Entitled ‘The Cliffs, Loftus this postcard view over Hummersea farm and towards Boulby gives an excellent view of ”Snilah ponds” were believed to have been the settling ponds for Hummersea Alum works. Alas no longer visible, they were ‘filled-in’ in more recent times; older residents of Loftus have happy memories of looking for newts and similar wildlife in the ponds in their youth, happy days! Peter Appleton has updated our knowledge with: “No, not settling ponds for the alum works. There exists, among the Zetland papers at North Yorkshire County Record Office a sketch map (Ref.: ZNK/V/3/8/808) dated 8th April 1807 showing the arrangement for a system of drains and ditches to collect water and feed it into “Snarley Pond”. The outflow from the pond was shown as a “New Conductor for the water to the Alum House”. This was shown heading off in the direction of the Alum House complex on the beach at Hummersea. That Alum House complex was commissioned during the winter of 1809/10. The water was being gathered from source points all along the fields that lay adjacent to the cliff top and those to the south of the track that leads from present-day Hummersea House past Warren House and on towards Gallihowe.” Tom Sayers also remarks: “Famous for gold crested newts; Norman Lantsbery allowed the new Potash to fill in these historic ponds in exchange for widening the lane from Loftus to Street Houses. This would be a criminal offence today”.
Image and update courtesy of Peter Appleton; also thanks to Brian Pierce and Tom Sayers for the updates.
Grinkle Hall (Grinkle Park hotel as it is today) is the title of this postcard image, dating from 1904. Bearing a postmark to that, as well as an annotation visible in the lower right. There is a similar view on site, but is a tinted version of the same view.
Two young boys pose to have their photograph taken in front of Boulby cottages or ’Tin City’ as it was locally known. Housing workers at the then Boulby ironstone mine, now the site of Boulby potash mine. The two lads have now been identified as Lance Easton (on the left) and Harry Easton (on the right).
Image courtesy of Ray Conn, many thanks to Craig Bullock for that update.
”Tin City”, Boulby Mines, looking towards Cowbar, about 1920” – is the title given to a copy of this image as featured in the Book ”Boulby Ironstone Mine” by Simon Chapman. Simon advised that the Skinningrove Iron Company in 1906 ”decided to proceed with the erection of 40 cottages at Boulby, at a cost of approximately £100 each, to house some of the workforce”, although an out of the way place it was very convenient for workers at the ironstone mine! Mary Bielby has told us: ”My grandfather was a joiner who fitted the wooden linings in the tin houses”. Derick Pearson tells us: “Sarah Sheridan (ex-church minister of Loftus) who died at the age of 105 recently; she was born in Tin City. She many years later moved to Loftus and purchased the tin cottage she lived in with her parents and it had it rebuilt at East Crescent Loftus as a Pentecostal church, at the top of East Crescent, beyond the Hird’s joinery buildings.” The building was demolished some years ago, the Pentecostal congregation now use the church building on Deepdale Road. Antony Mugford comments: “I have discovered a distant relative who lived in Boulby Easington in 1911 at No 8 Iron Cottages. Where would these have been?”
Image courtesy of Ray Conn, many thanks to Simon for information relevant to this now vanished community and dating the original creation of the ”Tin City of Boulby”, also to Mary Bielby, Derick Pearson and Antony Mugford for updates.
A sketch/painting postcard (originally published by W. Richardson & Sons, West Road, Loftus) showing the original church at Easington; dated 1834. It is a view of the original church which opened 10th May, 1772, the Rector at the time being Rev. William Harker, M.A. The view was sketched from the east (approaching the village from Staithes) on Whitby Road. Deirdre Thackray comments: “I would love to see this postcard in the ‘flesh’ so to speak. Is it possible to make contact with the owners of this postcard?”
Image courtesy of Olive Bennett and Cody McCabe; thanks to Deirdre Thackray for the comment.
A carefully arranged viewing of a group outside Easington Post Office, when it was the first property on Lambert Terrace. Didn’t it flourish for a period as a shop? Pam McVay commented: “Yes I think this was a shop and I think my mum Bette Robinson was born there, I think it belonged to her mother’s family; Cooke.” David Bertram asked: “It was a general store when it was a Post Office. I think I recall that it all ended in tragedy with the suicide of one or both of the couple who ran it.” Easington Post Office (and general store) was owned by Jean and John Wilson in the early 1980s, tragically Jean who was Loftus born and bred died suddenly in her fifties in 1985 and John sadly committed suicide some three months later. A great loss to the village.
Image courtesy of Joyce Dobson & Keith Bowers and many thanks to David Bertram and Pamela McVay for the updates.
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