"In the early nineteenth century, travelling by boat along the North Sea coast was a perilous journey. The rugged coastline between Hull and Edinburgh was particularly notorious due to the frequent storms and lack of protective harbours and many ships were wrecked along the shore. It was noted by the newspaper 'The Sun' in May 1833 that it was more dangerous travelling by sea to Edinburgh than to Australia and proposals for asylum harbours were often made to alleviate the problem. This letter refers to a proposal, made in 1833, for a harbour to be constructed at Redcar near Middlesbrough with a capacity to shelter 'twenty five sail of the line or several hundred sail of merchantmen'. The immense harbour was to have its foundation on an escarpment just off the coast and a ship canal connecting the harbour to the ports of Cargo Fleet (Middlesbrough) and Stockton at a cost of £320,000. Reports in the 'Nautical Magazine' of 1834 indicate that the proposal met with popular support such was the need to provide safe asylum for ships travelling along the east coast of England. The harbour however, was never constructed.