ONLY 30 years ago, Scalby was surrounded by fields. Now this once rural community is clinging to its village status as the suburbs of north Scarborough encroach further and further upon it.

Just as the North Sea has relentlessly eroded the cliffs of the Scarborough coastline, so has the growing seaside town gradually worn away the countryside around Scalby until town and village now stand side-by-side.

Residents of Scalby are divided on the subject of how to describe their community. Some say village, some suburb, though all reluctantly agree that Scalby is gradually being swallowed up by urban sprawl.

Geoff Allwood, who has run Scalby Stores since 1988, says people have to be realistic about the situation. "It's becoming more and more a suburb. You can try to keep the village identity going, but more estates are built and more people come in from outside, and it becomes harder and harder to do so."

But Geoff admits that nearby Scarborough suburbs such as Newby are keeping his shop going. Recently, a paper shop closed nearby and Geoff now has what he believes to be the biggest newspaper round in the whole of Scarborough.

"If this store ran on Scalby alone, it would have to close down," he says.

Scalby began as a Viking settlement, though there is evidence of a Roman road close by, and it has a mention in that great yardstick of bona fide history - the Domesday Book. St Laurence's Church in the village dates back to 1180 and a Methodist Church has since been constructed. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Scalby was the hunting ground of kings as it was dominated by a royal forest full of deer.

Many tales and stories of Scalby past are hidden in St Laurence's churchyard. You can chance upon the grave of a man killed by a smuggler in the early 19th century or find the two nails driven into one of the walls of the church as a tribute to a local blacksmith too poor to pay for a headstone.

There is also a plaque to the memory of a true hero of more recent times. Jane Harrison died on April 8, 1968, when trying to help passengers escape a Boeing 707 which had crashed. She was awarded the George Cross a year to the day after her death.

Today, Scalby officially includes modern estates that surround the old village, but the genuine Scalby is still centred around High Street and its olde worlde appearance.

This is a great asset for Scalby and, providing High Street keeps its conservation area status and remains as it is, the village will always be singled out as separate from the rather faceless surrounding suburbs.

High Street is incessantly busy, possibly because of its proximity to a built-up area - three miles from the centre of Scarborough itself. And also because of the remarkable array of facilities - a post office, a village shop, a grocer's, a cafe, two pubs and even a hairdresser's.

Cars line each side of the road, making it a tricky business for motorists to get down the narrow street. It was for this reason that buses were recently stopped from travelling along it, provoking a modicum of commotion among Scalby residents.

For Scalby Stores owner Geoff Allwood, the problem has only been shifted down the road as, around Scalby, you are always bound to run into a narrow street, which, Geoff contends, the new bus route does.

"They're not facing the problem," he says, though the answer does not seem to readily present itself either.

Bus routes are all the talk in the grocers as well. John Shaw, who owns J & S Shaw Grocers with his wife Shirley, is more in favour of the new bus route as he describes driving along High Street as, at times, "hair-raising".

John has run the grocers with his wife since 1968, though there had been a similar store on the site for many years previously. He has noticed many changes over the years in Scalby, most obviously, of course, the rate of expansion around the village but, also, a decline in visitor numbers in the village over the last 15 years.

"A lot of people think it's more like a suburb," he says. "And you would have to say that is so. But it still retains the prestige of a village. At one time it was quite busy with tourists, but visitor numbers are well down. It seems that more people are going abroad."

One feature of Scalby which is often remarked upon is the fierce togetherness of its residents, in particular, those couple of hundred who live on or just off the main central point - High Street.

Mel Carter, landlord of The Plough Inn, in High Street, is very aware of this, despite being a relative newcomer - he has run the pub for the last three years.

He said: "Someone once said to me: 'if you kick somebody, they all limp.' I suppose it just says that if you fall out with someone, you're going to have a hard time."

Mel's pub profits from the fact that suburban communities are so close at hand, with pub-goers from all over the area mixing with Scalby locals and the smattering of visitors who come to the village, notably from the caravan site at Scalby Manor.

It is the same story just up the street at The Nag's Head, which landlord Jeff Malpass describes as a "typical village community pub". Jeff took over the reigns at The Nag's Head six years ago after running The Royal Oak, in Pickering, for eight years.

"We do get the odd visitor passing through, what with the caravan site down the road. None of the people living in Scalby actually work here - it's a residential place, but it's always very busy. We get a lot of people from Newby and other areas coming in."

It seems that it is precisely because the suburban world has encroached further and further upon Scalby that the village has retained such a lively, bustling atmosphere.

Had it remained more rural, the chances are the village could have joined the ranks of so many others which have become virtual ghost towns during the day. The gradually declining village identity is the price that Scalby has had to pay for remaining so full of life and activity.

Updated: 11:51 Thursday, October 25, 2001