Redcar

Redcar
Redcar town centre
Population	33,100
OS grid reference	NZ612242
• London	218 SSE
Unitary authority	Redcar and Cleveland
Ceremonial county	North Yorkshire
Region	North East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	REDCAR
Postcode district	TS10
Dialling code	01642
Police	Cleveland
Fire	Cleveland
Ambulance	North East
UK Parliament	Redcar

Redcar is a seaside resort and the principal town of the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies 7.5 miles (12.1 km) east-northeast of Middlesbrough by the North Sea coast. It has a population of 33,100.

Historically a part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, Redcar originated as a fishing town in the early 14th century, trading with the larger adjacent market town of Coatham. Until the mid 19th Century it was a sub-parish of the village of Marske-by-the-Sea, when Redcar emerged as a seaside tourist destination. With the opening of the Middlesbrough to Redcar Railway in 1846, Redcar became a resort for Victorian tourists.

History

The name is thought to come from the fact that it was on marshy land close to the rocks (Reed-Scar). Redcar originated as a fishing town in the 1300s, trading with the larger adjacent market town of Coatham. Until the mid 19th Century it was a sub-parish of the local village of Marske-by-the-Sea (mentioned in the Domesday book).

In 1846 work was complete on the Middlesbrough and Redcar Railway, created to attract local tourism and trade, but like much of the Middlesbrough region, Redcar's real population expansion began with the discovery in 1850 of iron ore in the Eston area of the Cleveland Hills. With the construction of Redcar Racecourse in 1875, Redcar prospered as a seaside town drawing tourists to its eight miles of sands that lead on to Saltburn-by-the-Sea.

Today Redcar is made up of numerous areas, including Coatham, Warrenby, Dormanstown, Lakes Estate, Redcar East, The Ings, Ings Farm, Mickledales and Westfield.

Zetland lifeboat

Main article: Zetland Lifeboat

Redcar is the home of the world's oldest surviving lifeboat, the Zetland, housed in a sea front museum operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

Redcar and Coatham piers

Redcar beach

Plans for Redcar Pier were drawn up in 1866, but work was not started until 1871 by which time building a pier at Coatham had been suggested. Misfortune struck both piers very early in their lives. Coatham Pier was wrecked before it could be completed when two sailing ships were driven through it in a storm. It had to be shortened because of the cost of repairs and was re-opened with two kiosks, an entrance with a roller-skating rink and a band stand. In October 1898 the barque Birger almost completely wrecked the pier and afterwards the pier was allowed to disintegrate. A glass house for concerts was added to the remains of the pier. This was replaced by the New Pavilion theatre in 1928 which became the Regent cinema in the early 1960s. An anchor from the Birger can be seen on the sea front pavement opposite the Zetland lifeboat museum.

Disaster struck Redcar Pier in the 1880s and 1890s when a series of ships broke through it. In October 1880 the brig Luna did £1000 worth of damage and on New Year's Eve in 1885, SS Cochrane demolished the landing stage. In 1897 the schooner Amarant went through the pier and in the following year the pier head burnt down. In 1907 a pavilion ballroom was built on the pier behind the entrance kiosks and in 1928 the pavilion was extended. The pavilion continued in use after the Second World War despite the deliberate breaching (sectioning) of the pier (to prevent it being used by enemy invasion forces) and structural weakening caused by a nearby mine explosion. Damage to the pier by subsequent storms finally led to its demolition in 1981.

Governance

Historically a part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, in 1968 the town became part of the county borough of Teesside, which was absorbed by the non-metropolitan county of Cleveland in 1974. It is now within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, and is within the region of North East England.

Politically, Redcar has tended to lean towards the Labour Party allowing the town to fall under the category of an ultra-safe seat, any change in Redcar's political views would generate a considerable amount of government interest for the area. From 1987 to 2001, the local MP was the late Mo Mowlam, and since 2001 the local MP has been Vera Baird.

Economy

The town's main employer was the nearby steelworks at Warrenby founded by Dorman Long in 1917 and the ICI Wilton chemical works of the post-war era. The steel produced at Dorman Long was used to build the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Auckland Harbour Bridge and many others. Today steel is made further west at the Corus BOS plant in Lackenby, using iron produced at the company's Redcar blast furnace, the largest in Europe. Both sites became part of Tata Steel when Corus was taken over in 2007, but as of February 2008, they still trade under the Corus name.

The main pedestrianised shopping area is based on and around High Street and runs parallel to the sea front Esplanade.

There is a small inshore fishing fleet in Redcar catching lobster, crab and fish, and offering fishing trips to tourists. As high tide at Redcar now comes up to the sea wall, fishing cobles are permitted to park up with their trailers on a broad section of sea front pavement.

Tourism, leisure and amenities

Being a seaside resort Redcar's main employer has been tourism. Since the opening of the Middlesbrough to Redcar Railway in 1846 Redcar became a regular destination for the Victorian tourist. Every year people from North Yorkshire, Leeds and Scotland would come to Redcar for their holidays.

From the 1920s to 1970s Redcar had its donkey rides, trampolining on the beach, and ice cream. The ice cream was sold by Pacitto's, Rea's (part of Chris Rea family, song writer) and Kings (no longer there but fondly remembered) who also made and sold Redcar Rock. Pacitto's are still in Redcar on the sea front selling ice cream with red sauce and their signature cone, the lemon top (dairy ice cream in a cone, with a blob of lemon sorbet on top of it).

The sand beach at Redcar stretches eight miles approximately south east and north west. In the north west the beach runs past Coatham to South Gare breakwater at the mouth of the river Tees. To the south east the sand beach is bordered by the Stray from Redcar's Zetland Park to Marske-by-the-Sea and then continues on to Saltburn. The Stray is a three kilometre long public open strip of coastal grassland situated between the beach and the A1085 characterized by a series of howles (small chines) leading from the grassland to the beach. The Redcar coastline is a prime location for finding fossils of Gryphaea, also known as devil's toenails.

Redcar has had several parks built for tourism. These parks are Titty-Bottle Park, Coatham Enclosure, Locke Park, Zetland Park, Lily Park, and Amusement Park with its roller coaster. These parks employed hundreds of local people and are now operated by Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. Today Titty Bottle Park no longer exists as such and in its place on the triangular plot of land is a red and blue, brick built toilet block and tourist information centre, (see right of 'Redcar sea front' photograph). On the opposite side of the sea front road from Titty Bottle Park was an illuminated bandstand but today the site is occupied by Leo's (see left of 'Redcar sea front' photograph). Amusement arcades have been at Redcar since the building of the Redcar Pier in 1873, and today the arcades are still very much part of Redcar sea front life.

When filming the adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel Atonement, Redcar experienced a sharp (approximate) 70% increase in the number of tourists who visited the town's promenade to see the film being shot. Redcar is also tipped to experience additional tourist numbers, thanks to Atonement's release into the cinemas and the film's expected popularity. This story has been highlighted in national and regional news.

Nightlife

As a seaside town, Redcar has long boasted a number of bars and nightclubs, and quite recently (as of 2006) three new venues have appeared on the High Street; the upmarket Blue Lounge and Martha's Vineyard and the South African-themed Barracuda, although 8 years old the Plimsoll Line is still most notably the busiest and most popular bar amongst locals.

Elgins gaining a strong reputation as a major player on the Redcar Nightlife scene playing 70's 80's and 90's on a Friday and Electro house on a Saturday, along with more traditional bars such as the Clarendon and The Hop and Grape, these three new bars offer the townsfolk and visitors more choice than ever.

The seafront is home to some of Redcar's more established haunts, including Sharkey's (the blue and white building in the photo on the right, has now been closed), Silks, and Leo's (visible on the left of the photo, but currently closed) which is situated on the beach edge. Other favourites include Aruba (formerly Kudos/The Piper), The Deck (formerly Top Deck), and Angels a decidedly more "adult" venue.

Landmarks

The Clock Tower

There are some twenty three listed buildings in Redcar.

• At the west end of High Street is a grade II listed clock tower, a memorial to King Edward VII who was a regular visitor to Redcar.
• On the seafront stands the grand Victorian edifice of the former Coatham Hotel. The ballroom of the hotel was the home to the Redcar Jazz Club a popular venue for the up-and-coming bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
• On the sea front is the grade II listed Zetland Lifeboat Museum operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) housing the Zetland Lifeboat, the world's oldest surviving lifeboat.
• In the east of Redcar is a sound mirror. This is a grade II listed building built during the First World War as part of a regional defence system to detect approaching aircraft (Zeppelins mainly) and give early warning. Built in 1915 the mirror was used up until the invention of radar. Although built on open fields a modern housing estate now surrounds it.

Transport

Redcar has three railway stations, on the Tees Valley Line and served by Northern Rail. From west to east they are: British Steel Redcar railway station, with a very limited service for British Steel workers; Redcar Central railway station serving the town centre and Redcar East railway station about a mile to the south east which serves the residential area (unofficially) named after the station. There has been speculation locally about the development of a new station serving the expanding residential area known as The Ings, which would supposedly be situated between Redcar East railway station and Longbeck railway station in Marske-by-the-Sea, but so far no firm plans have been agreed.

On weekdays, trains run approximately every half hour in each direction, towards Saltburn eastbound and Middlesbrough, Darlington and Bishop Auckland westbound. There are also a number of through trains to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Trains are less frequent on evenings and weekends.

The main roads through the town are the A1085 and the A174.

Redcar is served primarily by Arriva North East buses, connecting Redcar with surrounding towns and villages such as Middlesbrough, Guisborough, Eston, Marske-by-the-Sea, New Marske and Saltburn.

The Pangea North and CANTAT-3 submarine telecommunication cables both come ashore at Redcar.

Education

The town's sixth form college is Redcar & Cleveland College . The town's secondary schools are: Redcar Community College (formerly West Redcar School), Rye Hills School and Sacred Heart RC Secondary School. There are also a number of primary schools in Redcar.

Filmography

Atonement

In 2006, Redcar was used as a location for the film adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel Atonement. The Coatham Hotel, Regent Cinema, a section of Newcomen Terrace and part of the beach were dressed as 1940s Dunkirk. Filming took place across three days in August 2006, with local men playing the soldiers.[1][2][3]

Notable people

• Gertrude Bell colonial administrator and colleague of Lawrence of Arabia spent her youthful years at Red Barns, now the Red Barnes (sic) hotel in adjoining Coatham.
• Singer David Coverdale lead singer with Deep Purple and White Snake lived there as a youth and worked in the Gentry clothes shop on Station Road.
• Lord Dundas (later Lord Zetland) and Lord Lowther played a major part in the development of Redcar.
• Alan Goodrum - Redcar's most successful poker player with tournament and cash game earnings over $300,000 US including the 2006 New Zealand Open.
• Alfred Edward Graham (1882-1945), most active of Redcar's photographers, whose surviving negatives were fortunately acquired by Redcar Urban District Council's Library and Museum Committee and are now held by Redcar and Cleveland Museum Service.
• Nathaniel Hawthorne the well-known American novelist, came to Redcar on 26 July 1859 in search of peace and quiet, while he worked on the manuscript of The Marble Faun. Hawthorne's house stands at the junction of High Street and King Street. This was formerly known as the Hawthorne Cafe.
• Rex Hunt governor of the Falkland Islands during the 1982 invasion by Argentina attended Coatham School.
• Film and television actresses June Laverick and Wendy Hall, and actor/director/producer Robert Porter were all born in Redcar.
• The late Minister for Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam, represented Redcar in the House of Commons.
• Chris Norman founder member and former lead singer of Smokie was born in Redcar.
• Robbie Stockdale ex Middlesbrough FC and now Tranmere Rovers footballer.
• Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson, originally from Wales, has lived in Redcar with her husband and daughter for the last few years.
• David Wheater Middlesbrough FC and England national football team central defender, grew up and still lives in Redcar.
• Pete York drummer with the Spencer Davis Group and session drummer was born in Redcar.

Also see the category People from Redcar.

External links

• Redcar.net. A message board for past and present residents of Redcar to exchange views and memories.
• Redcar Lifeboat Station
• A Redcar local history site
• Redcar is located North of the North York Moors
• Redcar Decline Pictures showing the decay and demise of the town
• A North East history site
• Changing Redcar - site of 2001-6