Seaton Carew

Houses around The Green at the seaside resort of Seaton Carew, Hartlepool

Seaton Carew is a small seaside resort within the borough of Hartlepool, England. It is situated on the North Sea coast between the town of Hartlepool and the mouth of the River Tees.

History and development

Seaton Carew was a popular bathing place for the Darlington Quakers. Its heyday was the early 19th century, when rows of pretty little stucco houses were built along the seafront and around The Green, a modestly handsome turfed square facing the sea. The museum of Hartlepool mentions that a small riot involving Irish labourers took place in the late Victorian era, when townsfolk mistook them for Fenian agitators.

The 20th century added little in the way of amenities and the place was once considered to possess a faded charm. Recent regeneration work however, has done much to change this. A promenade allows visitors to walk from Hartlepool Marina to Seaton Carew, giving spectacular unrestricted views of the North Sea. Opposite The Green was the crumbling (and dangerous) North Shelter housing the former lifeguard station and public toilets. This has now been demolished while the South Shelter behind the bus station was demolished several years before.

Other planned work includes regeneration of the Art Deco clock tower at the resort's bus station. This featured in several scenes in the Mike Leigh film Career Girls.

Tourism

Warm summer days continue to attract many visitors to the resort's spotless beach, arcades, and fish and chip restaurants. Every November a fireworks display and carnival attracts thousands of visitors from across the region to celebrate Bonfire Night. There is live music and fairground rides on the Saturday which falls closest to Bonfire Night, November 5th.

Recent events

The town hit worldwide headlines in December 2007 when John Darwin, believed dead since an apparent canoeing accident off Seaton Beach in 2002, walked into a London police station and gave himself up as a missing person, sparking a major fraud investigation by Cleveland Police. Following the events of this, someone had put up a new road sign near the railway station on Seaton Lane saying "Welcome to Seaton Canoe twinned with Panama", it has now been taken down.

Notable buildings

One mile south of Seaton Carew is Hartlepool nuclear power station.

Notable people

• The science fiction writer Mark Adlard lived on The Green at one time and his 'T-City' trilogy features Seaton Carew
• The leading railway poster artist Frank Henry Mason was born at Seaton Carew in 1876 and briefly worked in a Hartlepool shipyard.

Transport and communication

Seaton Carew is served by the A178 road and by Seaton Carew railway station. Stagecoach Hartlepool provide regular bus servies to Seaton Carew from Hartlepool Town Centre, services 1,1A,12 and 15, as well as service 1 to/from Middlesbrough and Port Clarence. The train station is also served with hourly Northern Rail services, from Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Newcastle and Hexham. The nearby station of Hartlepool also offers a direct London Services, operated by Grand Central.

Restoration Projects

During 2008, the local Council are recreating the bus station and clock tower. The bus station is getting painted its original colour of peach.

External links

• Seaton Dunes and Common
• Seaton Carew Wreck
• Seaton Carew railway station
• Tees and Hartlepool Foreshore and Wetlands SSSI

54°40′N 1°11′W