Scarborough Castle
Scarborough Castle: 3,000 Years of History Above the Yorkshire Coast
Scarborough Castle is one of those Yorkshire landmarks that is almost impossible to miss.
Standing high above the town on the headland between North Bay and South Bay, its ruined tower can be seen from much of Scarborough. We got some cracking views of it while staying in the town and walking along the coast below.
But what you see today is only part of the story.
People have been using this headland for thousands of years. Long before Scarborough became one of Yorkshire’s best-known seaside towns, this was already an important place overlooking the North Sea.
Romans watched the coast from here. Medieval kings strengthened the defences. Piers Gaveston sheltered behind its walls. Richard III stayed here. The castle endured Civil War sieges and was later shelled by German warships during the First World War.
It is exactly the sort of place we created Yorkshire’s Stories to explore – somewhere many of us know, but with far more history behind it than you might expect.
Before Scarborough Castle
The history of the headland begins long before the medieval castle.
Archaeological finds show people were using the site thousands of years ago, with prehistoric pottery and evidence of settlement discovered on the headland.
The position explains why.
Scarborough’s headland pushes out into the North Sea and is naturally protected by steep cliffs on three sides. From the top there are wide views north and south along the Yorkshire coast.
For anyone wanting to watch the sea or defend the land behind them, it was an obvious place to be.
The Romans Arrive
By the late fourth century, the Romans had recognised the same advantage.
A fortified signal station was built on the headland as part of a chain of coastal sites along north-east Britain.
Their exact purpose is still debated, but they were almost certainly connected with watching the coast and warning of threats arriving by sea.
Centuries after the Romans left Britain, people returned to the same area. By around the year 1000, a chapel had been built within the remains of the Roman site and a small cemetery developed nearby.
It is a pattern that continues throughout Scarborough Castle’s history – generation after generation finding another reason to use the same headland.
William le Gros Builds a Castle
The medieval castle begins to emerge properly during the 12th century.
William le Gros, Earl of York, was one of the most powerful men in northern England during the reign of King Stephen.
He appears to have begun building a castle at Scarborough during the 1130s.
The early fortress was very different from the ruins we see today, but it established the headland as an important stronghold.
When Henry II became king in 1154, he began reclaiming castles that had fallen into private hands during the troubled years of Stephen’s reign.
Scarborough stood on a royal manor.
Henry wanted it back.
Henry II Creates a Royal Fortress
Henry II began rebuilding Scarborough Castle in 1159.
Over the following decade he spent heavily on the site, transforming it into a major royal fortress.
The most impressive addition was the great tower, built between 1159 and 1169.
Even in its ruined state, the remains of that tower still dominate the headland today.
Scarborough was no longer simply a local castle.
Its position overlooking the coast made it strategically important to the Crown, and successive kings continued to strengthen it.
If you enjoy exploring Yorkshire’s castles, ruins and historic sites, you’ll find more across our Yorkshire Attractions.
King John Spends a Fortune
King John recognised Scarborough’s importance too.
During his reign, huge sums were spent strengthening and improving the castle.
New walls were constructed, defences were extended and royal accommodation improved.
John spent more at Scarborough than at any other castle in his kingdom.
That tells us something about just how important the fortress had become.
Sitting high above the North Sea and controlling a key part of the Yorkshire coast, Scarborough Castle was a valuable royal stronghold.
Piers Gaveston Takes Refuge at Scarborough
One of the castle’s most famous episodes came in 1312.
Piers Gaveston was the favourite of Edward II and had made powerful enemies among the English nobility.
With those enemies closing in, Gaveston fled to Scarborough Castle.
Its position and strong defences made it an obvious place to seek refuge.
But he could not hold out indefinitely.
After a short siege he surrendered and was taken away from Scarborough. Soon afterwards he fell into the hands of his enemies and was executed.
For a brief moment, events on this Yorkshire headland were right at the centre of a national struggle for power.
Richard III Comes to Scarborough
Another famous king arrived more than 170 years later.
Richard III stayed at Scarborough Castle in 1484 while preparing a fleet to resist the expected invasion of Henry Tudor.
He was the last reigning monarch known to have stayed at the castle.
Less than a year later Richard was killed at the Battle of Bosworth and Henry Tudor became Henry VII.
That gives Scarborough another connection with the Wars of the Roses.
We have followed that story through other parts of Yorkshire too, including Sandal Castle and the Battle of Wakefield, where Richard’s father, Richard, Duke of York, was killed in 1460.
One of the things we enjoy about Yorkshire’s Stories is seeing how the same families and conflicts appear in completely different parts of the county.
The English Civil War Comes to Scarborough
Some of the greatest destruction still visible at Scarborough Castle came during the English Civil War.
By 1645 the castle was being held for the Royalists by Sir Hugh Cholmley.
Parliamentarian forces captured the town and forced the Royalists back into the castle.
A siege followed.
For around five months, the defenders held on while Parliamentarian artillery battered the medieval fortress.
The bombardment was so severe that part of Henry II’s great tower collapsed.
That damage can still be seen today.
When you look at the broken tower, you are not simply looking at stonework that gradually fell apart over time. You are looking at the scars of artillery fire from the 17th century.
The defenders eventually ran short of supplies and surrendered in July 1645.
Scarborough Castle was besieged again in 1648 when members of the Parliamentary garrison changed sides and declared for Charles I.
Once again, the headland became a battlefield.
From Fortress to Prison
After the Civil War, the castle continued to be used by the military but also became a prison.
One of its best-known prisoners was George Fox, founder of the Religious Society of Friends, better known as the Quakers.
Later, following the Jacobite rising of 1745–46, new barracks were built within the castle.
By then, medieval castles were becoming outdated as serious defensive fortresses.
But Scarborough’s position above the North Sea meant the headland itself remained strategically important.
And that became very clear again in 1914.
The Day Scarborough Was Shelled
On the morning of 16 December 1914, German warships appeared off the Yorkshire coast.
Britain had been fighting in the First World War for only a few months.
More than 500 shells were fired at Scarborough and the castle.
Homes, businesses and public buildings were hit, along with the ancient fortifications on the headland.
Civilians were killed and many more were wounded.
The attack shocked Britain.
Scarborough was a seaside town, not somewhere most people expected to suddenly find itself under direct enemy fire.
“Remember Scarborough” became part of wartime recruiting propaganda afterwards.
Centuries after medieval armies had fought over the castle, Scarborough’s position above the North Sea had once again placed it directly in the path of war.
Scarborough Castle Today
Today the headland is a much quieter place.
What remains includes the ruined great tower, sections of medieval wall and archaeological evidence left by generations of people who occupied the site.
But Scarborough Castle is more than one ruined medieval fortress.
It is a place that has been repeatedly reused for thousands of years.
Prehistoric communities, Roman soldiers, medieval kings, rebels, Royalists, Parliamentarians and soldiers from much later periods have all stood on the same headland.
That is what makes places like this worth looking at properly.
If you enjoy discovering historic places around the county, have a browse through our Yorkshire Attractions and Places to Visit in Yorkshire.
Discover Scarborough and North Yorkshire on Foot
We actually started looking more closely at Scarborough Castle because we were staying nearby and exploring the town ourselves.
Walking around a place often makes you notice things you would completely miss from the car.
From the castle headland you can explore Scarborough’s coast, North Bay, Peasholm Park and the town itself, with the castle appearing above you from different angles as you go.
You can find more routes that Lyn and I have personally walked on our North Yorkshire Walks page, or explore routes across the whole county through Yorkshire Walks.
Explore Scarborough: Scarborough Town Hub · Castle visitor details · Scarborough Circular Walk · Scarborough Mystery Walk
Explore More Yorkshire Stories
Scarborough Castle is exactly why we started Yorkshire’s Stories.
You can visit somewhere you think you already know and suddenly discover prehistoric settlement, Roman soldiers, medieval kings, political intrigue, Civil War artillery and German warships all connected with the same piece of Yorkshire ground.
And there are stories like this all over the county.
Explore more of Yorkshire’s battles, people, landmarks and unusual history through Yorkshire’s Stories, find somewhere new through our Yorkshire Attractions, or combine a little history with one of our personally walked Yorkshire Walks.
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