Seaton Carew, 1848

SEATON-CAREW, a township and ecclesiastical district, in the parish of Stranton, union of Stockton, N. E. division of Stockton ward, and S. division of the county of Durham, 3 miles (S. by W.) from Hartlepool, and 10 (N.E. by N.) from Stockton; containing 588 inhabitants. The township comprises 2,870 acres, of which 590 are common or waste. The surface is generally level, but with fine views of the Cleveland hills, the towns of Redcar and Hartlepool, the mouth of the Tees, and the bold headlands of Huntcliff, and Rowcliff; and in clear weather the eye can reach nearly as far as Whitby. The village is much resorted to during the bathing season; the sands are firm and level to an extent of several miles, affording great convenience for bathing. The Stockton and Hartlepool railway passes through the vicinity by an embankment of puddled clay, which has effectually resisted the inroads of the sea: there is a station a quarter of a mile from the village. Here was a chapel dedicated to St. Thomas à Becket, the site of which is still called Chapel-opening. The present church was built in 1831, and a chancel added in 1842, with a burialground, the whole cost being £1,600; it is in the early English style, with a square tower, and has an eastern window of stained glass, executed by Wailes, of Newcastle, after a window in York cathedral. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £ 120; patron and incumbent, the Rev. John Lawson. The tithes have been commuted for £131 payable to the impropriator, and £105 to the vicar of Stranton. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and the Society of Friends.