Redcar
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Template:Infobox England place with map UA Image:Redcar 20050324.jpg Redcar is the principal town of the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, England. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is now within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire.
The name is thought to come from the fact that it was on marshy land close to the rocks (Reed-Scar). Redcar originated as a fishing town in the 1300s, trading with the larger adjacent market town of Coatham. Until the mid 19th Century it was a sub-parish of the local village of Marske by the Sea (mentioned in the Domesday book).
In 1846 work was complete on the Middlesbrough and Redcar Railway, created to attract local tourism and trade, but like much of the Middlesbrough region, Redcar's real population expansion began with the discovery of iron ore in the Eston area of Cleveland Hills in 1850. With the construction of Redcar racecourse in 1875, Redcar prospered as a seaside town drawing tourists to its eight miles of sands leading to Saltburn.
A famous local business is Pacitto's ice cream parlour with its signature dish, the "lemon top". This is an vanilla ice cream cone topped with a delicious lemon sorbet. Pacitto's has previously had up to six outlets in the town, and in the 1950s and 1960s competed with Todisco's rival parlours, now out of business. Pacitto's now has two parlours, one on the High Street and another on the Esplanade (which is never called by its real name, always the "sea front" or the "prom"). Both branches had a refit in the 1990s but maintain their classic look, particularly the Esplanade branch with its "Temperance Bar" sign and in the use of stainless steel ice cream bowls and low-slung Pyrex coffee cups. The High Street branch is a popular meeting place for Redcar women taking a shopping break and has, in effect, become a women's pub.
The town's main employer has been the nearby steelworks founded by Dorman Long in 1917 and the ICI Wilton chemical works of the post-war era.
Politically, Redcar has tended to lean towards the Labour Party allowing the town to fall under the category of an ultra-safe seat, any change in Redcar's political views would generate a considerable amount of government interest for the area. From 1987 to 2001, the local MP was Mo Mowlam, and since 2001 the local MP has been Vera Baird. However, the local council (Redcar and Cleveland is a coalition between the Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats and most independents).
The steel used to build the Sydney Harbour Bridge was produced at the Dorman Long steel works on the outskirts of Redcar.
Redcar is also the home of the UKs oldest surviving lifeboat, the Zetland. There is an RNLI run museum housing it.
Notable people with links to Redcar include:
- Rex Hunt (Governor of the Falkland Islands during the 1982 invasion by Argentina)
- Singer David Coverdale lived there as a youth and worked in the Gentry clothes shop on Station Road
- The late Minister for Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam, represented Redcar in the House of Commons
- Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson, originally from Wales, has lived in Redcar with her husband and daughter for the last few years
- Nathaniel Hawthorne the well-known American novelist, came to Redcar on 26 July 1859 in search of peace and quiet, while he worked on the manuscript of The Marble Faun. Hawthorne's house stands at the junction of High Street and King Street. This was formerly known as the Hawthorne Cafe.
- Gertrude Bell colonial administrator and friend of Lawrence of Arabia spent her youthful years at Red Barns, now the Red Barnes (sic) hotel in adjoining Coatham.