Rare 17th-Century Painting Captures Devastating Runswick Bay Landslide of 1662

The Landslide Blog, authored by Dave Petley—a globally renowned expert in landslide research and management—has featured a long-running series dedicated to historical depictions of landslides. While recent posts have been sparse, this installment revisits a striking 17th-century artwork tied to a catastrophic coastal event.

Jotter’s Painting: A Glimpse into the 1662 Runswick Bay Disaster

The focal point is a painting titled The Great Landslide of 1664 of Runswick Bay on The day Village That Slipped into the Sea, attributed to an artist who signed as “Jotter.” The artwork is currently part of the collection at Kirkleatham Museum.

Note: Historical records confirm the landslide occurred in 1662, not 1664 as the title suggests—a common discrepancy in period documentation.

Runswick Bay: A Village Built on Unstable Ground

Runswick Bay, a quintessential English coastal village in North Yorkshire, UK, sits at coordinates [54.53356, -0.75015]. Its picturesque charm belies a geologically active past. The village’s coastal section rests atop ancient landslide debris, with documented movement persisting into recent decades. In the late 1990s, a major stabilization project was implemented to address ongoing risks.

A Google Earth view of Runswick Bay illustrates the village’s precarious position along the eroding coastline.

Timeline of Destruction: The 1662 Landslide

According to the Tees Valley Museums website, the 1662 event comprised two major failure phases. Miraculously, no lives were lost, but the village was obliterated and subsequently rebuilt to the south of its original location.

Key Insights from Jotter’s Painting

• Landslide Morphology: The artwork suggests the failure was a reactivation of an existing landslide mass rather than a first-time event.
• Toe Erosion Trigger: The painting depicts active erosion at the landslide’s toe, implying a two-phase collapse—initial toe failure destabilized the upslope mass, aligning with eyewitness accounts.
• Background Mass: The distant landform in the painting also reflects a history of repeated slope failures.

Geological Significance of the Yorkshire Coast

Runswick Bay lies within a classic UK mass-movement geology zone, where coastal erosion and landslides are frequent. Beyond its geological importance, the area remains a scenic destination for visitors.

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