Seamer, Scarborough

Seamer is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It was the location of the Mesolithic Age settlement of Star Carr. The parish is composed of the townships of Seamer and Irton and the chapelry of East Ayton. Its area is 8,450 acres, of which 18 acres are covered by water, 4,422 acres are arable, 2,178 acres permanent grass and 738 woodland. (fn. 1) The subsoil is Alluvium, Oxford Clay, Corallian Beds and Inferior Oolite. In Ruston Cliff Wood by the Derwent, the western boundary, are Whetstone Quarry, Whetstone Trod, Ayton Forge Cottages and Wallis Quarry, and there is a quarry at Crossgates. This hamlet lies at the junction of the Scarborough and Filey roads, which unite before passing through Seamer on their way to York and Driffield. The chief crops are wheat, barley, oats, potatoes and turnips. In 1768 1,337 acres were inclosed in East Ayton. (fn. 2) The village of Seamer is built upon practically level ground and contains no features of any antiquity. The St Martin's Church and the vicarage are in the centre. A short distance to the west of the church are some scanty remains of the Seamer Manor House. A ruined fragment of wall containing a 15th-century doorway is now all that is standing above ground, but extensive foundation mounds may be traced in connexion with it.