Fishing farming and tourism in the early Filey - 1805

Filey fishermen are mentioned in ancient documents long before any are known at Scarborough. Even today, some old Scarborough fishing families have Filey roots. And yet Filey was as much a farming community as a haven of the sea, with its great common fields stretching west of the hilltop church.

Nobody quite knows why the church is next to the fields, while the village is across a deep ravine, distant from them, and even had its own St Bartholomews Chapel . They called the Saint "Bartilmewe" for short and his saint's day marked the start of the busy fishing season. And that is the way it was for centuries, fishing and farming.

A visitor in 1805 saw signs of change .He described Filey as a neat fishing town, consisting chiefly of one street. The inhabitants were remarkable for their sobriety and industry and for their cordiality as neighbours. Annually they fitted out vessels for the herring season on the Yarmouth coast .

The great brigg projected near a quarter of a mile into the sea but he thought that the sands were the finest on this coast.. Filey was being resorted to in the summer season by numerous parties from Scarborough and Bridlington.

The inviting scenery and the advantages for sea bathing would render it one of the first places of that description in the north of England Suitable buildings were already being erected for the reception of permanent visitors. However, these accomodations were few and he thought them unlikely to be increased. He was wrong.

John Rushton



Other articles that you may find interesting

•Suzanne Pollard and her Filey Fishing relatives
•Filey and its early fishing industry
•Scarborough fishermen and the U-Boats by Godfrey Arthur
•The coble boats of Filey Flamborough and Runswicks Bay
•The Crimlisk fishing family history in Scarborough Filey and Hull
•The worst day in Fileys history - a hurricane
•Haddock Legend, And Herring Fishery in Filey
•The history of the Scarborough fishing industry
•Log of the German U-Boat which sank eleven Scarborough trawlers in 1916
•An early history of Filey and its fishing community
•Fishing farming and tourism in the early Filey - 1805
•Thomas Hinderwell - history of Scarboroughs fisheries
•Was there a roman port in scarborough? By John Rushton
•Increased regulation in the Scarborough fishing industry
•Trawling During WW2 around scarborough and the North - East coast
•Fighting the Scots in Scarborough Waters in the early 16th century. John Rushton
•Scarborough Trawler owners company Funnel liveries
•The fishermen and fisheries of Robin Hood's Bay in 1838
•Climbing the cliffs in filey in 1779 - Yorkshires maritime heritage
•Kolberg lays a minefield off Scarborough
•Flamborough Head - ancient fishing village
•Scarboroughs Fishermen versus Firemen Football match on Boxing Day
•Watching for ships by the harbour walls in Scarborough
•Coatham - a forgotten Yorkshire haven near Redcar
•The fishing community in Flamborough head - superstition and bad luck
•Scarboroughs Old Town and its connection to the sea
•Carrying Coal to the Yorkshire Coast - John Rushton
•Passing on our maritime heritage to the younger generation
•Fishing names in Scarborough's Old Town - Cammish Jenkinson and Sheader
•Sustainable fishing - quotas and a way of life
•The life of Scarborough fishermen
•The character of a fisherman
•Theakston's guide to the Scarborough fisheries 1866
•Church Tithes in the early fishing history of scarborough
•Famous fishing families - the Whitby Storr family and the Leadleys
•Life in the Old Town of Scarborough and harbour - the fishing families
•Whitbys early history - a fishing town
•The dogger bank incident in 1904 - The Russian fleet attacks Hull trawlers
•Three Scarborough trawlers sunk by mines in 1920
•Attacks On Trawlers in Scarborough in WW2
•Scarboroughs first Lifeboat and its first rescue in 1801

Share this article

Request our email newsletter for all our latest news and information
Contact us

01723 369361
scarboroughmaritime@yahoo.com
45 Eastborough, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO11 1NH, England

We are here

Opening times

Monday
.......................
........................................................
.......................
Closed
Tuesday
.......................
........................................................
.......................
Closed
Wednesday
.......................
........................................................
.......................
11am - 4pm
Thursday
.......................
........................................................
.......................
11am - 4pm
Friday
.......................
........................................................
.......................
11am - 4pm
Saturday
.......................
........................................................
.......................
11am - 4pm
Sunday
.......................
........................................................
.......................
11am - 4pm
© SCARBOROUGH MARITIME HERITAGE CENTRE LIMITED
Registered charity No 1144532. Company No 06755717.