Thomas Hinderwell was an eighteenth-century historian of Scarborough in North Yorkshire. Born in the town in 1744, he spent 20 years in the merchant service, eventually becoming a shipowner. In 1775 he retired and became actively involved in public life. He was involved in many charitable societies in Scarborough and advocated for the establishment of the first lifeboat in the town, the second in Britain.
His history of Scarborough was published in 1798. It was well regarded by contemporaries such as John Bigland, who called it ‘most accurate and interesting works relating to this or any other part of England’ in his 1812 account of Yorkshire for the series Beauties of England and Wales. The book was enlarged for a second edition, printed in London in 1811, and a third edition, dedicated to William Wilberforce, was printed at Scarborough in 1831.