A Scarborough councillor has given an amusing take on the lady who discovered the town's spa waters 400 years ago.
Scarborough 400 is all about marking the moment with a series of events taking place across the town, this year.
Councillor Rich Maw says Scarborough wasn't the country's first spa town, but its tourist legacy was started when a local woman made a chance discovery:
" That all comes around by virtue of what Mrs Farrer did back in 1626. She was the wife of the Sheriff of Scarborough at the time and she discovered this bright brown/orange stain coming out of the cliffs just south of Scarborough. She drank it and found out very quickly that it was a laxative.
"She told her friends and a gentleman who was called Dr Witty, at the time, he helped spread the word. He wrote about it, published about it, and it put us on the map as being somewhere to go to heal whilst bathing as well. And of course, that started off the tourism, which Scarborough is well known for."
Councillor Maw, who represents Weaponness and Ramshill then gave his view on what he feels the Scarborough 400 events are really for:
"Hopefully to educate, hopefully to provide some legacy as well, but I was invited by the Scarborough Maritime Heritage Centre and they've effectively kicked off Scarborough 400, this year, with an exhibition that they're holding down at 45 Eastborough.
"I have to say, go along and see it because that will educate you. If you've got any kind of interest in this, you've heard of Scab 400, but currently you're not quite sure what that means. Go down there. It's open from Wednesdays to Sundays and and the boards there, the photographs have even got an AI representation of what Mrs Farrer might have looked like back in 1626."
The exhibition features colourful displays focussing on different characters in the story from the 1600s to the 1800s, including the 1738 landslide and the 1876 fire. The original spa water was a brackish tasting laxative that contained traces of minerals. Visitors were originally advised to drink several pints of it every day. Within a few years cold seawater bathing was also added to the health and cures treatment list.
The Maritime Heritage Centre is open from 11am to 4pm, and is run entirely by volunteers and public donations.
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