Scarborough has a harbour side inn called the Newcastle Packet and once had another known as the Sunderland Bridge. These names recall the profitable trade in shipping coals from Newcastle and Sunderland to the east coast, London and Europe, which kept the port of Scarborough alive in the 18th century. Levies on the coal trade paid for much of the development of the harbour. There was investment in the building and working of collier brigs. The harbour was a haven of refuge for the collier fleets moving south, often in convoy, in times of storm and other offshore threats.
A typical voyage by a Scarborough owned collier saw Captain Allatson Bell leave Newcastle on August 5th, 1718, for his sixth voyage. The profit was later distributed to Thomas Goland, George Hugill, William Fowler and other shareholders. More voyages during that year were very similar in their pattern of costs, income and profit, but included purchases of peas, swine grease, cheese, hard and soft bread, vinegar, a pair of oars at 4s, a stone of oakum at 1s and 4d, a brass gauging compass at 9s and mending maintop sails for 8s and 9d. Seven men were paid wages and a man had £1 for "looking after our ship in Winter".
Voyage accounts:-
132 chalder of coals cost £71.40
keel dues £10.18
heaving ballast £1
trimming coal 16s
portage £3.16.
a stone of pitch 2s and 4d
horse hire 2s
shipping money 4s
laying second hand rope 4s and 6d
seven yards of old canvas 2s and 4d
anon 15s
26 stone 15 lbs beef £113.30
axe, nails, bread etc. 9s
custom house charges £1317.60
cobble hire at Scarborough 3s
wages £2512.60
