The first inhabitants of the parish were people of the Mesolithic Age about ten thousand years ago whose settlement at Star Carr was discovered in 1947. Next came the Bronze Age people, to be followed by the Romans who lived nearby. These in turn were succeeded by the Anglo Saxons. From Seamer Moor there would have been a good view of both Lake Pickering and the North Sea which would have given rise to the village name - SEA-MER(E). It was during this time that Seamer probably took shape as a village.

Seamer was a busy village in Norman times and from the eleventh century there has been a succession of Lords of the Manor. In 1066 Seamer had both a church and a priest so it must have been a place of some importance. By the middle of the twelfth century the original wooden Saxon church had been replaced with a stone building with a tower which served as a minor castle. In the fourteenth century the size of the Manor House was increased. The village became more affluent and in 1337 King Richard II granted a charter for an annual fair to be held. Despite the population being decimated by the ‘Black Death’ the village survived and flourished. By 1760 there were nine inns. During the 1800s Primitive and Wesleyan chapels were erected. The Victorian Board School was established in 1879 and the Parish Council was formed in 1894.The economy of the parish was based on agriculture and there were 27 farmers recorded in 1913.

With the establishment of the railway and the increase in public and private transport the quiet, peaceful parish of Seamer was ripe for expansion after the First World War. Large housing developments have taken place at Seamer and Crossgates since the 1960s and an industrial estate now occupies the south-eastern corner of the parish. In 1891 the population was 681 - the population now stands at some 4,000 and the community continues to expand, but it remains a pleasant dormitory parish.

Top of Page