Stavros S Niarchos anchors offshore.

The Stavros S Niarchos, which was seen anchored offshore on the west side of Saltburn pier on Thursday evening, is a British brig-rigged tall ship owned and operated by the Tall Ships Youth Trust. She is primarily designed to provide young people with the opportunity to undertake voyages as character-building exercises, rather than pure sail-training. She is also used for adult voyages and holidays, which help subsidise the operation of the ship.


A crew of 15 students from Year 9 at The King's Academy, Coulby Newham, boarded the 60m tall ship on the banks of the River Tyne to take part in a ten-night sea going expedition.

They formed part of a crew of 40 from the Emmanuel Schools Foundation with fellow students from their sister schools, Bede Academy in Blyth, Emmanuel College, Gateshead, and Trinity Academy, Thorne, near Doncaster.

The annual adventure, operated by the Tall Ships Youth Trust, aims to support students' personal development through being a crew member and playing an active part of life aboard the ship.

Vice Principal of The King's Academy Gary Wiecek said: "I've organised this event for the last couple of years and the students absolutely love it.

Because the weather has been so unpredictable of late we are still unsure exactly where the voyage will go. The captain has said that when they reach the mouth of the Tyne he will make his decision so our students could travel to Scotland, London or even Holland and back.

For many this trip will be a life changing experience. A tall ship voyage takes people out of their comfort zone and they will find things within themselves that they did not realise were there.

Tasks such as climbing the rigging or helping prepare dinner for everybody on board can give young people a real sense of achievement and self worth."

The students are living in cabins on board ship and taking part in every aspect of sailing including helming, scaling the 40 metre masts to set and stow sails, navigating and scrubbing the decks.

They will also be expected to take part in one of three watches and get up for night duties at 4am.

Student Ellie Walker 14, of Middlesbrough, said: "Loads of my friends have been on the ship in previous years and they all said how good it had been.

I've been on a ferry before but never a tall ship so this will be an amazing experience. Not everyone can say they have crewed a real sailing ship for ten days."


The Stavros S Niarchos anchored offshore early yesterday morning before making her way to Hartlepool. The vessel's position was reported as safely anchored offshore just after midnight on the 29th June.


Map showing the course of the Stavros S Niarchos on route to Hartlepool. The vessel was anchored offshore overnight just west of Saltburn Pier.

The Stavros S Niarchos will be carrying the Olympic Flame into Dover Harbour on the 18th July with 28 young people from Kent and 12 young people from Pas de Calais all aged between 14-15 years old joining the crew on board.

Alpha Place Memorial

Subject to final approval, plans are being made for the unveiling of a permanent memorial to Saltburn's first houses at Alpha Place, together with an information plaque.

Saltburn resident Tony Lynn MBE, a former draughtsman from ICI, who, together with his wife Cath, has devoted much of his time to recording and promoting Saltburn's history, has designed the memorial and will unveil it on Saturday August 11th 2012.

The memorial is designed not only as a symbol of the Victorian vision that built Saltburn but also to the craftsmanship of those who constructed the buildings that remain today. This is reflected in the high specifications of the structure which will hopefully become an attractive local landmark.

Alpha Place also marks the site of the platform where the first fare-paying passengers disembarked on 17th August 1861 and this date is credited as the founding of Saltburn-by-the-Sea as a resort.

Although historically significant, the sight of Alpha Place (demolished in 1901)
had never been marked and the memorial is designed to act as a starting point for those interested in finding out more about the town.

The memorial and plaque will use reclaimed materials and the structure will be faced with the white Pease bricks that are characteristic of the early growth of Saltburn and will resemble a section of walling from the original building. It will also feature a carved sandstone facsimile of the original datestone.

The cost of the build has been met by grant funding from Saltburn, Marske & New Marske Parish Council, local businesses and individuals. Their contributions will be recognised on a carved 'roll of honour' on the rear of the structure. The memorial will also feature an information plaque charting the history of the site and the subsequent demise of Alpha Place.




Many people are involved in the project, including Callum Duff, who has been the chief fundraiser despite now living in Edinburgh.

Keith Murray, a respected sculptor, originally from Middlesbrough and now working in the Lockwood area, has carved the facsimile of the original Alpha Place date stone.

Jason Upton and Phil Slater will undertake the build, which will take place in two stages to accommodate any potential problems on site. The land has not been developed since the building of Alpha Place so they will be working in uncharted territory.

Eddie Guy of Sign Art will produce the information plaque for the top of the structure which will detail the history of the site.

Mike Wetherill, a stonemason from Danby, will carve the rear stone of the memorial containing the names of those who have contributed to the project.

The project has the full co-operation of Sainsbury's PLC whose supermarket occupies the current site and Ilcrest Properties Ltd who own and manage the land.

On the day of the unveiling, which takes place during Saltburn Folk Festival week, a town promenade is planned to encourage both residents and visitors to join in a pleasant stroll along the top promenade where features of interest will be pointed out along the route.

This part of the unveiling ceremony is scheduled to start at noon at the top of Saltburn Bank. As Saltburn is now 150 years old everyone is encouraged to dress up in costume from any era of the town's history. Prizes are planned for the 'best dressed adults and children'.

The unveiling will take place at 1pm accompanied by Marske Brass Band who will present the first performance since 1880 of 'The Saltburn by the Sea Galop' which has been specially arranged for the event.

Read the history of Alpha Place here.

The Olympic Torch - day 31 - the relay through Saltburn

This morning saw the Olympic flame begin travelling on its journey from Middlesbrough through the coastal resorts of Redcar, Marske, and Saltburn towards Whitby on its way to Hull.

An early start saw artists Helen and Derek Mosey on the sands preparing a sand sculpture to welcome the arrival of the torch on Saltburn's sea front.




Meanwhile 17 year old James Coupland, the first torchbearer of the day, found himself standing at the top of Middlesbrough's landmark Transporter Bridge as the relay prepared to say goodbye to Middlesbrough and begin it's first road convoy along the coast.

The torch arrived in Redcar to celebratory cheers from the crowds as the sun came out and the relay continued on its way through Marske before arriving in Saltburn at 7:54am

The first runner to carry the flame through Saltburn was John Pearson of Saltburn's youth project 'Doorways'- a resource for younger people run by John - who then passed the flame on to an enthusiastic Gerry McBride.




Gerry is well known locally for his participation in the British Cycling Skyride initiative and the Tees Valley Riders family cycling club.




Gerry passed the flame on to Shaun Campbell of Darlington who runs a campaign to honour Arthur Wharton, the world's first professional black footballer, and uses his story to inspire young people and educate them about racism.



The torches kiss as Shaun Campbell hands the flame over to Robert Swift.




The final leg of the relay through Saltburn saw Robert, a resident of Dubai, carrying the torch past the Zetland hotel and down Saltburn Bank where he was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd as he reached the seafront and the Ship Inn before the Olympic convoy moved on to Brotton.




Olympic Torch video

Hope for Saltburn's Albert Memorial

A neglected Victorian gem - Saltburn’s Albert Memorial in the valley gardens - could be refurbished if an attempt to raise money for the project is successful.




Councillor Philip Thomson, of Saltburn, is seeking funds so the much-vandalised listed building can be saved from further neglect (it lies just under the bandstand).

“It was moved in 1864 from Barnard Castle railway station to Saltburn to form a memorial in memory of Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, after he died in 1861,” he told Saltburn and District Retired Men’s Forum on 23rd April.

“Improvements would include the woodlands nearby, which contain a lot of wild flowers. There would also be an information board.”




Councillor Thomson was speaking of the legacy of Saltburn’s celebrations to mark the town’s 150th anniversary last year.

Ongoing activities and issues mentioned included a DVD of the celebrations, which David Jinks is now completing, town crier Sharon Wilson is willing to help local events with “oyez, oyez” announcements, and the printing of five greetings cards featuring the five mosaic panels on Sainsbury’s wall, near the car park, was underway.

He said £600 still needed to be raised to pay the £9,600 cost of artists making the murals, which hundreds of people contributed to by placing tiles on them to prepare historical images of Saltburn. Donations can be left in a jar on the library reception desk.

A vintage car ally organised by fish-and-chip restaurant owner Glenn Pearson on the lower promenade would be repeated under the title The Italian Job on Sunday 1st July.

The idea of a town archive was still in the melting pot.

He said the minesweeper HMS Saltburn, built during World War 1 and scrapped after WW2, had been the first ship to be fitted with Type 79X radar.

A forum member said the Marine Hotel on the Upper Prom, had drawings of the vessel by Frank Cook along with other paintings of other ships on display.

Another member recalled that Boys’ Brigade camps were held at Windy Hill, overlooking Hazelgrove, in 1910 and attracted 2,000 boys when the town’s population was only 800. Also large scout camps were held.

Councillor Thomson said it was sad that events like major outings no longer happened. “These memories will die with us. Maybe someone would make recordings of memories before it’s too late?”

He said Henry Pease, Saltburn’s founder, lived at 7 Britannia Terrace, now flats on Marine Parade.

Friends of Saltburn Mortuary

It is now approaching four years since the Friends made their first application, to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, for a lease on the Mortuary.



During the course of these four years, there has been a lot of communication but no real progress to report.

I and David Morris, strongly supported by the 500 Club, have taken up the challenge of trying to obtain the Mortuary on leasehold. We feel that you should be kept informed about any progress made and will endeavour to do this through the columns of Talk of the Town.




The Business Plan and Constitution have been revised, under the guidance of Redcar & Cleveland Council, and resubmitted. We have managed to have a drop-kerb installed immediately in front of the building, which enables easy access for both disabled people and parents with pushchairs.

Many of you completed forms expressing interest in supporting the Friends by offering to pay an annual amount of £5. We would like to think that you remain interested as your cash and, more importantly, your help in running the building would be gratefully accepted should we be successful with our application. There has been an offer to totally refurbish the inside of the building with a view to recreating the original appearance when the Mortuary was first built.




It is still the intention to rent out the building for displays and exhibitions so feel free to contact us if you represent any group which may be interested.
In my latest correspondence with the Council, it has been indicated that the building could possibly be advertised as surplus to requirements at the end of May. At that point, our application would be considered along with those of any other parties interested in acquiring the building.

Trevor Welburn
Chairman of The Friends of Saltburn Mortuary

Mosaic cards on sale...

Cards with photos of Saltburn’s celebrated 150 mosaic panels are now on sale in the library. Philip Thomson, who is guaranteeing the £9,600 cost, is selling the cards to help offset the £600 which remains to be raised to pay for the panels. The price is £1.50 per card or £6 for the set of five. All show Saltburn’s history from the first steam train arriving in 1861 to the town centre, including the current town crier Sharon Wilson.

Read about the Saltburn 150 mosaic project here.