Fascinating historic images of Scarborough provide glimpse inside seaside resort’s glory days
Scarborough is one of the UK’s best-known seaside destinations, with a long history of leisure tourism that dates back to the 17th century.
Scarborough Civic Society explains: ‘These discerning early visitors sought pleasure as well as health. They demanded – and were prepared to pay for – the best of everything, from accommodation, food and drink to theatrical performances.’
The Yorkshire seaside spot was also a base for the fishing and shipbuilding industries with an active harbour.
While Scarborough, like many of the UK’s seaside resorts, suffered as a tourist destination following the launch of cheap flights and package holidays in the late 1900s, it remains a popular seaside spot today.
Find out how the resort evolved over time with this selection of fascinating historic photos.
From the lively bandstand that’s entertained guests for over 100 years to the outdoor swimming pool that was the ‘first of its kind in England’ – delve back into Scarborough’s past…
A view of Scarborough from the esplanade in 1911 is captured in the top image. The lower image shows the seaside town in 2021, with the castle ruins prominent on the hill in each photo. Scarborough began attracting visitors in the 1600s, notes Visit Scarborough, which makes it one of the UK’s first seaside resorts
These two images show holidaymakers listening to bands playing at the Spa (an events venue and spa), but over 100 years apart, with the top image dating to 1913, the bottom to 2022
The above two aerial images offer a comparison of modern-day Scarborough with the town in 1929. At the bottom left of the vintage image Scarborough Lighthouse is in a state of ruin. Scarborough Civic Society explains: ‘During the 1914 German bombardment, a shell sliced through the lighthouse tower. It had to be dismantled to first-floor level, and was rebuilt by public subscription in 1931’
Three women are pictured ‘shrimping’ – searching for shrimps – on Scarborough Sands Beach in 1912
Crowds of holidaymakers arrive at Scarborough Railway Station in this image, which was taken in 1913. Scarborough Civic Society states: ‘With the arrival of the railway in 1845, Scarborough was well placed to attract a wider spectrum of visitors than ever before. They came now to savour the new-found delights of an established seaside resort, rather than to sample the medicinal Spa waters’
Holidaymakers pictured at the Spa in 1913. The BBC reveals: ‘It included a concert hall that could seat 500 people, gardens and a promenade’
Beachgoers relax on deckchairs on Scarborough’s shores in 1913. The Spa is pictured above the beach with the town’s Grand Hotel at the top of the image
Holidaymakers at North Beach in Scarborough in 1913. Tourists at the time could make use of wheeled bathing machines – a type of modesty device that granted private access to the water
Tourists are photographed on Scarborough’s North Bay in 1913. The ruins of Scarborough Castle, a medieval fortress, are seen on the hill in the back of the shot. Scarborough Civic Society remarks that the ruins ‘remain the best-known feature of the town’
Bathers in the sea at North Sands Beach in Scarborough in 1914. Since as far back as the early 17th century, Scarborough had been established as ‘somewhere nice to “take the waters”‘, reveals the BBC
Holidaymakers enjoy the outdoor swimming pool at Scarborough’s Battery Park in 1930. The Yorkshire Post explains: ‘The Art Deco attraction was the first pool of its kind in England with built-in diving boards, a water chute, changing rooms and showers. It contained nearly two million gallons of filtered and chlorinated seawater.’ The pool was closed in 1989
This image depicts Scarborough’s seafront in 1935. A banner in the background advertises ‘The World’s Champion Lady Wrestlers’ – a daily spectacle, apparently
In this 1937 image, Scarborough footballers are snapped having a seaweed bath during FA Cup match preparations
This image shows the Spa bandstand in 1945. The Spa complex has been altered several times over the years, but the DNA of its architecture can be traced back to the 1880s
Holidaymakers are pictured on deckchairs on the beach in 1958. Although many British seaside resorts fell out of favour with the launch of cheap flights abroad, Scarborough is still the third most visited place in the UK, according to Visit Scarborough
