Seaham

Seaham is a small town in County Durham that grew up around a harbour on the North Sea coast of north-east England. Until the early years of the 19th century it was a small farming community whose only claim to fame was that the local landowner's daughter, Anne Isabella Milbanke, got married at Seaham Hall to Lord Byron on 2 January 1815.

Related Topics:
County Durham - Harbour - North Sea - England - 19th century - Anne Isabella Milbanke - Lord Byron - 2 January - 1815

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The marriage was short-lived and it would seem that Byron was not particularly enamoured with the north-east coast, as he said in a letter to a friend: "Upon this dreary coast we have nothing but county meetings and shipwrecks; and I have this day dined upon fish, which probably dined upon the crews of several colliers lost in the late gales".

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However, the area's fortunes changed when the Milbankes sold their estates to the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, who built a harbour in 1828 to facilitate transport of goods from the industries locally encouraged. However, this harbour later proved inadequate to deal with the millions of tonnes of coal being mined from the nearby mines, and the 6th Marquess commissioned engineers Patrick Meik and Charles Meik to reclaim land and extend and deepen the dock. It was officially opened in 1905.

Related Topics:
3rd Marquess of Londonderry - 1828 - Coal - 6th Marquess - Patrick Meik - Charles Meik - 1905

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Today, the town has a population of around 22,000.

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