Scarborough Old Parcels Office: History of entertainment on Yorkshire's coast to be revealed in new exhibition

It has long been a haven of culture.
The Yorkshire Post
By The Yorkshire Post
Published 12th Sep 2023, 00:00 BST

Scarborough may portray itself as a summer resort of fun but to those who live there it is a year-round treasure of art and literature.

The Old Parcels Office – set up in a former parcels office by the station – is once again taking part in heritage open days.

This year’s special exhibition charts the history of entertainment in Scarborough from the 1660s to the present day and runs until Sunday September 17.

Floral Hall Scarborough.Floral Hall Scarborough.
Floral Hall Scarborough.

At 2.30pm on Saturday, Charles Dickens (portrayed by Richard Mead) will be reading extracts from Dickens’ novels outside the old Assembly Rooms on Huntress Row.

Dickens came to Scarborough in 1858 as part of his reading tour of Britain. Also part on the Scarborough Heritage Trail is one of Scarborough's famous attractions and the UK's oldest surviving cliff tramway companies, the Central Tramway established in 1881 on the South Bay between the Grand Hotel and the St Nicholas Gardens.

This Funicular Tramway is still the quickest way to get to all the fun of the South Bay seafront from the town and back.

In the Old Parcels Office itself an exhibition looking back at the history of entertainment in the town will be held.

Charles Dickens (played by Richard Mead) will be reading extracts from Dickens novels outside the old Assembly Rooms on Huntress Row. Charles Dickens came to Scarborough in 1858 as part of his reading tour of Britain. Picture By Yorkshire Post Photographer, James Hardisty.Charles Dickens (played by Richard Mead) will be reading extracts from Dickens novels outside the old Assembly Rooms on Huntress Row. Charles Dickens came to Scarborough in 1858 as part of his reading tour of Britain. Picture By Yorkshire Post Photographer, James Hardisty.
Charles Dickens (played by Richard Mead) will be reading extracts from Dickens novels outside the old Assembly Rooms on Huntress Row. Charles Dickens came to Scarborough in 1858 as part of his reading tour of Britain. Picture By Yorkshire Post Photographer, James Hardisty.

Called ‘When The Entertainers Came To Town’ it celebrates the history of entertainment in Scarborough. Display panels featuring maps, postcards, and memorabilia chart the growth of music halls, dance halls, theatres and cinemas following the arrival of the railway and the towns rapid expansion as a holiday.

Some remain today and have reinvented themselves for the new generation of holiday makers, whilst others lasted for just a few short years before falling into disrepair and ultimately being demolished.

This exhibition coincides with National Heritage week and there will be an opportunity to look round the Old Parcels Office which was originally built in the 1880s as a set of additional waiting rooms to cope with the growth in excursion trains coming to Scarborough.

The Old Parcels Office Artspace is an up a coming arts venue in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, run by the Trustees and volunteers of the arts charity, Scarborough Studios.

This exhibition has been made possible with the generous support of Adrian Spawforth, Yorkshire Coast Business Improvement District and Arts Council England.

Housed in a Grade II-listed building located on Scarborough Station the space comprises Artist Studios, a Gallery, and Learning Space. Since it opened in September 2021 it has received over 15,000 visitors

The building was constructed to the designs of the then North Eastern Railway Architect, William Bell in 1883 as an excursion station. The large rooms are all double height spaces with yellow glazed bricks to the lower levels and unglazed yellow bricks above. The roof incorporates glass and timber glazing; it is hipped but flat topped. The exterior is of yellow brick with sandstone dressings. In 1908 the building became a parcels office and following a short period as a store it became derelict until repaired in 2013.

Since 2013 Scarborough Studios Ltd has raised over £800,000 to restore this historic building; reinstating the stunning skylights, which flood our studios and spaces with natural light, installing heating, lighting and toilets, and sympathetically refurbishing the interior of the building to provide a Learning Space, Gallery, offices and facilities.