Scarborough History : The Merchant and Mariner's Port 1266 - 1366

When King Edward I rode into Scarborough in 1275, he found a town active with growth. New charters had brought many privilages. Throughout England, Normandy, Aquintaine, Anjou and Poictou, the burgesses were toll-free, Brompton, Filey and Sherburn markets were closed at their request and it was ordered that no rival port should be allowed between Scarborough and the Humber. In Falsgrave, they acquired the manorial rights, demesne lands, and mills, as well as room for the borough to expand. It had already formed a suburb called Newborough, newly encircled by a defensive ditch.

The appointment of John de Vescy as castellan at Scarborough in 1273 brought to the town one of the renowned commanders of the Crusading Wars against the infidel. A man of some piety, he carried a portable altar with him on his travels and was responsible for introducing the Order of Carmelite Friars to England. At his Malton Castle he founded a chantry. John's wife Isabella was no less active in the service of religion.

At Scarborough, she financed the building of the nave of the Church of the Blackfriars, as well as their cloister and dormitory. She gave the land necessary, and prevailed on those holding plots nearby to give more. The Friars cherished her memory as founder of their church, the timber for which she brought from Pickering Forest, where her family held estates at Brompton and Sawdon. They called her "the lady of Scarborough".