Search for families who gifted memorial benches

LEADERS of a £4m project to rejuvenate Scarborough’s Victorian South Cliff Gardens have launched a campaign to trace families, many from all parts of Yorkshire and the north of England, who have given more than 300 memorial seats.

For years people who enjoyed holidaying in the resort have had seats given in their memory, often with moving inscriptions on plaques, recording happy times in the gardens overlooking the South Bay, harbour and castle.

Now as part of the scheme to regenerate the popular tourist area, funded by the National Heritage Lottery, the Friends of South Cliff Gardens are seeking to find the families of those remembered by the seats.

Project officer Victoria Thompson said: “Many of the seats commemorate the many people and their families who have fallen in love with Scarborough.

“People from across the world have taken out leases for the benches to lay down their legacies within the stunning setting of the gardens. Over the years information about the leases has regrettably been lost.”

Now the friends are appealing for people to come forward and claim their benches. “We would like to unlock these hidden personal connections and reinstate the seats within the gardens,” Ms Thompson said.

The gardens include the Italian Rose Garden, the Shuttleworth and Prince of Wales Gardens and St Martin’s Square, several of which date back to 1889 when the gardens were created over a 40-year period and stretch from the Spa to Holbeck – scene of the collapse of the Holbeck Hall Hotel in 1993.

Scarborough Council and the friends group have been awarded a grant from the National Lottery to renovate the gardens.