Show on map

Little remains of Black Nab itself which will be completely lost to the sea at some point.

The site below the cliffs is now heavily eroded and covered but its location can be seen on the first edition OS maps.

The most promenant remains are those of a harbour / breakwater below the actual quarry site, the quarry is thought to have been in use between 1649 and 1791.

The highlight is a 1766 datestone which has somehow survived nearly 250 years on the beach.

In the cliff at this location are the ‘Smugglers Holes’ its not really clear whether these actually relate to smuggling, the alum works or possibly jet mining (although my local expert on that tells me they are in the wrong strata)

Show on map

The remains of the alum house can be found at the edge of the beach and are being rapidly lost to erosion, what can be seen now is just the back wall of the structure.



Some remains still exist under the beach itself which were excavated by the Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society. A circular stone cistern also remains just in front of the wall but I don’t have a photo as some holiday makers were using it as a seat at the time.

Show on map

Saltwick Nab was a site of alum quarrying between 1650 and 1791, the red colouring indicates shale has been burned which is part of the alum making process.

An alum house existed in later years, although its though that initially the alum liquor was  taken to South Shields for processing. The remains of a stone ramp exist on the shore, which may have been used to get carts on and off the Nab.

The flat area inland of the Nab has some remains of buildings and wooden pits, although the whole area has been so heavily eroded since it was worked its now difficult to interpret, it is however much more apparent on the first edition OS maps.

Show on map

All that remains of Sandsend Alum House is one wall which is now the entrance and exit to a car park which was built in the 1960s when the sea wall damaged.

It is believed to have operated between 1733 and 1860 although building were still standing on the site in more recent time (entrances can be seem to right of viaduct)

Show on map

The footpath down Hummersea steps cuts right through the remains of the Alum House for the Loftus Alum Quarries.

The remains of the building are fast eroding out of the cliff and will likely be gone within a few years.

A three story building with a large chimney was photographed on the site around 1900, by 1910 it was a complete ruin with only a couple of small wall remnants left.

Show on map

Loftus Alum works began operation in the 1650′s and ran until the 1860′s and cover roughly half a mile on a quarried shelf below the cliff. Alum is a mordant for fixing dyes to cloths.

The quarrying process has left large sandstone cliffs at the back of the quarries

The quarries themselves are still barren with little vegetation ever having returned to the slopes.

After quarrying the alum shale was burned for many months in large mounds called clamps, a process called calcining. Areas of burned red shale can be seen on the site, although its possible these are from natural fires at a later date rather than clamps.

There are the remains of several steeping pits, where the burnt alum shale would then have placed in water to dissolve the alum salts, these are rapidly nearing the cliff edge and will erode away in a few years time.

Carved stone troughs can also be found which would have transported liquids around the site.

The alum liquor would have been transferred into a tank or cistern to allow any particles to settle out, a double walled circular cistern can be still be seen protruding from the edge of the cliff.

The settled liquor would then have been transferred to the Alum House where it was concentrated by evaporation until a specific concentration was reached, said to be the point where an egg would float in it. Akali (usually kelp or urine) was then added and the alum crystals formed as the liquid cooled.