Wrea Head

A Brief History of Scalby Near Scarborough

Scalby North Yorkshire, or Scallebi as it was first known, is believed to have started out as a Viking settlement – although there is evidence of a Roman road close by. The first actual records of the village however, appear in the Domesday Book – a document ordered by King William the Conqueror assess the worth of his realm in 1085. Scallebi is recorded in the Domesday Book as a settlement in a forest – king’s land, and a part of the Manor of Walesgrif or Falsgrave.

It is believed that origin of the name Scalby, as with many English villages, stems from the term Scalli’s-by, ‘by’ being an Old Norse term for farmstead and Scalli being the name of the farms owner. Over time the both the spelling and pronunciation of Scallebi changed several times, through Scauby in 1577 and later Scawby – before Scalby, as we know it today.

During the twelfth century, Scalby was held by the Percy family before being included as part of a gift of land from William de Percy to the Benedictine Whitby Abbey.

The lordship of Scalby later passed to Henry, Duke of Lancaster and on his death in 1362, to his son in law, John of Gaunt, Earl of Richmond, son of Edward III – later to become Duke of Lancaster, in his wife’s right, by Act of Parliament. On his death in 1399, the title and lordship passed to their son, Henry Bolingbroke, who became King of England that year.

Scalby village has remained in the lordship of the Duchy of Lancaster ever since and as such is now part a unique portfolio of 18,700 hectares of land, property and assets across England and Wales, held in trust for the Sovereign in his or her role as Duke of Lancaster.

The oldest recorded building in the Yorkshire village is St. Laurence’s Church. Records exist recording its presentation by Eustace Fitz John ‘to the canons and priors of Bridlington’ in 1150.

In the 18th Century, the population of Scalby began to grow as families moved into the area renovating old farmhouses and cottages. By the mid 19th century the occupations of the village’s inhabitants, listed in the church registers, saw a distinct change from such titles as farmer, blacksmith, miller, wheelwright and butcher to more illustrious careers such as Surgeon, Solicitor, coachman, groom, and gentleman’s servant. This change in population brought with it a change in architecture, with wealthy visitors to Scarborough choosing to settle in Scalby.

1828 saw the construction of Scalby’s original school was built which was later replaced in 1861 by the present school building and headmaster’s house. The village school served a wide rural area before closing in 1950. The school building can still be seen toady and is now known as The Church Rooms – a busy social centre for the Parish.

Wrea Head, now arguably one of the finest of all Scarborough hotels, was built on the northern outskirts of Scalby in 1881. Click the following link to find out more about the history of Wrea Head.

Hay Brow stands to the west of the village on Hay Lane. The house was occupied in 1902 by Sir George and Lady Ida Sitwell, their two sons and daughter Edith, before their move to Wood End in Scarborough.

The Scarborough to Whitby Railway Line opened in 1885 and the village station had a great effect upon the development of the village. Scalby was the first stop for passengers from Whitby and became more accessible to the inhabitants and visitors of Scarborough and by 1890 the population of Scalby Parish had risen to 600 and increase of 30% in less than 60 years.

The station closed in 1953, 12 years before the line itself was closed. The buildings were demolished in 1974, along with the little humped back bridge that curved as it crossed the railway line and the site is now occupied by Chichester Close.

In more recent times Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Scalby on 2nd July 1975. All the Duchy tenants from the area were invited to a royal reception, where the Royal guests arrived at 10.25am, and left at 11.00am. After a visit to a tenant’s home in nearby Cloughton, they drove back along Scalby Road and out to Home Farm at Brompton for their next engagement.