Tom Baldwin
12-17-2007, 04:17 PM
Over a week since the last new thread, so here goes:
The railway came to the hamlet of Ravenscar in 1885, with the opening of the Whitby & Scarborough Railway. With it came the ambitions of a group of Yorkshire businessmen; to build at Ravenscar a seaside resort for 5000 inhabitants, to rival Scarborough. Plans were drawn up and roads and drains were made and mains water laid in. But sales of the 1500+ plots were slow, and fruitless auctions were held every year until 1923, when the company finally gave up.
What those ambitious businessmen seem to have ignored was that a seaside resort needs easy access to the sea, and miles of golden sand, which Scarborough has. What does Ravenscar have? A 600-foot cliff to negotiate before you get your feet wet (see photo), and a narrow, rocky beach.
http://www.scarboroughvisitor.com/images/out_and_about/locations/ravenscar.jpg
No wonder that, of the 1500+ plots for sale, just eight were ever build on; a terrace of four and four singles. Those eight plots, with their eight houses, are all that remains of this Victorian folly, though today you can wander over the site and perhaps, under the long grass, discover a kerb stone or an ornate Victorian drain cover.
The map overlay in this folder, of 1918, shows the eight houses that were built. Switch the overlay off to see what's on the ground today.
For the railway enthusiast I've included the station and the tunnel.
The railway came to the hamlet of Ravenscar in 1885, with the opening of the Whitby & Scarborough Railway. With it came the ambitions of a group of Yorkshire businessmen; to build at Ravenscar a seaside resort for 5000 inhabitants, to rival Scarborough. Plans were drawn up and roads and drains were made and mains water laid in. But sales of the 1500+ plots were slow, and fruitless auctions were held every year until 1923, when the company finally gave up.
What those ambitious businessmen seem to have ignored was that a seaside resort needs easy access to the sea, and miles of golden sand, which Scarborough has. What does Ravenscar have? A 600-foot cliff to negotiate before you get your feet wet (see photo), and a narrow, rocky beach.
http://www.scarboroughvisitor.com/images/out_and_about/locations/ravenscar.jpg
No wonder that, of the 1500+ plots for sale, just eight were ever build on; a terrace of four and four singles. Those eight plots, with their eight houses, are all that remains of this Victorian folly, though today you can wander over the site and perhaps, under the long grass, discover a kerb stone or an ornate Victorian drain cover.
The map overlay in this folder, of 1918, shows the eight houses that were built. Switch the overlay off to see what's on the ground today.
For the railway enthusiast I've included the station and the tunnel.