Filey

{{Short description|Seaside town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England}}

{{Infobox UK place

| country = England

| official_name = Filey

| type = Town

| static_image_name = {{multiple image

| border = infobox

| perrow = 1/2/2/2/2

| total_width = 250

| image1 = Bandstand, Crescent Gardens, Filey - geograph.org.uk - 4680463.jpg

| image2 = Filey Beach - panoramio.jpg

| image3 = Filey Brigg - geograph.org.uk - 2541981.jpg

| footer = From the top, Crescent Gardens, The Beach, Filey Brigg}}

| static_image_caption =

| static_image_2_name = Filey Town Arms.png

| static_image_2_caption = Coat of arms

| static_image_2_width = 100px

| coordinates = {{coord|54|12|35|N|0|17|20|W|display=inline,title}}

| label_position = top

| population = 6,981

| population_ref = (2011 census)

| unitary_england = North Yorkshire

| lieutenancy_england = North Yorkshire

| region = Yorkshire and the Humber

| constituency_westminster = Thirsk and Malton

| post_town = FILEY

| postcode_district = YO14

| postcode_area = YO

| dial_code = 01723

| os_grid_reference = TA115807

| area_total_sq_mi = 3.29

}}

Filey ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|aɪ|l|i}}) is a seaside town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is located between Scarborough and Bridlington on Filey Bay. Although it was a fishing village, it has a large beach and became a popular tourist resort.

According to the 2011 UK census, Filey parish had a population of 6,981,{{NOMIS2011|id = 1170217336|title = Filey Parish|access-date = 3 March 2018}} in comparison to the 2001 UK census population figure of 6,819,{{NOMIS2001|id = 36UG016|title = Filey Parish|access-date = 4 March 2020}} and a population of 6,870 in 1991.{{cite book |last1=Pevsner |first1=Nikolaus |editor1-last=Hutchinson |editor1-first=John|editor2-last=Neave |editor2-first=David |editor3-last=Neave |editor3-first=Susan |title=Yorkshire : York and the East Riding |date=1995 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=London |isbn=0-300-09593-7|edition=2|page=415}}

Filey was historically mainly within the East Riding of Yorkshire, although until 1888 a small part of the town, including its parish church, was in the North Riding of Yorkshire.{{cite vob|name=Filey East Riding| url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/901| accessdate=6 June 2023}} In 1974 the town was transferred to the new county of North Yorkshire.

Geography

Filey is at the eastern end of the Cleveland Way, a long-distance footpath; it starts at Helmsley and skirts the North York Moors.{{cite web|title=Route Description & Downloads {{!}} National Trails|url=https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/cleveland-way/routes|website=www.nationaltrail.co.uk|access-date=30 November 2017}} It was the second National Trail to be opened (1969). The town is at the northern end of the Yorkshire Wolds Way National Trail which starts at Hessle and crosses the Yorkshire Wolds.{{cite web|title=Signing the Yorkshire Wolds Way through Filey {{!}} News from the Yorkshire Wolds Way {{!}} National Trails|url=https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/yorkshire-wolds-way/news/signing-yorkshire-wolds-way-through-filey|website=www.nationaltrail.co.uk|access-date=30 November 2017}} Filey is the finishing point for Great Yorkshire Bike Ride. The {{convert|70|mi|km|adj=on}} ride begins at Wetherby Racecourse.{{cite web|title=GYBR {{!}} Route details|url=http://www.gybr.co.uk/page/13/route_details.html|website=www.gybr.co.uk|access-date=30 November 2017}}

File:Coble Landing - geograph.org.uk - 1230680.jpg

Filey has a railway station on the Yorkshire Coast Line. A second station at Filey Holiday Camp railway station to the south of the town served the former Butlins holiday camp.{{cite web|title=Disused Stations: Filey Holiday Camp Station|url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/f/filey_holiday_camp/index.shtml|website=www.disused-stations.org.uk|access-date=30 November 2017}} The camp has since been re-developed into a 600-home holiday housing development, The Bay Filey.{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2006/10/26/npbutlins26.xml | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222135021/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2006/10/26/npbutlins26.xml | url-status=dead | archive-date=22 December 2007 | work=The Daily Telegraph | location=London | title=Hi de Hi for a holiday home | first=Lynne | last=Greenwood | date=26 October 2006 | access-date=2 May 2010}} It is one of the largest coastal developments of this kind in the UK and the first homes were completed in 2007.{{cite web|url=http://www.thebayfiley.com |publisher=The Bay Filey |access-date=13 March 2013|title=Home page}}

In July 2007 Filey was hit by flash floods which caused major problems.{{cite news

|url = http://www.fileymercury.co.uk/floods/BREAKING-NEWS-Floods-hit.3041242.jp

|title = Floods Hit

|access-date = 9 December 2007

|date = 18 July 2007

|newspaper = Filey & Hunmanby Mercury

}}

{{cite news

|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/6905066.stm

|title = Flash floods hit east coast town

|access-date = 29 February 2008

|date = 18 July 2007

|work = BBC

|publisher = BBC News Online

}}

{{Weather box

|location = Scarborough, North Yorkshire:
{{nobold|Average maximum and minimum temperatures, and average rainfall recorded between 1991 and 2020 by the Met Office.}}

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|Jan high C = 6.7

|Feb high C = 7.1

|Mar high C = 9.1

|Apr high C = 11.4

|May high C = 14.0

|Jun high C = 16.9

|Jul high C = 19.2

|Aug high C = 19.1

|Sep high C = 16.7

|Oct high C = 13.1

|Nov high C = 9.5

|Dec high C = 7.0

|year high C = 12.5

|Jan low C = 2.0

|Feb low C = 2.0

|Mar low C = 3.1

|Apr low C = 5.0

|May low C = 7.4

|Jun low C = 10.1

|Jul low C = 12.2

|Aug low C = 12.4

|Sep low C = 10.5

|Oct low C = 7.9

|Nov low C = 4.6

|Dec low C = 2.4

|year low C = 6.66

|Jan precipitation mm = 56.9

|Feb precipitation mm = 48.8

|Mar precipitation mm = 45.5

|Apr precipitation mm = 50.4

|May precipitation mm = 45.2

|Jun precipitation mm = 65.5

|Jul precipitation mm = 56.6

|Aug precipitation mm = 69.5

|Sep precipitation mm = 57.3

|Oct precipitation mm = 68.4

|Nov precipitation mm = 73.4

|Dec precipitation mm = 68.0

|year precipitation mm = 705.5

| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

| Jan precipitation days = 12.1

| Feb precipitation days = 11.5

| Mar precipitation days = 9.5

| Apr precipitation days = 9.1

| May precipitation days = 8.3

| Jun precipitation days = 9.9

| Jul precipitation days = 10.0

| Aug precipitation days = 10.2

| Sep precipitation days = 9.4

| Oct precipitation days = 11.6

| Nov precipitation days = 13.0

| Dec precipitation days = 12.8

| year precipitation days = 127.3

| Jan sun = 56.3

| Feb sun = 83.5

| Mar sun = 117.9

| Apr sun = 164.8

| May sun = 213.8

| Jun sun = 189.3

| Jul sun = 201.3

| Aug sun = 188.5

| Sep sun = 142.5

| Oct sun = 101.9

| Nov sun = 64.9

| Dec sun = 54.2

| year sun = 1578.8

|source 1 = Met Office{{cite web |title=Scarborough UK climate averages |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages/gcxsy2j7j |website=metoffice.gov.uk |access-date=25 April 2024}}

}}

History

File:Filey church.jpg]]

In 1857 the foundations of a 4th-century Roman signal station were discovered at the Carr Naze cliff edge at the northern end of Filey Bay. The structure is {{convert|50|m|order=flip}} long with a square tower {{convert|14|m|order=flip}} wide, a defensive ditch and ramparts from a later era. Excavations at the time of the find and subsequently in the 1920s and 1990s uncovered Roman pottery and hoards of coins. The site is a protected Scheduled Monument. The find of Roman remains supports the case for Filey being the Roman settlement of Portus Felix.{{NHLE|num=1004187|desc=Roman signal station, Carr Naze|access-date=28 August 2020}}{{PastScape|mname=FILEY ROMAN SIGNAL STATION|mnumber=81380|access-date=28 August 2020}}

The 12th century parish church dedicated to St Oswald, on Church Hill in the north of the town, is a Grade I listed building.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1316455|desc=Church of St Oswald|access-date = 23 February 2014}} It is the oldest building in Filey{{cite web|title=Filey Town Council|url=http://www.fileytowncouncil.co.uk/history.html|website=www.fileytowncouncil.co.uk|access-date=30 November 2017|archive-date=8 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308015600/http://www.fileytowncouncil.co.uk/history.html|url-status=dead}} and Nicholas Pevsner wrote "This is easily the finest church in the NE corner of the East Riding" (Buildings of England).

{{cite book

| last1 = Pevsner

| first1 = Nikolaus

| author-link = Nikolaus Pevsner

| first2 = David

| last2 = Neave

| title = Yorkshire: York and the East Riding: The Buildings of England

| orig-year = 1972

| edition = 2nd

| year = 2002

| publisher = Yale University Press

| isbn = 0-300-09593-7

}}

St Oswald's has nearly 1,500 pieces of well-preserved medieval graffiti on the roof of the tower, ranging from initials up to complicated images of fully rigged sailing vessels, including one known as a Whitby Cat. The graffiti covers around 400 years of Filey's history, and maps out identifiable people, their occupations, changes in literacy and coastal shipping, the start of tourism in the area, and even a possible record of 17th century plague. The graffiti was recorded and analysed by Historic England in 2016.{{cite web|title=Historic Graffiti on the Tower of St. Oswald's Church, Filey, North Yorkshire: recording and Interpretation. Historic England Research Report 62/2016|url=https://research.historicengland.org.uk/Report.aspx?i=15589&ru=/Results.aspx?p=1&n=10&rn=62&ry=2016&ns=1|last=Buglass|first=J.|date=2016|website=research.historicengland.org.uk|access-date=19 May 2020}}

Filey was a small village until the 18th century when visitors from Scarborough arrived seeking the peace and quiet that Filey then offered. In 1835 a Birmingham solicitor called John Wilkes Unett bought {{convert|7|acre|ha}} of land and built the Crescent, later known as the Royal Crescent, which was opened in the 1850s.{{cite web|title=Filey Conservation Area|url=https://democracy.scarborough.gov.uk/documents/s26846/HRP11551%20ANNEX1_Filey%20Character%20Appraisal%20Compressed.pdf|website=scarborough.gov.uk|access-date=30 November 2017|pages=9–10|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414150707/https://democracy.scarborough.gov.uk/documents/s26846/HRP11551%20ANNEX1_Filey%20Character%20Appraisal%20Compressed.pdf|url-status=dead}} On several occasions in the mid-19th century, the novelist Charlotte Brontë visited Filey with the aim of recovering her faltering health. In June 1852 she wrote to her father: "The Sea is very grand. Yesterday it was a somewhat unusually high tide - and I stood about an hour on the cliffs yesterday afternoon - watching the tumbling in of great tawny turbid waves - that make the whole shore white with foam and filled the air with a sound hollower and deeper than thunder.{{cite book |last1=Brontë |first1=Charlotte |title=Selected Letters |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8CiQDwAAQBAJ&dq=The+sea+is+very+grand.+Yesterday+was+a+somewhat+unusually+high+tide+-+and+I+stood+about+an+hour+on+the+cliffs+yesterday+afternoon+-+watching+the+tumbling+in+of+great+tawny+turbid+waves+-+that+make+the+whole&pg=PA204 |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=29 June 2021 |date=9 September 2010|isbn=978-0-19-161287-9 }}

File:Filey (33895530370).jpg

Fishing at Filey has been a tradition for centuries, with most of those undertaking it coming from a long line of fishermen and women in their families. The fishing boats at Filey are cobles, like most of the others along the Yorkshire and North East coasts, and the catch is mostly sea trout. Limitations have been placed upon how and where they use their nets, which also trap salmon; some fear this may lead to the end of the fishing industry in Filey.{{cite news |last1=Ponter |first1=Richard |title=Why Filey's fishermen fear they may be the last generation to cast their nets |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/analysis/why-filey-s-fishermen-fear-they-may-be-the-last-generation-to-cast-their-nets-1-9043304 |access-date=9 March 2019 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=3 March 2018}} In 1804, a lifeboat was procured for the town and it became a Royal National Lifeboat Institution asset in 1852. Filey Lifeboat Station is still in existence and has an inshore and an all-weather boat on station.{{cite book |last1=Chrystal |first1=Paul |title=Lifeboat stations of North East England through time : from Sunderland to the Humber |date=2012 |publisher=Amberley |location=Stroud |isbn=978-1-4456-1376-5 |page=60}} The all-weather lifeboat was replaced in early 2021 with an Atlantic 85 vessel.{{cite news|date=30 October 2020|title=Filey Looks Set to Lose it's All Weather Lifeboat Next Year|work=This is The Coast|url=https://www.thisisthecoast.co.uk/news/local-news/filey-looks-set-to-lose-its-all-weather-lifeboat-next-year/|access-date=11 January 2021}}

English composer Frederick Delius stayed as a boy on the Crescent with his family at Miss Hurd's boarding house (number 24) in 1876 and 1877, and then at Mrs Colley's (number 24) in 1897.{{cite news|last1=Hastings|first1=Sheena|title='Why Filey's not getting fair shares'|url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/analysis/why-filey-s-not-getting-fair-shares-1-4890970|access-date=30 November 2017|work=The Yorkshire Post|date=3 September 2012}}{{cite news|title=The Filey Files|url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/our-yorkshire/heritage/the-filey-files-1-8058242|access-date=30 November 2017|work=The Yorkshire Post|date=9 August 2016}}

In 1931 the spire of a church was damaged by the Dogger Bank earthquake.{{cite news|last1=Boyle|first1=Danny|title=Rutland earthquake: 'We will rebuild', say locals as they mock 2.8-magnitude tremor|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/geology/11884402/Rutland-earthquake-mocked-after-2.8-magnitude-tremor-hits-Oakham.html|access-date=30 November 2017|work=The Telegraph|date=23 September 2015}}

File:The Station, Filey - geograph.org.uk - 1276528.jpg

For more than 40 years Butlin's Filey Holiday Camp was a major factor in Filey's economy. Building began in 1939 and continued during the Second World War when it became an air force station known as RAF Hunmanby Moor. In 1945 it became a popular holiday resort and a new LNER branch line with station was constructed to serve the camp despite the topographical challenges involved. It opened on 10 May 1947 with a performance by the London International Orchestra conducted by Anatole Fistoulari with a performance by acclaimed pianist Solomon. British boxer Bruce Woodcock was convalescing at the Butlin's camp around the same time following his punishing defeat at the hands of Joe Baksi a month earlier.{{Cite news |date=3 May 1947 |title=Bruce Woodcock to Visit Filey Holiday Camp |pages=6 |work=Driffield Times}} By the late 1950s it could cater for 10,000 holiday makers but closed in 1984, causing a decrease in the holiday makers visiting Filey.{{cite news

|url=http://www.fileymercury.co.uk/community/filey-is-an-anglican-name-1-1646649

|title=Filey is an Anglican name

|date=24 August 2005

|work=Filey & Hunmanby Mercury

|access-date=13 March 2013}}

Filey was historically split between the East Riding of Yorkshire and the North Riding of Yorkshire. The boundary ran along Filey Beck, north of the town centre, so that most of the town was in the East Riding. When County Councils were formed by the Local Government Act 1888, the whole of Filey was placed in the East Riding.Local Government Act 1888#Towns on county boundaries

Filey also boasts the Grade II listed Langford Villa on The Crescent ({{circa|1830}}){{NHLE|num=1296721|desc=Langford Villa|access-date=27 March 2019}} which was often chosen by the famous chocolatier Sir Joseph Terry as his place to "summer";{{cite web|url=https://www.filey.co.uk/places/filey/places-to-stay/langford-villa/|title=Langford Villa|website=filey.co.uk|date=16 April 2015 |access-date=4 November 2020}} it is situated next door but one to The White Lodge Hotel.

In 2018, the town was featured in the Tour de Yorkshire for the first time.{{cite news|url=https://www.yorkshirecoastradio.com/news/local-news/2446985/tour-de-yorkshire-filey-in---scarborough-hosts-finish/|title=Tour de Yorkshire: Filey In - Scarborough Hosts Finish|date=5 December 2017|work=Yorkshire Coast Radio|access-date=20 March 2018}}

Governance

{{Infobox legislature

| name = Filey Town Council

| coa_pic = Filey Town Arms.png

| coa_caption = Seal

| coa_res = 100px

| coa_alt =

| logo_res =

| logo_alt =

| foundation =

| house_type = Town Council

| leader1_type = Mayor

| leader1 = Jacqui Houlden-Banks

| leader2_type = Deputy Mayor

| leader2 = Linda Randall

| leader3_type = Town clerk

| leader3 = David Liddle

| term_length = 4 years

| members = 13 Councillors

| structure1 =

| structure1_res = 250

| structure1_alt = Filey Town Council composition

| seats1_title = Independent

| seats1 = {{Composition bar|11|13|hex={{party color|Independent}}}}

| seats2_title = Vacant

| seats2 = {{composition bar|2|13|hex={{party color|Casual vacancy}}}}

| voting_system1 = Plurality-at-large

| last_election1 = 5 May 2022

| next_election1 = TBC

| website = {{URL|https://www.fileytowncouncil.co.uk}}

| session_room = Old Council Offices Filey - geograph.org.uk - 3055373.jpg

| meeting_place = Filey Town Council Offices

| footnotes =

}}

At the lowest level of governance is Filey Town Council, electing a total of thirteen councillors. These councillors are responsible for burial grounds, allotments, play areas and some street lighting. Elections to the town council are held every four years and the most recent elections were held in May 2019. The Mayor of Filey is elected annually by the members of the town council. The council is based at Filey Town Council Offices on Queen Street.{{cite web |title=Filey Town Council |url=https://www.fileyheritage.org/town-walk/7-filey-town-council/ |website=Filey Heritage Group |access-date=16 September 2024}}

At district level, the town was part of the Scarborough Borough Council area. The town was represented by three councillors on the Borough Council. On the North Yorkshire County Council the town elected one representative. Both councils were abolished in 2023 and replaced with a unitary authority, North Yorkshire Council.

=Parliamentary representation=

Filey was in the Ryedale constituency until the 2010 general election when it became part of the newly formed Thirsk and Malton constituency.{{cite news|last1=Mackie|first1=David|title=MP expresses mixed feelings about proposed constituencies changes|url=http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/14755026.MP_expresses_mixed_feelings_about_proposed_constituencies_changes/|access-date=30 November 2017|work=York Press|date=21 September 2016}} Proposed boundary changes to the constituencies, would see Filey be moved from Thirsk and Malton into the Scarborough and Whitby constituency.{{cite news|last1=Gavaghan|first1=Carl|title=Filey to join with neighbours following boundary changes|url=https://www.thescarboroughnews.co.uk/news/politics/filey-to-join-with-neighbours-following-boundary-changes-1-8121621|work=The Scarborough News|date=13 September 2016|access-date=30 November 2017}}

Development

Coast & Country Housing Limited plan to build 300 houses in Filey. Scarborough council has approved plans for the £45 million housing project off Muston Road by Coast & Country. Independent councillor Sam Cross, who represents Filey on the borough council, said: "The infrastructure of the town can't cope with it."{{cite news

| url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-12530277

| title = Filey new homes plan approved by Scarborough council

| access-date = 13 March 2013

| date = 21 February 2011

| work = BBC News

| publisher = BBC

}}

Coast and Country replied to the concerns by stating that the houses are being built to meet a pent-up latent demand for affordable housing and other housing within the town.

Local media

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC Yorkshire and ITV Yorkshire. Television signals are received from the Oliver's Mount and via a local relay transmitter at Hunmanby.{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Olivers_Mount|title=Olivers Mount (North Yorkshire, England) Full Freeview transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=6 September 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Hunmanby|title=Hunmanby (North Yorkshire, England) Freeview Light transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=6 September 2023}} BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV Tyne Tees can also be received from the Bilsdale TV transmitter.{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Bilsdale|title=Bilsdale (North Yorkshire, England) Full Freeview transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=6 September 2023}}

Filey’s local radio stations are BBC Radio York on 95.5 FM, Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire Coast on 96.2 FM, Coast & County Radio on 97.4 FM and This is The Coast that broadcasts online and on DAB.

Local newspapers are Filey Bay Today{{cite web|url=https://www.fileybaytoday.co.uk/|title=Local News | Filey Bay Today | Filey|website=Filey Bay Today|accessdate=6 September 2023}} and The Scarborough News.

Notable people

Leo Blair, the father of Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was born in Filey.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/leo-blair-barrister-who-began-as-a-conservative-but-followed-his-son-into-the-labour-party-8327053.html|title=Leo Blair: Barrister who began as a Conservative but followed his son into the Labour Party|date=19 November 2012|work=The Independent|access-date=7 February 2014}}
Edmund Crawford, footballer, Liverpool & Clapton Orient{{cite web|title=Liverpool career stats for Ted Crawford - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC!|url=http://www.lfchistory.net/Players/Player/Profile/588|website=www.lfchistory.net|access-date=30 November 2017}}
Andy Crawford, footballer, Derby County & Blackburn Rovers{{cite web|title=Andy CRAWFORD - Biography of his football career with The Rams. - Derby County FC|url=http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football/derby-county-fc/andy-crawford-4966/biography-of-his-football-career-with-the-rams_a11254/|website=Sporting Heroes|access-date=30 November 2017}}
Honor Fell (1900–1986), zoologist, was born at Fowthorpe, near Filey.{{Cite journal | last1 = Vaughan | first1 = Dame Janet| author-link = Janet Vaughan| doi = 10.1098/rsbm.1987.0009 | title = Honor Bridget Fell. 22 May 1900-22 April 1986 | journal = Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society | volume = 33 | pages = 237–59| year = 1987 | jstor = 769952| pmid = 11621435| doi-access = free}}