Back to photostream

Railway Station, Seaton Carew, Hartlepool

Seaton Carew is a seaside resort in County Durham, northern England, with a population of 6,018 (2017). The area is named after a Norman French family called Carou who owned lands in the area and settled there, while 'Seaton' means farmstead or settlement by the sea. The resort falls within the unitary authority of Hartlepool.

 

It separated from most of Hartlepool by the Durham Coast Line. The resort is on the North Sea coast and north of the river Tees estuary.

 

There is evidence that the area was occupied in Roman times as vestiges of Roman buildings, coins and artefacts are occasionally found on the beach. Later during the reign of Henry I, Seaton came into the possession of Robert De Carrowe and the settlement changed its name to Seaton Carrowe. In medieval times salt was extracted from sea water by evaporation and ash from the fuel used to remove the water was dumped on North Gare and now forms a series of grass covered mounds on the golf course.[9] A Gilbertine priory or cell to Sempringham Priory was established in the Seaton area although so far no trace has been found. In 1667 a gun fortification was built on the promontory of Seaton Snook to defend the mouth of the Tees, particularly against the Dutch—remnants of these fortifications can be seen today.

 

Seaton Carew was a fishing village but grew in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as a seaside holiday resort for wealthy Quaker families from Darlington, effectively founding Seaton Carew as a seaside resort. Many stayed at the rows of stucco houses and hotels built along the seafront and around The Green—a turfed square facing the sea.

 

In 1867 a hoard of Spanish silver dollars was revealed in the sands following a heavy storm.

 

In 1874 the Durham and Yorkshire Golf Club (now Seaton Carew Golf Club) was founded by Duncan McCuaig, with a 14-hole course on coastal land to the south-east of Seaton Carew. Four holes were added in 1891 and in 1925 further work was carried out with the guidance of renowned golf course designer Alister MacKenzie.

 

In 1882 Seaton Carew was incorporated into West Hartlepool and the Museum of Hartlepool records that a small riot involving Irish labourers took place in the late Victorian era, when townsfolk mistook them for Fenian agitators.

 

Just north of Seaton was the works of the West Hartlepool Steel & Iron Company. In 1898 Christopher Furness and W.C. Gray of West Hartlepool purchased the Stockton Malleable Iron Works, the Moor Steel and Iron Works, and the West Hartlepool Steel and Iron Works to form the South Durham Steel and Iron Company. This became part of the British Steel Corporation in 1967. The West Hartlepool Steel and Iron Works is thought to have closed in 1979.

 

Tourists and visitors are attracted to the resort's four miles of sandy beach, promenade, arcades, and fish and chip restaurants. The beach is regularly cleaned and is patrolled by lifeguards during the summer holidays. In 2019 the main beach was given an 'excellent' bathing rating by the Environment Agency and was granted a Seaside Award by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.

 

The artist and leading railway poster designer Frank Henry Mason (1875–1965) was born at Seaton Carew and briefly worked in a Hartlepool shipyard.

 

The science fiction writer Mark Adlard was born in Seaton Carew in 1932[53] and for a time he lived on The Green.

 

Neil Warnock, football manager/pundit, lived in Seaton Carew when he played for Hartlepool United.

 

Footballer Evan Horwood grew up in Seaton before moving to Yorkshire to play for Sheffield United. He has also played for Carlisle United F.C., Hartlepool United and Tranmere Rovers.

 

John Darwin and his wife Anne lived in Seaton when John faked his death in a canoeing accident in 2002. The story made the news across the world and it inspired a BBC drama documentary on the Darwins' lives

1,504 views
33 faves
3 comments
Uploaded on September 20, 2023
Taken on August 13, 2023