Scarborough: Did You Know?

  • Scarborough is the 3rd most visited place in the UK.
  • Scarborough is Britain's Oldest Seaside Resort.
  • The town was founded in 966AD as Skarðaborg by Thorgills Skarthi, a Viking raider. But there is evidence of settlers on the Headland from 2,500 years ago.Scarborough Castle was built by Henry II.
  • The town of Scarborough's population is 50,135 (2001 Census). The population of the Borough of Scarborough is 106,243.
  • In the Middle Ages, Scarborough Fair, permitted in a royal charter of 1253, held a six-week trading festival attracting merchants from all over Europe. It ran from Assumption Day, 15 August, until Michaelmas Day, 29 September. The fair continued to be held for 500 years, from the 11th century to the 18th century, and is commemorated in the song Scarborough Fair:
  • When the Grand Hotel was completed in 1867 it was the largest hotel in Europe and one of the largest in the world. Four towers represent the seasons, 12 floors represent the months, 52 chimneys represent the weeks and originally 365 bedrooms represented the days of the year. A blue plaque outside marks where the novelist Anne Brontë died in 1849. Winston Churchill and The Beatles are amongst those who've stayed there.
  • During World War I, the town was bombarded by German warships of the High Seas Fleet, an act which shocked the British.
  • Dramatist Alan Ayckbourn is based in Scarborough where he has lived for a number of years. He has produced some sixty plays in Scarborough and is the artistic director of the famous Stephen Joseph Theatre, where almost all his plays receive their first performance
  • The Grade II listed Scarborough Spa complex is home to the Scarborough Spa Orchestra, the last remaining seaside orchestra in the UK.
  • Scarborough Building Society was the oldest in Yorkshire and the 2nd Oldest in the UK.
  • Superb fossil remains, along the Yorkshire coast near Scarborough, have given the area the title of Dinosaur Coast.
  • The oldest house in the UK has been discovered and is being excavated near Scarborough.
  • Sir Jimmy Savile has been buried at a 40 degree angle overlooking the sea in Woodlands Cemetory, Scarborough.