MAJOR John Hatfield, it was obvious, was a gentleman through and through. He arrived in Scarb-orough in 1792, a tall, well-spoken, well-bred man who apparently had the Duke of Rutland's backing to stand for one of the borough's two Parliamentary seats.

Major Hatfield had been staying at the New Inn in Newborough Street. So it came as a surprise when, on April 25 that year, he suddenly found himself lodged in the debtors' prison in nearby Newborough Bar instead, having failed to pay his outstanding hotel bill.

He may have fooled the gentlefolk of Scarborough, but when he ran out of money and credit there was no way he was going to pull the wool over the eyes of the New Inn's worldly landlord, William Stephens.

What the good people of Scarborough society had failed to realise was that 'Major' John Hatfield had a long history of fraud and deceit.

His story is just the most colourful of many recorded in Heroes, Rogues And Eccentrics; A Biographical Journey Through Scarborough's Past, the latest book by Scarborough historian Jack Binns.

Born one of eight children of a poor estate woodsman in Cheshire in about 1758, Hatfield succeeded, at the tender age of 15, in seducing and marrying the illegitimate daughter of the very rich Lord Robert Manners, later the Duke of Rutland.

He received a banker's draft for £1,500 from Lord Robert for his troubles, and set up home with his young wife in London's fashionable Mayfair.

His extravagant lifestyle soon saw him running up heavy debts. Lord Robert baled him out on condition he and his wife left London. They emigrated to America, but by 1782 Hatfield was back, having deserted his wife and three children.

He was clearly a man of considerable charm, well able to dupe the wealthy socialites of the day into believing him to be one of their own. A clue to his character comes from a later police description Dr Binns has unearthed which notes he was "very fond of compliments... and likely to insinuate himself where there are young ladies".

He had obviously insinuated himself into the good graces of Lord Robert, now the Duke of Rutland. Despite having abandoned the Duke's daughter, Rutland continued to bale him out as his debts mounted. By the time Hatfield arrived in Scarborough, he had 'adopted' the military rank of Major - but it failed to save him from the debtor's jail once again.

This, however, was just the beginning of his career. While still in prison, and with typical impudence, he wrote A New Scarborough Guide, published anonymously in 1797. It dealt with Scarborough's "customs, amusements, lodging houses etc" and included a stinging attack on the debtors' prison itself. This was, Hatfield wrote, a "disgrace to the country" and a "gross violation of every decent principle" which should be remedied "for the honour of humanity".

By 1800, the 40-year-old rogue was out of prison and married again, this time to 23-year-old Michelli Nation, a "rich young woman" from Devon who was staying with her mother in a lodging house opposite Scarborough's Newborough Prison.

Nobody knows how he managed to seduce Miss Nation while in prison, admits Dr Binns. But one version of the story goes that he captured her interest while still in prison by "exhibiting himself in full regimental dress and shedding tears" for her to see from across the street.

The newly-weds left Scarborough for the second Mrs Hatfield's home in Devon, but within 18 months Hatfield had abandoned his pregnant wife and baby daughter for the fleshpots of London.

It was the prelude to Hatfield's finest hour. In July 1802, by now posing as the "Honourable Colonel Alexander August Hope, younger brother of the Earl of Hopetoun", he had turned up in the Lake District. There he seduced and bigamously married Mary Robinson, the Maid of Buttermere - "an incomparable beauty", Dr Binns writes, "who spent her days on the neighbouring fells herding sheep".

The marriage of an innkeeper's daughter with the brother of an Earl prompted the poet Coleridge to write a newspaper article under the heading The Romantic Marriage, which led to Hatfield's downfall when the real Augustus Hope came forward.

He was eventually tried at Carlisle Court on charges of impersonation and forgery. During the nine-day trial, he won over everyone who came into contact with him with his "convincing proof of repentance, generosity and deep religious conviction". Everybody, that is, except the judge, who sentenced him to be hanged.

Dr Binns, a retired Scarborough history teacher turned author, describes his fourth book as "history in salami slices". He admits he enjoyed writing the chapter on Hatfield. "He was a brigand, impostor and forger," he says. "But he was so successful, such a brilliant man. He covered his tracks with such wonderful skill that we still don't know for sure what he did and where he was at any one time."

There are other rogues whose lives are chronicled in Dr Binns' book but plenty of heroes and eccentrics, too. One of his favourite heroes was the social reformer Joshua Rowntree, who was born in Princess Street, Scarborough, in 1844.

In his long career he championed many causes which were unpopular and, in his day, sometimes illegal, including women's rights and trades unions. "He was such a courageous man," says Dr Binns. "He stood up against prejudice and ignorance. To stand up against people who have previously been your friends and allies because you think you are right takes a great deal of courage."

In the course of his "history in salami slices", Dr Binns touches on the development of the Scarborough as a health spa. It was in 1660 that Dr Robert Wittie, another of Dr Binns' heroes, published his "Scarborough Spaw (Spa), a description of the Nature and Vertues of the Spaw at Scarborough in Yorkshire".

Of all the heroes chronicled in Dr Binns's book, however, there is little doubt that he most admires Sir George Cayley, the aviation pioneer. Born in Scarborough in 1773, he effectively designed the form of the modern aeroplane and had already, by 1804, flown the first of what were to be many successful fixed-wing gliders.

The best known and most successful of his glider trials was also his last. That final flight of 500 yards down Brompton Dale in 1853 entered into folklore. The pilot was believed to have been Sir George's coachman who, on crash-landing, is thought to have complained: "Please, Sir George, I wish to give notice. I was hired to drive, not to fly."

"If England has its Leonardo da Vinci," Dr Binns writes, "his name would be Sir George Cayley." Praise indeed.

Heroes, Rogues and Eccentrics: A Biographical Journey through Scarborough's Past by Jack Binns is published by Blackthorn Press, price £9.95.

Updated: 10:30 Monday, September 23, 2002