltburn; Book Corner, Saltburn; Guisborough Bookshop; Holmans Bookshop and Whitby Bookshop, both in Whitby; Chapter One, Loftus; and Worthy Pearson, Great Ayton.
(Worthy Pearson in Ayton High Street was founded in 1895 by Worthington Pearson after he had a bad accident in a Teesside steelworks – he got his leg trapped between a train and the platform – and so opened a newsagents instead.)
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