Redcar and Cleveland

Redcar and Cleveland has a fascinating variety of local landscapes which host a wealth of archaeological and historical sites. Its bleak moorlands are studded with prehistoric monuments such as Bronze Age burial mounds and an Iron Age hillfort survives at Eston Nab.

Its coastline was home to a Roman signal station at Saltburn, vast alum quarries at Loftus and Boulby and a variety of small industrial harbours such as Skinningrove. Its historic centres such as Guisborough are crammed with early buildings and monuments such as Gisborough Priory. Its open countryside is littered with former medieval settlements such as Liverton and Moorsholm and even a forgotten castle at Kilton.

The district has an abundant mineral wealth which has been exploited throughout history. Industries have developed around the extraction of minerals such as salt, alum and ironstone and their relics can be found scattered across the countryside at places like Skelton, Upleatham, Loftus, Dunsdale and Lingdale. These industries fuelled the industrialisation of Teesside particularly from the 1850s onwards.

Shipping was an important part of the economy following industrialisation. Unfortunately many vessels were wrecked along this hazardous stretch of coast and their remains can occasionally be seen on its wind swept beaches such as at Seaton Carew and the Bran Sands at the mouth of the River Tees.

The strategic importance of the coastline was recognised during World War II and many pillboxes, anti-tank cubes and gun emplacements can still be seen today buried amongst the sand dunes at Crimdon, Coatham and the South Gare.

Find out more about the archaeology of Redcar and Cleveland from the following project pages.

Scheduled Monuments in Redcar & Cleveland

There are over 20 different types of scheduled monuments recorded in the area, spanning some 4,000 years from the Bronze Age to World World War One.

Saltburn by the Sea

An unspoiled example of a Victorian Seaside town, with a history going back to the Neolithic times.

The Mesolithic Project

An exciting new project to identify new Mesolithic sites in southern Teesside and the North Yorkshire Moors.

Street House, Loftus

The excavation at Street House, Loftus, has revealed new insights into both the Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon periods, with the further prospect of tantalising clues about the Romans.

Saltburn Rutway Survey

A series of rutways cut into the foreshore around Huntcliff Foot, Saltburn, associated with the local Alum and Ironstone industries.

Eston Hills
Once home to prehistoric settlers and location of a late Bronze Age/early Iron Age hillfort.

Highcliffe Nab
A rocky outcrop near Guisborough provides the earliest evidence of human activity on Teesside.

Guisborough Priory
Founded by Robert De Brus in 1119 AD this monastery became one of the most powerful in Yorkshire, throughout the Middle Ages.

Guisborough Medieval Town
A brief history of this ancient town.

Iron Stone Mining
When Iron Stone was found in the Eston HIlls 130 years ago it became the building blocks of modern day Teesside. Now little remains of the awesome industry that was once here, but the memories of those who were working in them.

Foxrush Farm (Iron Age Settlement)
A new Iron Age community discovered in the middle of the new community forest.

The Alum Industry

Alum was Britains first chemical industry beginning in the early 1600s. Alum shales were quarried and processed at Guisbourgh, Loftus and Boulby in East Cleveland for over 200 years.

The Neolithic Earthen Long Barrow at Street House, Loftus

The routine excavation of a Bronze Age burial mound in 1979 led to the remarkable discovery of one of the few known Neolithic structures in the North-East.

Kilton Medieval Castle & Village

A 13th Century castle and later corresponding villages.

One of Kilton Castle's ruined towers.

Redcar and Cleveland's

Related Sites.

Captain Cook Country

Redcar
& Cleveland Council