Scarborough - St Mary

With a population of more than 60.000 Scarborough is the largest town on the Yorkshire Coast.

Scarborough was founded by Danes in the 10th century, when Thorgil (aka Skarthi, meaning 'hare-lip') built a stronghold here – hence 'Skarthi's burh'. This was soon attacked and burnt down by Anglo-Saxon tribes in the time of Tosti and Harald III. The town recovered during the reign of Henry II. The king had Scarborough Castle built on the headland and granted the town the right to hold a market in 1155 and to appoint a mayor in 1163

In 1253, the Scarborough Fair was established by royal decree and held annually for 500 years. The six-week trade fair attracted merchants from all over Europe. To this day, the custom has been passed down in the English folk song of the same name.

The town and castle changed hands seven times during the English Civil War. Large parts of the town were destroyed in the process.

In 1626, an acidic mineral spring was discovered. The spring was called Scarborough Spa, it was regarded as a healing spring and became very popular from the 1660s onwards. Scarborough thus became Britain's first spa in the early modern era. The opening of the York-Scarborough railway line in 1845 contributed to an increased influx of visitors to the seaside resort


St Mary's Church was first mentioned in 1150. In 1189 King Richard I granted the church's income to the Cistercian monastery of Citeaux. The connection with Cieteaux lasted for over 200 years until Henry IV placed the church under the charge of Bridlington Priory in 1405.

The church stands on a high point on a headland between Scarborough's North Bay and South Bay, just 300 metres from Scarborough Castle.

Once a large church, it was largely destroyed during the siege of Scarborough Castle in the English Civil War.

Some remains of the old chancel remain, but during the Civil War the churchyard was used as a base to fire cannon at the castle, which returned fire. The tower collapsed in 1645 and was rebuilt in 1670. The church was extensively restored in the 19th century and is now about half the size it once was.