The Yorkshire coast of England is approximately 110 miles long,
stretching roughly north-east to between the River Tees in the
north and the River Humber in the south, and abuts the North Sea.
The coast from the Tees to Flamborough Head, has some of the most
magnificent scenery on the English coast. From Flamborough Head to the Humber,
the coastline is less dramatic, being one long, gently curving bay
with high cliffs tapering down to sand dunes in the
south.
Situated at the mid-point of the Yorkshire coast is Filey Bay
and the John Paul Jones Heritage Coast, the stretch of coast line where, in
September 1779
John Paul Jones
engaged the British frigate Serapis in a
classic sea battle that took place in the Bay itself
The proposed John Paul Jones Heritage Coast starts on its
northern extremity above the peninsular headland known as Carr Naze and Filey
Brigg and extends across the broad sweep of Filey Bay, an
expansive, gently sloped embayment. The wide, sandy shore of the bay extends
southward of the Brigg for several miles until it meets the white chalk cliffs
that lead to the spectacular chalk cliffs of Speeton and Bempton and on to it's
southern extremity around the striking chalk cliff promontory of Flamborough
Head, then into Bridlington Bay and is shown on the map at the foot of
this page.
This stretch of the coast is rich in Geology,
History and Archaeology and is the home of the Filey Bay Jurassic Coast. Flamborough Head is also
and area of special importance and is the subject of separate Flamborough Head
European Marine Site Management Scheme.
Filey Brigg is a reef of calcareous grit,
which projects more than a half mile from
the foot of the promontory of Carr Naze. In calm weather the Brigg is not easy
to discern, for it is low-lying and submerged in areas , but in rough seas huge white waves break over it with
considerable violence. On these occasions it is a serious hazard to
maritime traffic, and has caused many shipping losses. At the seaward
end of the reef a bell buoy has been in place since 1871. However,
as early as 395 A.D. a Roman signal station had been erected above
the Brigg on the Carr Naze promontory. Recent archaeological investigation
suggests that the Brigg itself may have been enhanced by the construction of a
Roman pier or jetty known as Spittals
Nestled in the northern lee of Filey Bay is the town of Filey, which
not only benefits from the shelter offered by the Brigg, but also
owes its existence to it. Filey has been extant since at least
fourteenth century, when it was known as Fyvely or Filo. Documentary
evidence indicates an ancient pier, Roman origins, graced the
waterfront of the bay, probably at or near Filey Brigg, as early as
1326 A.D. There is no harbour here, or anywhere in the bay, but for
generations a small fleet of fishing cobles has worked from the town,
as it still does today, with vessels launched across the expanse of
sandy beach manually, by animal power or, in modern times, by
tractors. Over the centuries, many schemes for building a harbour of
refuge at Filey have been put forward but none, with the exception of
a possible Roman construction at the Spittals on Filey Brigg, none ever came to
fruition.
Situated just inland and to the south of Filey, is the village of
Hunmanby. Since 1311, the Lord of the Manor has held rights over the wrecks of
the sea in Filey Bay approximately four miles south
of Filey is the
village of Reighton. The village of Speeton is situated a mile to the
east-southeast of Reighton, and overlooks Speeton Cliffs, below which
lay the King and Queen Rocks, site of several marine disasters. Three
miles southeast of Speeton are the twin villages of Buckton and
Bempton, overlooking Buckton and Bempton cliffs.
At the southern lip of Filey Bay is the chalk headland that is the
best known geographical feature of the Yorkshire coast, Flamborough
Head. It is the largest and most imposing promontory on the east
coast, and as such was a maritime signpost since the earliest times.
Ensconced on the central neck of Flamborough Head is the village
Flamborough. In the fourth century A.D. the Romans erected a stone
signal tower here as part of their coast guard system, and as an
early warning system in case of attack. Indeed, the very name
Flamborough is said to the flame or beacon that has burned on
this dangerous headland since the Roman occupation, or even earlier.
In 1588, three beacons were held in readiness here for the Spanish
Armada's expected arrival. In 1674, an octagonal tower was built on
the Head.
The chalk cliffs of Flamborough Head rise to a height of 450 feet,
but are riddled with gullies, tiny beaches and inlets at the foot,
and honeycombed with caves that serve as habitats to countless
seabirds, and once as hiding places for smugglers. A man-made ditch
known as Danes Dyke cuts across the Head from north to south, a
distance of 2.5 miles, and may have been built as a defence line
against attacking Danes. Thornwick Bay, one of the inlets on the
north side of the Head is thought to be named after Thor, the Danish
God of Thunder.
Fishing from Flamborough Head has been carried out for generations
using, as at Filey, the traditional Yorkshire Coble a small vessel
type derived from the Viking longship. Cobles are launched directly
into the sea from the beach from two places on the Head; North Landing,
where they are hauled up a very steep incline by a winch, and South
Landing (or South Sea Landing) which was once known as a port, where,
as early as 1323 there was a pier.
Flamborough Head and the cliff shores that shoulder it have caused
innumerable shipwrecks over the centuries for the simple reason that
they were aiming for the Head. "Vessels from the other side of the
North Sea steered for the Head," as Godfrey and Lassey note, "because
it was impossible to fail to recognize it; when they saw the white
cliffs they knew exactly where they were. Similarly, Flamborough Head
was the perfect 'guidestone' for coasting vessels travelling between
the north-eastern industrial areas and the Thames or beyond." Even
today, the coast from Speeton Cliffs to North Landing, on the north
coast of Flamborough Head, is considered one dangerous sectors of the
coastline, and its waters have yet to be surveyed by the British
government.
The terrain of Filey Bay itself, to the 15 fathom line, consists of a
very gently sloping slab stone bottom, generally covered by sand,
which is in turn overlaid by a thin lens of silt. Little vegetation
exist here. Beyond the 15 fathom line the bottom begins to descend
slightly, but the sand cover gives way to open exposures of stone.
The tide splits at Flamborough Head. Half the flood, running from
north to south, sweeps off a sandbar called the Smithics. The other
half,
running between the Smithics and the shore, makes a great "boil"
over a reef jutting the Head, known as the Flamborough Steel.
just before low water, a strong inshore current sets northerly
current outside the Smithics starts two hours later than the ebb
inside. Within the greater Filey Bay study area, a total of fifteen
charted wrecks appear on Admiralty Chart 129, England, East Coast,
Whitby to Flamborough Head (1998), but a total of 104 vessel losses
have been recorded.
References here are made to works by authors Donald
G Shomette, Peter J Lassey,
Arthur Godfrey, Chris Robinson and Chris Clark and Patrick Ottaway.
The Heritage Coast Map

Heritage Coast
Geology Air
Archaeology
Marine Archaeology
Filey Bay Research Group
The search for the
Bonhomme Richard
© The Filey Bay Research Group July 2017
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