SEAHAM HARBOUR - 
A LEGEND OF BURIED TREASURE

 
Seaham was once a small village with a few scattered farmsteads, the 11th century parish church of St Mary and the Manor House, or Hall, of the Milbanke family.

St. Mary's Parish Church, Seaham.

It was at the Hall that the poet Lord Byron married Anne Isabella Milbanke in 1815.

 The story of Byron and Ann Milbanke will fascinate literary historians but it is the human aspects of the tale which will hold your attention.

 Yet Byron is not the main player in the Legend of Buried Treasure. That honour belongs,in the main, to two larger-than-life characters who against all odds carved out a harbour from the very coastline of North East England, financed a life of wreckless extravagance and built a town on the broken backs of men and boys condemned to the life-threatening pursuit of buried treasure - COAL.

 Today, Seaham Harbour, situated on the north east coast of England in the County of Durham has a population of 22,000 people. It is a town in the process of re-birth. The people here are proud of their roots. It is those roots which will provide an anchor.An anchor which will allow them to reach forward into the future for a new tomorrow.
They know that a proud era has gone forever. Their parents and grandparents lived a legend which is often more dramatic, more humorous and more moving than any oscar-winning film. It is a story of tears and laughter, love and adultery, success and failure. It is a story of triumph and tragedy, of fear and unbelievable courage in the face of adversity.

Recently, more buried treasure has been found in Seaham Harbour but it is not coal but our buried ancesters.  Archaeological Dig'99 may well enrich the fascinating history of of our town beyond anything we dreamed of.

For a potted history of Seaham Harbour check out Seaham Town Council's web site.


This Web site is part of SEAHAM HARBOUR ON-LINE and has been designed and is hosted by 
Dalton Internet which is part of the Dalton Consultancy Services group .