# Scarborough
**Scarborough** is a seaside town on the [North Sea](https://www.edgepedia.org/north-sea) coast of [North Yorkshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/north-yorkshire), England, built around a natural harbor beneath a fortified headland and known as Britain's first seaside resort.[1](https://visitnorthyorkshire.com/stories-inspiration/why-visit-scarborough) It is the largest town and primary economic center for the entire Yorkshire Coast.[2](https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-04/Scarborough%20Station%20Gateway%20Redacted%20Full%20Business%20Case.pdf) The town sits between two bays, North and South, separated by the castle headland, and grew from a medieval borough under a royal castle into a spa resort and then a mass holiday destination.[3](https://visitnorthyorkshire.com/stories-inspiration/all-about-scarborough)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Population | Scarborough town had 52,846 residents at the 2011 Census; the former borough, covering Scarborough, Whitby and Filey, had 108,793[4](https://edemocracy.northyorks.gov.uk/Data/Scarborough%20-%20Cabinet/201310151000/Agenda/13343%20-%20Appendix.pdf) |
| Earliest occupation | Pottery fragments of about 2100–1600 BC on the castle headland; clear settlement evidence from about 800 BC and about 500 BC[5](https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/scarborough-castle/history/) |
| Royal castle | Founded by William le Gros in the 1130s; rebuilt by Henry II from 1159, with the great tower built 1159–69[5](https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/scarborough-castle/history/) |
| Spa origins | A mineral spring noticed by Thomasin Farrer around 1626; Dr Robert Wittie of Hull began sending patients and published results in 1660[6](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/scarborough-how-the-queen-of-spas-created-the-modern-seaside-town-as-we-know-it) |
| Wartime bombardment | On 16 December 1914 two German warships fired more than 500 shells on the town and castle; 17 civilians were killed and more than 80 seriously wounded[5](https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/scarborough-castle/history/) |
| Visitor economy | Tourism in the wider area is estimated at £1.5–2 billion, attracting 33–37 million visitors, about 10% of the total North Yorkshire economy[7](https://edemocracy.northyorks.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=14511) |
| Regeneration status | Scarborough was approved in principle in 2025 for designation as a Mayoral Development Zone, which would make it the first coastal MDZ in the country, and is receiving £20 million from the Plan for Neighbourhoods program[8](https://yorknorthyorks-ca.moderngov.co.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=1222&Opt=3) • [9](https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-09/Executive%20Performance%20report%20quarter%20one%202025-2026.pdf) |
## Landscape and setting
The town occupies a coast where the castle headland rises directly from the sea, giving Scarborough its own anchorage and a long-standing role as a gateway to north-east England.[5](https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/scarborough-castle/history/) The shoreline lies in an area of complex geology requiring ongoing management of landslip and erosion, and much of the coast and cliffs is nationally protected for its wildlife value.[10](https://environment.data.gov.uk/shoreline-planning/subsection/SMP2/PDZ10) The South Bay cliffs in particular have been monitored for slope instability, with cliff-base erosion identified as a main mechanism of instability.[11](https://www.northeastcoastalobservatory.org.uk/data/reports/21_local_monitoring_reports/30_scarborough_borough_council/70_pre-2012_programme_of_coastal_slope_monitoring/297%20Fourth%20Full%20Suite%20Rep-MARCH11-FINAL.pdf)
## The castle headland
The headland has been intermittently inhabited and fortified for nearly 3,000 years. In the late 4th century AD a fortified tower was erected there, one of a set of Roman signal stations built along the north-eastern coast of Britain, apparently abandoned in the early 5th century. A chapel and small cemetery within the signal station foundations show human activity on the headland by 1000.[5](https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/scarborough-castle/history/)
**Royal fortress.** The castle's founder was William le Gros, Count of Aumâle, created Earl of York by King Stephen in 1138, who enclosed the promontory plateau with a wall and erected a tower at the entrance. Henry II took the castle into Crown hands and from 1159 rebuilt it, planting a new town beneath its walls at the same time and spending about £650 over ten years, an enormous sum for the period. King John spent £2,291 on Scarborough, more than on any other castle in the kingdom, building the outer wall of the inner bailey in 1202–6 and extending it to the cliff in 1207–12. Under Henry III the castle became one of the greatest royal fortresses in England; Edward I held court and council there in 1275, and in 1312 Piers Gaveston, Edward II's favorite, took refuge in it during a brief siege. Richard III was the last king to stay, in 1484.[5](https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/scarborough-castle/history/)
**Civil War and after.** In the 1640s the Royalist Sir Hugh Cholmley held the castle, which intercepted shipping and inflicted serious coal shortages on London. In 1645 Parliamentarian forces besieged it for five months in one of the bloodiest sieges of the Civil War; the bombardment sheared the walls of the great tower and half the building collapsed, and Cholmley surrendered on 25 July 1645 after running out of gunpowder, money and food. A second siege followed in 1648, and although the castle was ordered to be slighted, opposition from the town preserved it. From the 1650s it served as a prison, holding among others [George Fox](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-fox), founder of the Quakers, and a barracks block built during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745–6 remained in use into the mid 19th century.[5](https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/scarborough-castle/history/)
In 1920 the castle was taken into state guardianship by the Ministry of Works. In 1963 a Royal Observer Corps monitoring post was built near the cliff edge for volunteers who would have measured and plotted nuclear detonations; it was closed and buried by 1968.[5](https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/scarborough-castle/history/)
## The spa and the first seaside resort
The resort began with water. Around 1626 the local woman Thomasin Farrer noticed a russet tincture on stones at the base of South Cliff, tasted the iron-rich water and recommended it to her friends. Dr Robert Wittie of Hull began sending patients for the cure and published the results in 1660, and the first three buildings stood above a wooden staith by 1715. In 1732 Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, made the six-day coach journey from [St Albans](https://www.edgepedia.org/st-albans) to take the waters and left free of scurvy, though she complained about the cliffs that became inaccessible at high tide.[6](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/scarborough-how-the-queen-of-spas-created-the-modern-seaside-town-as-we-know-it) The resort culture that started at Scarborough is described as arguably the beginning of the modern seaside, its progress from a place of health to one of pleasure reflected in the architecture of the Spa itself.[6](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/scarborough-how-the-queen-of-spas-created-the-modern-seaside-town-as-we-know-it)
**The Spa building.** The Spa on South Cliff is listed at Grade II*. A castellated building was raised in the early 19th century, and in 1858 Sir Joseph Paxton, famous for the Crystal Palace, designed a new ashlar-faced pavilion. A fire gutted the main pavilion in 1877, and from 1877 to 1880 Verity and Hunt restored it and doubled its length; the south part of the present pavilion incorporates Paxton's building with its two south towers.[12](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1259818) In 1913 Edwin Cooper added the domed elliptical structure that stands today, and the town council took over the Spa in 1957 as holiday expectations changed and hopes turned to the conference trade.[6](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/scarborough-how-the-queen-of-spas-created-the-modern-seaside-town-as-we-know-it) The mineral water itself dwindled to a trickle, with income from the 1961–62 season a single pound; a free supply still runs for townspeople under a condition of the Cliff Bridge Company's lease of 200 years ago.[6](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/scarborough-how-the-queen-of-spas-created-the-modern-seaside-town-as-we-know-it)
## Economy and regeneration
Tourism remains central. The town markets itself on two bays, the castle, parks and family attractions, including the 1950s-themed Harbour Bar ice cream parlour and Hairy Bob's Cave on the rocks below the castle.[1](https://visitnorthyorkshire.com/stories-inspiration/why-visit-scarborough) The wider visitor economy is estimated at £1.5–2 billion and 33–37 million visitors, about 10% of the North Yorkshire economy, and the local authority has identified tourism and hospitality skills as a priority for growth.[7](https://edemocracy.northyorks.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=14511) • [13](https://www2.local.gov.uk/case-studies/scarborough-supplying-skills-local-visitor-economy)
**Public investment.** Scarborough has been the focus of a sequence of regeneration programs. The Town Investment Plan identified needs for regeneration, Covid-19 recovery and long-term economic resilience,[2](https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-04/Scarborough%20Station%20Gateway%20Redacted%20Full%20Business%20Case.pdf) and the town is to receive £20 million from the Plan for Neighbourhoods program.[9](https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-09/Executive%20Performance%20report%20quarter%20one%202025-2026.pdf) In 2025 the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority approved in principle the designation of Scarborough as a Mayoral Development Zone, which would make it the first coastal MDZ in the country, focused on town center renewal, housing growth and enhanced opportunities for residents.[8](https://yorknorthyorks-ca.moderngov.co.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=1222&Opt=3) A masterplan for the North Bay area has been commissioned to accelerate development there,[14](https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/community-and-volunteering/community-projects/scarborough-north-bay-masterplan) and the council's plan includes upgrading rail infrastructure with the aim of half-hourly train services to Scarborough.[15](https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-04/Council%20Plan%202025-2029%20-%20accessible_0.pdf)
## Culture and museums
On the South Bay, the town's museum explores coastal heritage and geology, featuring fossils, Jurassic displays and artifacts from the 11,000-year-old [Star Carr](https://www.edgepedia.org/star-carr) collection; Scarborough Art Gallery occupies the town's original Promenade Rooms of 1806.[16](https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/leisure-tourism-and-culture/leisure-tourism-and-culture/our-culture-venues-museums-and-galleries) The council delivers a festival program under the Scarborough Fair banner, including Scarborough Lights, Scarborough Art & Fringe, Scarborough Extreme and Scarborough Streets.[15](https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-04/Council%20Plan%202025-2029%20-%20accessible_0.pdf)
## References
1. [Why Visit... Scarborough, Visit North Yorkshire](https://visitnorthyorkshire.com/stories-inspiration/why-visit-scarborough)
2. [Scarborough Station Gateway Full Business Case, Strategic Case, North Yorkshire Council](https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-04/Scarborough%20Station%20Gateway%20Redacted%20Full%20Business%20Case.pdf)
3. [All About Scarborough, Visit North Yorkshire](https://visitnorthyorkshire.com/stories-inspiration/all-about-scarborough)
4. [Scarborough Borough: An Overview, 2011 Census figures](https://edemocracy.northyorks.gov.uk/Data/Scarborough%20-%20Cabinet/201310151000/Agenda/13343%20-%20Appendix.pdf)
5. [History of Scarborough Castle, English Heritage](https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/scarborough-castle/history/)
6. [Scarborough: How the 'queen of spas' created the modern seaside town, Country Life](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/scarborough-how-the-queen-of-spas-created-the-modern-seaside-town-as-we-know-it)
7. [North Yorkshire Destination Management Plan, agenda item](https://edemocracy.northyorks.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=14511)
8. [Opportunities to Accelerate Major Regeneration Projects, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority](https://yorknorthyorks-ca.moderngov.co.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=1222&Opt=3)
9. [Executive Performance Report Quarter 1 2025-26, North Yorkshire Council](https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-09/Executive%20Performance%20report%20quarter%20one%202025-2026.pdf)
10. [Hundale Point to White Nab PDZ10, Shoreline Management Plans](https://environment.data.gov.uk/shoreline-planning/subsection/SMP2/PDZ10)
11. [Coastal slope monitoring report, Scarborough Borough Council, North East Coastal Observatory](https://www.northeastcoastalobservatory.org.uk/data/reports/21_local_monitoring_reports/30_scarborough_borough_council/70_pre-2012_programme_of_coastal_slope_monitoring/297%20Fourth%20Full%20Suite%20Rep-MARCH11-FINAL.pdf)
12. [The Spa, Scarborough, List Entry 1259818, Historic England](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1259818)
13. [Scarborough: supplying skills for the local visitor economy, Local Government Association](https://www2.local.gov.uk/case-studies/scarborough-supplying-skills-local-visitor-economy)
14. [Scarborough North Bay Masterplan, North Yorkshire Council](https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/community-and-volunteering/community-projects/scarborough-north-bay-masterplan)
15. [Council Plan 2025 to 2029, North Yorkshire Council](https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-04/Council%20Plan%202025-2029%20-%20accessible_0.pdf)
16. [Our culture venues, museums and galleries, North Yorkshire Council](https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/leisure-tourism-and-culture/leisure-tourism-and-culture/our-culture-venues-museums-and-galleries)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Settlements and neighborhoods › Cities and towns › Cities, towns, and villages of Western, Northern, and Southern Europe › Cities and towns of England › Cities and towns of Northern England*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license