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 of iron ore in the Eston area of Cleveland Hills in 1850. With the construction of Redcar Racecourse in 1875, Redcar prospered as a seaside town drawing tourists to its eight miles of sands leading to Saltburn.

[edit] Zetland lifeboat

Redcar is also the home of the world's oldest surviving lifeboat, the Zetland. There is a museum housing it operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

[edit] Redcar Pier

Plans for Redcar Pier were drawn up in 1866, but it was not until 1871 that work was started after Coatham Pier had been suggested, Misforune 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 re-opened with two pavilions, an entrance with rolling-staking rink and an area for band concert. In October 1898 the barque Birger almost completely wrecked the pier and after this it was allowed to disintergate. A glass house for concerts was added to the remain of the piers which was replaced by the New Pavilion in the late 1920's. This became a cinema in the 1960's.

Disaster struck Redcar Peir in the 1880s and 1890s whena series of ships broke through it. In October 1880 the brig Luna did £1000 worth of damage and in 1855 SS.Cochrane demolished the landing stage. In 1897 the schooner Amarant went through the pier and following year the pier burnt down. A Pavillion and ballroom were built near the entrance in 1907 and extended in 1928. These continued in use after Second World War despite the deliberate breaching of the peir, to prevent it being used by ememy invasion forces and structural weaking caused by a nearby mine explosion. Damage by subsequent storms finally led to its demolition.

[edit] Economy

The town's main employer has been the nearby steelworks founded by Dorman Long in 1917 and the ICI Wilton chemical works of the post-war era. The steel used to build the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Auckland Harbour Bridge was produced at the Dorman Long steel works on the outskirts of Redcar.

[edit] Redcar Tourism

The main employer for Redcar has been tourism, a seaside resort, people from North Yorkshire, Leeds and Scotland come every year to Redcar for their holiday. In 1825 when the Stockton and Darlington Railway was built, Redcar was stopping place for the Victoria Tourism.

From the 1920's to 1970's with donkey rides, trampolining on the beach, ice cream sold by Pacitto's, Rea's (part of Chris Rea family, song writer) and Kings (who are 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 (but we all know it as monkey blood) and their signature cone, the lemon top (dairy ice cream in a cone, with a blob of lemon sorbet on top of it).

[edit] Redcar Parks

Redcar has had serveral parks these where built for the tourism, these parks are Titty-Bottle Park, Coatham Enclosure, Locke Park, Zetland Park, Lily Park and Amusement Park with it's roller coaster. These parks employed 100's of local people, now we are left with them being run by Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council.

[edit] Amusement Arcades

Amusement Arcades have always been at Redcar since the building of the Redcar Pier in 1873, and still today the arcades are still very much part of Redcar sea front life.

[edit] Fishing

There has always been small fish fleet in Redcar catching lobster, crab and fish. Also fishing trips to tourists.

[edit] Politics

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. However, the local council Redcar and Cleveland is a coalition between the Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats and most independents.

[edit] Filming location

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

[edit] Nightlife

As a seaside town, Redcar has always 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, along with more traditional bars such as the Clarendon, The Hope and Grope] and The Hydro Hotel, 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), Silks and Leo's] (visible on the left of the photo) which is situated on the beach edge. Other favourites include Aruba (formerly Kudos/The Piper), The Deck and Angels, a rather more "adult" venue.

[edit] Areas of Redcar

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

[edit] Transport

Rail

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, 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.

Road

Main road routes through Redcar include the A1085 and A174.

Bus

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

[edit] Notable people

Rex Hunt (Governor of the Falkland Islands during the 1982 invasion by Argentina)
Singer David Coverdale lived there as a youth and worked in the Gentry clothes shop on Station Road
The late Minister for Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam, represented Redcar in the House of Commons
Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson, originally from Wales, has lived in Redcar with her husband and daughter for the last few years
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.
Gertrude Bell colonial administrator and friend of Lawrence of Arabia spent her youthful years at Red Barns, now the Red Barnes (sic) hotel in adjoining Coatham.
Blue comedian Roy 'Chubby' Brown was from Grangetown, 4 miles from Redcar.
Alfred Edward Graham (1882 - 1945), most active of Redcar's photographer, whose surving negatives were forunately acquired by Redcar Urban Distric Council's Libary and Museum Committee and are now held by Langbaurgh -on-Tees Museum Service.
Lord Dundas (later Lord Zetland) and Lord Lowther played major part pf the development of Redcar.

[edit] External links

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Redcar

Locations in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire.

Parish & Town Councils: Guisborough | Lockwood | Loftus | Saltburn, Marske and New Marske | Skelton and Brotton

See also: Cleveland, Langbaurgh (wapentake), Langbaurgh East, Teesside, Tees Valley

Coordinates: 54°36′34″N, 1°3′5″W

Retrieved from "http://en.wikivisual.com/index.php/Redcar"

Categories: Locations in the Tees Valley | Towns in North Yorkshire | Seaside resorts in England | Redcar and Cleveland Borough

Redcar

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Contents

[edit] History