New Marske
Coordinates: 54°34′54″N 1°02′27″W / 54.58177°N 1.04084°W
New Marske is a village in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, in the region of North East England. Roughly a mile south-west of Marske-by-the-Sea and set on a hillside, it was originally a group of miners' terraced houses.
1966 saw the development of what was originally known as Errington Park Estate the development of which ended in 1984, when the development of a 14-hole golf course was supposed to take place.
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New Marske has no railway station, but the closest, Longbeck railway station, links to Saltburn, Middlesbrough and Darlington. New Marske is situated near an area of woodland called Errington Woods, in which are the remains of disused mine workings. There are several farms in the vicinity, and there is a primary school (first opened in the 1970s to replace the old school house) serving the recently built housing estate. The recent building of housing on the old primary school site has meant that the other school of the village has been extended to cater for the new children and closing of the old school. This new housing reflects the rapid growth of villages in the area.
Among the residents of New Marske the old terraces are referred to as the village and the newer houses are referred to as the estate.
There is a small row of shops known locally as the "top shops" due to their position uphill from the older part of the village. This is generally considered the centre of the village. This row of shops now includes a Corner shop, bakery, Chinese take-away, pizzeria, hairdressers, and a newly opened tattoo parlour.
Originally the 'Top shops' consisted of the VG, Chinese takeaway, laundrette, wool shop, butchers, bakers (Hills), newsagent, and fruit and veg shop.
Another set of shops is located at the northern end of the village, along with the three pubs that serve the surrounding area along with a Methodist church and a Church of England parish - St Thomas which famously hosts a large crucifix which was hand-crafted by a local man named Harold Brotton. There is a sub post office within the terraces of Dale Street in the village.
The original mining settlement has recently been commemorated, in the way of a series of plaques placed at various locations, depicting events and scenes of life in the 19th century. Also remnants of the mining era remain in the way of disused shafts in Errington Woods. Some have been filled in or covered over, but some are still accessible.
Errington Woods has recently undergone a transformation due to a reduction of trees. The reason quoted was to encourage the population of butterflies in the area. The woods are also used by many for downhill mountain biking, with many tracks and areas having been cleared out over the years. Recent additions are woodcarvings of various animals and birds, throughout the woods.
An excellent reference book was written by Ena Holloway who came to live in New Marske in 1971, and the Rev Alan Hughes entitled "New Marske Looking Back". This book is unfortunately out of print, but local libraries do have copies.
New Marske is the birthplace of Jo Jackson, Jackson became the first British woman to win a major race walk title at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, ending Australian dominance in the event at recent Games.
The British playwright, actor and singer-songwriter Shaun Lawton was born in 1941 at New Marske. He attended the village school and sang in St. Thomas' choir. When he was 9 the family moved down to a council estate at Marske-by-the-sea. Lawton is the author of the influential Desperado Corner - a play for the stage written in 1976 and set in Redcar in 1959. The play enjoyed first time success at the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre in 1981 helping to launch the careers of triple award's winner Mark Rylance - Oscar for film, Tony for stage and a BAFTA's for film and TV! Award winning international star Gary Oldman as well as many other high-profile stage and screen actors (from a 1981 Final Year Student's production at RADA) such as Kenneth (now Sir Kenneth) Branagh and the Scottish actor John Sessions, also benefited from Desperado Corner. Lawton, a former ICI worker, has lived in Berlin since 1978 as a voice actor and regular announcer of the Cinema for Peace Gala in Berlin. He also announced Muhammad Ali's Sport for Peace on the eve of the London Olympics as well as Sean Penn's Haiti for Peace in Los Angeles and New York.
A catalogue of his film work can be seen on the Internet Movie DataBase - www.imdb.com
References
External links
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- Listed buildings: Fell Briggs Farmhouse, Grewgrass Lane.