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The Harbour - Early History
1225Henry III made a grant of 40 oaks from his woods to the men of Scarborough to use in the harbour.
1251Henry III granted Charter to 'His Bailiffs and Burgesses and other good men of Scardeburgh: it is for the benefit of the Town of Scardeburgh to make a certain new port with timber and stone towards the sea whereby all ships arriving thither may enter and sail out without danger as well at the beginning of Flood as at High water'.
Authority given to Scarborough fishermen to land fish in Normandy free of toll.
1564Elizabeth I granted £500 in money, 100 tons of timber, 6 tons of iron in aid of rebuilding the harbour.
1732George II. Act passed to enlarge harbour by building Vincents Pier and the present East Pier at cost of £12,000. At this time there were upwards of 300 sailing ships belonging to Scarborough.
The Piers:
1752Completion of Vincents Pier which was a continuation seaward from the old Locker House on the early pier and named after its engineer William Vincent. Revenue produced by a levy of ½d per cauldron of coals landed from Newcastle and other duties.
1750sWork on construction of the East Pier began. Mr. Smeaton, who built Eddystone Lighthouse, was consulting engineer. Blocks for this pier were taken from the foreshore at White Nab (Cornelian Bay) and conveyed in flat-bottomed vessels called 'floats'. Some of the stone blocks weighted 20 to 30 tons. It took over half a century before the pier, measuring 1380 feet, was finally completed, some time after 1811.
During the early years of the 19th century, the isolated inner Island Pier was demolished and the shore reused to build the West Pier from West Sandgate. It was completed shortly after 1325.
1901Sandside and approach road constructed in conjunction with Marine Drive. Originally Quay Street was part of the Old Harbour. Mooring posts found in cellars of houses.
The Lighthouse:
The first reference to a lighthouse at the end of Vincent's Pier occurs in 1804. A signal flag was displayed by day and a light by night when depth of water was not less than 12 feet. Storry's Guide 1844 records that a cupola and additional storey were recently added.
In 1914, the lighthouse was seriously damaged during the bombardment of Scarborough by German cruisers and the tower had to be dismantled. It was rebuilt in 1931.
Ship Building:
Shipyards extended along the Foreshore from the Pier to King Richard III House. Launching was done in cradles on an inclined plane at low tide.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Scarborough was one of the principal ship building centres on the East Coast. From 1785 to 1810, 209 ships were built with a tonnage of 35,683 tons. As many as 15 ships were launched in one year.
In 1849, a company was formed to provide means for repairing ships at Scarborough. A floating dock was built capable of taking ships up to 300 tons.
DSC_4549.jpg
The Harbour - Early History
1225Henry III made a grant of 40 oaks from his woods to the men of Scarborough to use in the harbour.
1251Henry III granted Charter to 'His Bailiffs and Burgesses and other good men of Scardeburgh: it is for the benefit of the Town of Scardeburgh to make a certain new port with timber and stone towards the sea whereby all ships arriving thither may enter and sail out without danger as well at the beginning of Flood as at High water'.
Authority given to Scarborough fishermen to land fish in Normandy free of toll.
1564Elizabeth I granted £500 in money, 100 tons of timber, 6 tons of iron in aid of rebuilding the harbour.
1732George II. Act passed to enlarge harbour by building Vincents Pier and the present East Pier at cost of £12,000. At this time there were upwards of 300 sailing ships belonging to Scarborough.
The Piers:
1752Completion of Vincents Pier which was a continuation seaward from the old Locker House on the early pier and named after its engineer William Vincent. Revenue produced by a levy of ½d per cauldron of coals landed from Newcastle and other duties.
1750sWork on construction of the East Pier began. Mr. Smeaton, who built Eddystone Lighthouse, was consulting engineer. Blocks for this pier were taken from the foreshore at White Nab (Cornelian Bay) and conveyed in flat-bottomed vessels called 'floats'. Some of the stone blocks weighted 20 to 30 tons. It took over half a century before the pier, measuring 1380 feet, was finally completed, some time after 1811.
During the early years of the 19th century, the isolated inner Island Pier was demolished and the shore reused to build the West Pier from West Sandgate. It was completed shortly after 1325.
1901Sandside and approach road constructed in conjunction with Marine Drive. Originally Quay Street was part of the Old Harbour. Mooring posts found in cellars of houses.
The Lighthouse:
The first reference to a lighthouse at the end of Vincent's Pier occurs in 1804. A signal flag was displayed by day and a light by night when depth of water was not less than 12 feet. Storry's Guide 1844 records that a cupola and additional storey were recently added.
In 1914, the lighthouse was seriously damaged during the bombardment of Scarborough by German cruisers and the tower had to be dismantled. It was rebuilt in 1931.
Ship Building:
Shipyards extended along the Foreshore from the Pier to King Richard III House. Launching was done in cradles on an inclined plane at low tide.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Scarborough was one of the principal ship building centres on the East Coast. From 1785 to 1810, 209 ships were built with a tonnage of 35,683 tons. As many as 15 ships were launched in one year.
In 1849, a company was formed to provide means for repairing ships at Scarborough. A floating dock was built capable of taking ships up to 300 tons.