United Kingdom > North England > North Yorkshire Moors > Scarborough & Surrounds Attractions > Heritage

Scarborough Castle

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With sheer drops to the sea and only a narrow landward approach, Scarborough Castle defends a prominent headland between two bays. Long before the castle was built, this natural fortress was favoured by prehistoric settlers and later housed a defended Roman signal station.

Specially constructed viewing platforms now offer wonderful views of the coastline. The site's 3,000-year history is explored in new interactive displays in the restored Master Gunner's House, accompanied by the prehistoric sword and artefacts from each period of Scarborough's past. Less mobile visitors can enjoy a ground-floor touch-screen virtual tour of the displays.

Timelined graphic panels around the castle focus on characters from times gone by, and there are free activity sheets, an audio tour and an investigative story box to help younger visitors visualise and understand the history of the castle.

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Scarborough Castle
12th-century keep
Aerial view

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History: Henry II's towering 12th-century keep, dominating the approach, is the centrepiece of fortifications developed over later centuries in response to repeated sieges -notably by rebel barons in 1312, and twice during the Civil War. Though again strengthened with barracks and gun-batteries against Jacobite threats in 1745, the castle failed to defend the harbour against the American sea-raider John Paul Jones in 1779, and was itself damaged by German naval bombardment in 1914. During World War II it played the more covert role of hosting a secret listening post.
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