The Spa

The Spa is a large seaside pavilion dating back to the 18th century, when the site became a fashionable destination due to a mineral spring. Initially, it consisted of a timber-embanked terrace along the shore. In the early 19th century, a castellated building was constructed. In 1858, Joseph Paxton designed a new ashlar-faced Spa pavilion raised upon a terrace, featuring an arcaded ground floor and a first floor articulated by pilaster strips. The original building comprised seven bays and projecting pilastered corner towers with balustraded parapets. A cast iron verandah, incorporating a first-floor balcony, enclosed the building and extended as a covered walkway in front of stalls and shops to the north along the promenade. To the south, a terrace included a bandstand and a free-standing two-storey and basement tower with open two-bay arcades on the upper levels and a balustraded parapet. A fire in 1877 destroyed the main pavilion, which was subsequently restored and doubled in length between 1877 and 1880 by Verity and Hunt. The southern portion of the current pavilion incorporates Paxton’s original building, along with the two southern towers. The central section features a three-storey projection with a deep entrance niche flanked by bays similar to the corner towers, incorporating paired pilasters flanking the first floor. Above, the second floor is divided into nine small, round-arched windows separated by pilasters. A balustraded parapet tops this feature, surmounted by a set-back belvedere storey with a truncated pyramid roof and cresting. The north wing, added by Verity and Hunt, mirrors the southern wing, and originally included leaf-domed open belvederes on the towers, which have since been removed. The cast iron verandah, with side brackets to the columns, was extended across the new section and accompanied by elaborate triple-branch lamp standards, some of which remain. The verandah is continued as a gallery to a single-storey range along the promenade to the north. The bandstand to the south has been rebuilt, and Paxton’s original tower has been replaced by a 1920s ballroom. The entrance hall contains a grand double staircase and blind arcading along the walls. In its Victorian heyday, The Spa was a fashionable place of entertainment, and was frequented by the Prince of Wales during his visit to Scarborough as a guest of the Londesboroughs.