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[edit] The Spa,Scarborough
The Spa, Scarborough known officially as the Scarborough Spa Complex is located in Scarborough’s South Bay and is a venue for conferences, exhibitions, entertainment and events on the Yorkshire Coast. It is owned and managed by Scarborough Borough Council.
The complex includes:
- The Spa Grand Hall which seats nearly 2,000 hosts superb live entertainment which includes the Scarborough Spa Orchestra and an annual Jazz Festival.
- The Spa Theatre is a 600 seat Victorian Theatre which is home to Summer Season Shows and Christmas Pantomimes.
The Spa Complex is currently undergoing a £3 million refurbishment to make improved facilities available, including a wireless internet facility.
[edit] The Spa Bridge
The southern part of Scarborough became very popular in with the discovery of Scarborough Spaw waters and thousands of visitors flocked to avail themselves of their medicinal qualities. The pre-cursor to the present Scarborough Spa building was also a further attraction.
Whilst being easily accessible by a short stroll along the South Bay seafront for those visitors to Scarborough Castle, Scarborough Harbour, and other established attractions nearer to the commercial centre there was quite a deep descent to the sea-front from the St. Nicholas Cliff area of the town.
In 1826 a new company, The Cliff Bridge Company, leased the Spa from the corporation and in order to maximise its commercial potential proceeded to erect an elegant iron footbridge to span the chasm of the valley from St Nicholas Cliff to the Spa. Towering some 75’ from the valley below and some 414’ long and 13.5’ wide.
The bridge provided an excellent promenade and wonderful views for those wishing to while away a few hours by the sea whilst also providing an excellent link to the towns more southerly attractions.
For such a huge undertaking the building proceeded at a pace that would put many modern contractors to shame and the bridge was formally opened on the 19th July 1827.
The opening of the bridge was indeed a major occasion as the crowds flocked to see. Much pomp and ceremony as a mail coach and horses (a sailor balancing precariously atop the coach) gallop at full speed across the bridge.
The bridge proved so popular that a toll- booth was erected at the St. Nicholas Cliff end of the bridge. For the holiday-maker or local, season tickets were available giving unlimited access to the bridge and Spa for one, two or four week periods.
[edit] Happenings
A MAJOR landslide behind The Spa has been caused by thousands of gallons of water cascading down the cliffs from a burst water pipe.
Several footpaths have had to be closed after they become blocked by huge falls of mud and in some cases the tarmac has been washed away completely
The pipe carries supplies about 200ft down from Esplanade to the Spa complex where some water has seeped into the Grand Hall.
John Riby, Scarborough Council's head of engineering, said the landslide was not the same kind as that which caused the Holbeck Hall Hotel to collapse into the sea in 1993.
"The mudslide behind the Spa has been caused by the burst water pipe," said Mr Riby.
"We need to carry out thorough checks when the weather improves. However, at this stage we think it will probably be better to replace the whole pipe rather than repair it.
"We don't know the cost yet, but it will be thousands of pounds. It could take several weeks to repair. The scheme will involve having to take machinery into some fairly inaccessible areas.
"We have been forced to close off some paths for safety reasons. On one path the railings are hanging in the air because the footpath has been washed away.
"Other paths are covered in thick mud so we can't allow people to go along there."
Mr Riby said although the problem had been caused by the burst main, the recent heavy rain had made things worse.
The problem pipe had been disconnected and a temporary connection made to restore supplies to the Spa, said Mr Riby.
The pipe is a private connection for the council from the Yorkshire Water mains in Esplanade. It means the probable high cost of the repair will fall on the council.
Mike McCarthy, general manager at the Spa, said: "Some of the water has got into the Grand Hall at basement level and we had to put down some sandbags." [1] [2] [3] [4] Amazon UK
