With the demolition of the Futurist Theatre on Scarborough's main drag (I saw the giant bite-sized chunk it's taken out of the hill, so see @Esoteric Eric's fab report from June 2017 HERE) and the football club's former McCain stadium long gone, it is a bit of a fallow hunting ground urbex-wise in Scarborough. After a fail at some baths that were sealed and a former fun-fair that didn't really deliver, came across these two churches in the old town. Again both were sealed tight and don't merit a report in their own right but together they just get over-the-line.
1. St John's Evangelist Church
This interesting brick-built church lies in the back streets around the corner from the Market. It's been abandoned for some time. Did a bit of digging and found a bit of history, along with this engraving from The Building News, dated 7th March 1884:
20181211_064351 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Located at the corner of Globe and St Sepulchre Streets on land previously occupied by “six low-class dwellings and a beer shop", it began life as the Anglican mission church of St John the Evangelist. The foundation stone was laid by Mrs Blunt, wife of Scarborough’s parish vicar, archdeacon Richard Frederick Lefevre Blunt, on Tuesday March 27th, 1883. The church was built to serve another hitherto-neglected but densely-populated working class area (there were approximately 4,000 residents living in the neighbourhood of St Sepulchre, Leading Post and Dumple Streets). The building cost just over £3,000 to build and opened in October 1884. As referenced in the above engraving, the chief architect was Charles Hodgson Fowler (1840-1910) of Durham who was a specialist in the restoration of medieval church buildings and well-known for his work on Durham cathedral.
The Scarborough Mercury reported that at the end of March 1939 the last Anglican service took place on Easter Sunday. The church then closed down and the building put up for sale. During World War II it was used as a furniture store and then was bought by a gown manufacturer in 1949 for £2,700. In 1956 it was sold on to Bradford-based firm Kamella Ltd to make children’s clothes, only to close down three years later in 1958, with the loss of 33 jobs. In October 1959 the building return to its original usage. Repainted in “Presbyterian blue”, two partitioned school rooms and a kitchen were added. With the consolidation of the Presbyterian Church of England and Congregational Church to form the United Reformed Church two years earlier, the church was vacated in 1974 and again became was abandoned and unoccupied.
St John’s today remains empty and unloved but virtually as it was 130 years later.
An article in the local newspaper from 2010 reporting that the plans for a developer to convert it to two ground floor maisonettes and four upper-floor flats.
Wasn't optimistic on getting inside after checking Streetview on Google Maps. And so it transpired. There was an open letterbox however, but given the whiff of birdpoo and dead pigeons wafting out, this would have been a stinky one.
The Pictures:
img9833 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Plenty of nice stone work:
img9830 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9829 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9828 by HughieDW, on Flickr
The roof is still in pretty good nick:
img9825 by HughieDW, on Flickr
But broken windows means a home for our feathered friends:
img9826 by HughieDW, on Flickr
A crafty peek through the letter box reveals a sea of pigeon poo (and dead pidgeons):
Scarborough 02 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Anyone know what this is?
Scarborough 03 by HughieDW, on Flickr
2. Eastborough Congregational Church
Eastborough church stands on the site of the oldest non-conformist meeting place in the town. Built in 1701 and only one of three places of worship in the town. The former pentecostal chapel faces onto both Sepulchre Street and Eastborough. It's a long building and the Sepulchre side has been renovated and converted into flats. However the Eastborough side, known as Hannay's chapel, remains empty. With only a dozen resident Presbyterian families in the town, during the summer season crowds of Scottish gentry would swell the congregation. The Rev William Whitaker succeeded Hannay in 1725 and with membership growing the chapel was extended in 1744 and again in 1774. After a number of ministers had come, including Samuel Bottomley (knick-named “Scarborough’s Good Samaritan”) whose ministry ran from 1773 until 1830, the "Old Meeting House" as it had become known, was rebuilt again in 1869 and reopened as Eastborough Congregational church. These alterations left few traces of the original structure. However, the opening of the new Bar Congregational church nearby in 1850 and its extraordinary success under its first minister saw membership for Eastborough fall. After that history gets a little sketchy.
Under the church Victorian tombs containing two hollow stone sarcophagi were discovered along with two bodies and a wealth of 12th century artefacts. It is currently on the property market with the potential for conversion into two one-bed flats if you have a spare £100,000!. Steps to the left give access to an elevated terrace above the street called Palace Hill. The façade has the words "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving", a reference to Psalms 100:4.
Less pictures here but some nice stonework externally:
Scarborough 04 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9835 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9836 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9837 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9838 by HughieDW, on Flickr
1. St John's Evangelist Church
This interesting brick-built church lies in the back streets around the corner from the Market. It's been abandoned for some time. Did a bit of digging and found a bit of history, along with this engraving from The Building News, dated 7th March 1884:
Located at the corner of Globe and St Sepulchre Streets on land previously occupied by “six low-class dwellings and a beer shop", it began life as the Anglican mission church of St John the Evangelist. The foundation stone was laid by Mrs Blunt, wife of Scarborough’s parish vicar, archdeacon Richard Frederick Lefevre Blunt, on Tuesday March 27th, 1883. The church was built to serve another hitherto-neglected but densely-populated working class area (there were approximately 4,000 residents living in the neighbourhood of St Sepulchre, Leading Post and Dumple Streets). The building cost just over £3,000 to build and opened in October 1884. As referenced in the above engraving, the chief architect was Charles Hodgson Fowler (1840-1910) of Durham who was a specialist in the restoration of medieval church buildings and well-known for his work on Durham cathedral.
The Scarborough Mercury reported that at the end of March 1939 the last Anglican service took place on Easter Sunday. The church then closed down and the building put up for sale. During World War II it was used as a furniture store and then was bought by a gown manufacturer in 1949 for £2,700. In 1956 it was sold on to Bradford-based firm Kamella Ltd to make children’s clothes, only to close down three years later in 1958, with the loss of 33 jobs. In October 1959 the building return to its original usage. Repainted in “Presbyterian blue”, two partitioned school rooms and a kitchen were added. With the consolidation of the Presbyterian Church of England and Congregational Church to form the United Reformed Church two years earlier, the church was vacated in 1974 and again became was abandoned and unoccupied.
St John’s today remains empty and unloved but virtually as it was 130 years later.
An article in the local newspaper from 2010 reporting that the plans for a developer to convert it to two ground floor maisonettes and four upper-floor flats.
Wasn't optimistic on getting inside after checking Streetview on Google Maps. And so it transpired. There was an open letterbox however, but given the whiff of birdpoo and dead pigeons wafting out, this would have been a stinky one.
The Pictures:
Plenty of nice stone work:
The roof is still in pretty good nick:
But broken windows means a home for our feathered friends:
A crafty peek through the letter box reveals a sea of pigeon poo (and dead pidgeons):
Anyone know what this is?
2. Eastborough Congregational Church
Eastborough church stands on the site of the oldest non-conformist meeting place in the town. Built in 1701 and only one of three places of worship in the town. The former pentecostal chapel faces onto both Sepulchre Street and Eastborough. It's a long building and the Sepulchre side has been renovated and converted into flats. However the Eastborough side, known as Hannay's chapel, remains empty. With only a dozen resident Presbyterian families in the town, during the summer season crowds of Scottish gentry would swell the congregation. The Rev William Whitaker succeeded Hannay in 1725 and with membership growing the chapel was extended in 1744 and again in 1774. After a number of ministers had come, including Samuel Bottomley (knick-named “Scarborough’s Good Samaritan”) whose ministry ran from 1773 until 1830, the "Old Meeting House" as it had become known, was rebuilt again in 1869 and reopened as Eastborough Congregational church. These alterations left few traces of the original structure. However, the opening of the new Bar Congregational church nearby in 1850 and its extraordinary success under its first minister saw membership for Eastborough fall. After that history gets a little sketchy.
Under the church Victorian tombs containing two hollow stone sarcophagi were discovered along with two bodies and a wealth of 12th century artefacts. It is currently on the property market with the potential for conversion into two one-bed flats if you have a spare £100,000!. Steps to the left give access to an elevated terrace above the street called Palace Hill. The façade has the words "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving", a reference to Psalms 100:4.
Less pictures here but some nice stonework externally:
Last edited:
