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Situated on what was, until 1974, Yorkshire’s east coast, between
Filey and Bridlington its white cliffs thrust out into the sea “like a great whale”.
Its origins as a settlement are shrouded in mystery. Whilst there are even suggestions of earlier settlement, arrow heads and flints found in the area certainly suggest Bronze age or even Stone age settlement. The Romans are said to have called it “Ocelli Prom” and to have linked it by road to
York.
The name Flamborough is said to derive from the Anglo-Saxon word “Flaen” (meaning arrow head) to reflect the thrusting promontory into the sea.
The history and romance of Flamborough centre around its sea tradition of piracy, shipwrecks and smuggling.
The rocky coastline and stormy seas make this part of the east coast a graveyard for sea-faring vessels. The many caves along its rocky shore were a haven for smugglers of contraband and in the 18th and also into the 19th Century tea, brandy, tobacco, silk and cotton were, by ingenious means, smuggled ashore under the noses of the excise men.
Some of the older houses within the village are said still to contain “smugglers’ hole” cupboards.
It is even said that “wrecking” ( flashing of lights to lure unsuspecting ships onto the rocks so that their cargo could be salvaged) was at one time a common pastime.
Sea battles have been fought off its shoreline, notably in 1643 between seven of Queen Henrietta’s Dutch ships and four parliamentarian ships of and in 1779 when two British naval ships engaged the American pirate, commodore John Paul Jones’s fleet for over two hours, inflicting heavy losses and Jones’s ship, Bonhomme Richard, sinking after the battle. This latter battle is commemorated by the “Topscope”, a cylindrical stone structure with metal top erected close to the lighthouse in 1959.
The 17th century Beacon Tower looks to the casual onlooker like an original lighthouse structure and indeed some claim that that is what it was, built in 1673 with the permission of Charles 11, who also gave permission for the collection of dues from passing ships.
More credibly it is thought to be simply a beacon tower, the iron grill at the top being for bushes and wood to burn as warning at times of wartime invasion.
What is believed to be the original lighthouse was built in 1806 by a local customs officer to warn of the dangers of the rocky coast, some 174 ships having foundered off the coast in the previous 36 years.
The present lighthouse, a towering 92’ high and with over 3.5 million candle power is visible from the sea for some 21 miles.
Flamborough, like Scarborough with its two bays, has two landings-north Landing and South Landing, the village itself being between the two.
Following the famous 10th February gales in 1871 the RNLI set up two lifeboat stations at Flamborough, one on each landing. A succession of lifeboats at these two stations saved hundreds of lives but in 1938 the South Landing Station was closed following the introduction of a motorised lifeboat four years earlier.
Flamborough is rightly proud of its seafaring heritage and of its lifeboats whose history is well documented in local bookshops.
At one time famous for its “cobble boats” fishing, the trade here has, like so many other places, dwindled but is still in evidence on a
much reduced scale.
The village is steeped in local customs, from its traditional knitting patterns for fishermen’s jumpers, to its Danish sword dancing and should not be missed by any visitor to this part of the east coast.
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