Marske-by-the-Sea is a village in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located on the coast, between the seaside resorts of Redcar and Saltburn-by-the-Sea, although it is not itself a seaside resort. Marske is in the civil parish of Saltburn, Marske and New Marske and comprises the wards of Longbeck (shared with New Marske) and St Germains.
History
Marske is mentioned in the Domesday Book. St Germain's Church was consecrated by bishop Ægelric between 1042 and 1056. Marske was amerced 20 marks for its part in the pillaging of a Norwegian vessel in 1180.
RFC Marske
The Royal Flying Corps had a landing strip and schools in Marske, based at Marske Aerodrome. 'Captain' W. E. Johns, the author of the Biggles books, was posted to RFC Marske during part of the First World War, from April until August 1918.
The Bristol M1C Monoplane, The Red Devil, was first flown from this RFC aerodrome. The RAF later administered an airfield here. After the Second World War the site of the aerodrome became an ICI depot and later a housing estate, The Landings, with roads named on an aeronautical theme: Avro Close, Blackburn Grove, De Havilland Drive – leading onto Vickers Lane–, Beardmore Avenue, Folland Drive, Wellington Close, Brabazon Drive, Halifax Close and Lysander Court.
Politics
Parish and district
Marske is part of the Saltburn, Marske and New Marske parish. The civil parish area was formerly Saltburn and Marske-by-the-Sea Urban District from 1932–1974. It was formed by the Marske part of Guisborough Rural District and Saltburn-by-the-Sea Urban District.
Wapentake and borough
The area was historically in the Langbaurgh Wapentake, also known as Cleveland. The village was part of a Cleveland namesake county under 1974 reforms until 1996 reforms. The 1974 reforms also placed the village under Langbaurgh borough, it was renamed Langbaurgh-on-Tees in 1988 and (since 1996) is named Redcar and Cleveland.
County and riding
The village's historic county is Yorkshire, in its North Riding. The North Riding County Council was established in 1889, the council was abolished in 1974.
Constituency
Marske is part of Redcar constituency and is represented by Conservative Jacob Young in the House of Commons.
Economy
The majority of the residents of Marske do not work within the village, but work in nearby industry or in Middlesbrough or Redcar. Marske has a range of local shops and a mixture of light industries on the Industrial Estate notably label and barcode specialists Weyfringe. There is also small scale sea fishing using cobles and tractors from the beach.
Landmarks
Marske has two imposing mansion houses.
Marske Hall* was built around 1625 and was formerly the home of the Zetland family. It was gifted to Leonard Cheshire to be run as a home for the disabled in 1964 and continued as such for the following 55 years, until it was sold as a going concern to a private company in 2019. Cliff House,* which stands on the cliff tops overlooking the beach, was built in the 19th century as a holiday residence for the Pease family, who were prominent in the north-east business community, at the time, and principal shareholders in the Stockton and Darlington Railway. The railway was extended to Redcar in the 1840s and to Marske and Saltburn in the 1860s. Marske has its own post office, medical centre, leisure centre and a library. The village has Methodist, Baptist, Church of England and Roman Catholic churches and five public houses: The Frigate, The Ship Inn,* The Zetland, The Mermaid and The Clarendon. The tower of St Germain's church was allowed to remain close to the cliff edge as a prominent landmark for fishermen in the North Sea.
Most of Marske's listed buildings are to be found on High Street, and Redcar Road, but there are a few more on Church Street, Cliff Terrace, East Street, and The Garth.
Winkies Castle
The village has a museum named Winkies Castle, dating back to the 17th century, which is run by volunteers and open to visitors from Easter Saturday each year until the end of September. This is not really a castle but an old half cruck cottage formerly owned by the late master shoemaker, Jack Anderson. There is a story that the house's name comes from Jack's cat named Winkie. The museum puts on rotating exhibitions and has over 6,000 items, including a two-headed lamb called "Bill and Ben".