Alpha Place was the first building in “new” Saltburn, the foundation stone was laid by Henry Pease on 23rd January 1861, before the line opened on 19th August 1861.

  

It stood directly in the middle of what is now Milton Street between Garnet Street and Ruby Street, and was demolished in 1901 to extend Milton Street.

 

The foundation stone has since been reused and can be seen in flats on Marine Parade.

 

UPDATE : Callum Duff has provided the following information on Alpha Place.

Whilst researching Alpha Place for our forthcoming memorial to Saltburn’s first buildings I have tried to rationalize just why it was built in the first place. It seems odd that a town so meticulously planned would then allow a building to be constructed that effectively traversed the main shopping thoroughfare of Milton St? My only conclusion is that Alpha Place was only intended to be a temporary building. I think that this row of cottages were constructed almost as ‘showhouses’ to demonstrate to mid-range developers how attractive buildings could be constructed with furnace bricks (these are not bricks designed for housebuilding). I would imagine that Saltburn Improvement Company had already taken orders for the main building plots in the town (Hotels & Villas) and now needed houses built within the town framework for those who would service these buildings and the mines at Hob Hill and Huntcliff. Perhaps the first fare-paying passengers into the town were these potential developers on some kind of sales promotion? This would rationalize the lack of photographic evidence in the sense that these speculative builders might not want to be seen to be investing ‘just yet’. This is merely a hypothesis but with nothing to see in the town in 1861 apart from a number of half-finished buildings, one must wonder at the intention of visitors? I imagine that this would be an effective way of bringing investment and building to the town. It obviously worked when look at the kind of building that took place in Saltburn’s early years; After the initial build of the Railway, Hotels and Villas, the next stage of development shows the building of Coral & Garnet St, Stanhope St and ‘Show Terraces’ like Warrior Terrace which shows more than a passing resemblance to Alpha Place. And all in whitebrick of course.

The sea wall and slipway are constructed from the stone sleepers of the original Stockton to Darlington railway (the worlds first steam hauled public railway) the footing can be seen in the stones.

Henry Pease who built the resort of Saltburn was the son of Edward Pease the railway pioneer.

Update 2013 : Many of these blocks were dislodged by the tidal surge on 5th December (photo by Simon Chapman)