Skelton And Brotton - Encyclopedia

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

SKELTON AND BROTTON, an urban district in the Cleveland parliamentary division of the North Riding of Yorkshire, England, 17 m. E. by S. of Middlesbrough by a branch of the North-Eastern railway, with stations at Brotton and North Skelton. Pop. (1901) 13,240. This is one of the largest townships in the Cleveland ironstone district, and its industrial population is wholly employed in the quarries. The modern Skelton Castle incorporates part of the ancient stronghold of Robert de Brus who held it from William the Conqueror. A modern church replaces the ancient one, of which there are ruins, and a fine Norman font is preserved. The large ironstone quarries have not wholly destroyed the beauty of the district. The Cleveland hills rise sharply southward, to elevations sometimes exceeding 1000 ft., and are scored with deep and picturesque glens. On the coast, which is cliff-bound and fine, is the wateringplace of Saltburn by the Sea.