Filey

Coordinates: 54°12′36″N 0°17′21″W / 54.2101°N 0.2893°W / 54.2101; -0.2893

Filey
Filey beach at low water
Arms of Filey Town Council
Filey  Filey shown within North Yorkshire
Population	6,819 (2001 census)[1]
OS grid reference	TA115807
District	Scarborough
Shire county	North Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	FILEY
Postcode district	YO14
Dialling code	01723
Police	North Yorkshire
Fire	North Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Ryedale
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

Filey is a small town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the borough of Scarborough and is located between Scarborough and Bridlington on the North Sea coast. Although it started out as a fishing village, it has a large beach and is a popular tourist resort. Until 1974 it was an urban district in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

According to the 2001 UK census, Filey parish had a population of 6,819.^[1]

Filey is at the eastern end of the Cleveland Way, a long-distance footpath; this starts at Helmsley and skirts the North Yorkshire Moors. It was the second National Trail to be opened (1969). It is also the northern end of the Yorkshire Wolds Way which starts at Hessle and crosses the Yorkshire Wolds. Filey is the finishing point for Great Yorkshire Bike Ride. The 70 mile ride begins at Wetherby Racecourse. Filey has a fire station where fire men work! Filey has a railway station on the Yorkshire Coast Line. Previously Filey also had a second station Filey Holiday Camp railway station to the south of the town serving the former Butlins holiday camp. This camp has now been re-developed into a 600-home holiday housing development, The Bay Filey.^[2] It is one of the largest coastal developments of this kind in the UK and the first homes began to be handed over to buyers in 2007.^[3]

St Oswalds parish church

Filey Beach at noon

The town has recently had a boom of house buyers due to a Persimmon estate being built in the area of Seadale. It was predicted to add significantly to the population.

Filey has two wishing wells, located in the Crescent Gardens. One is a traditional looking type, and the other is smaller, with a concrete model of a church and houses set around it, with a bell to ring and make a wish. The former is a popular site for tourist and family photographs.

In July 2007 Filey was hit by flash floods which caused major problems in the town, with various areas suffering damage.^[4][5]

History

Filey remained a small village until the 18th century when visitors from Scarborough arrived seeking the peace and quiet that Filey offered. Then in 1835 a Birmingham solicitor called John Wilkes Unett bought 7 acres of land and built the Crescent, later known as the Royal Crescent. It was opened in the 1850s and for 100 years it was the most fashionable address in the North of England.

English composer Frederick Delius stayed as a boy on the Crescent with his family at Miss Hurd's boarding house no 24 in 1876 plus 1877 and at Mrs. Colley's no 24 in 1897.

For more than 40 years Butlin's Holiday camp was a major factor in Filey's economy. Building work began in 1939 and continued through the war during which it became a military base known as R.A.F. Hunmanby Moor. In 1945 it became a popular holiday resort complete with its own railway station and by the late 1950s it could cater for 10,000 holiday makers. Unfortunately it was to close in 1984, causing a decrease in the holiday makers visiting Filey.

The Bonhomme Richard, the famous ship sailed by John Paul Jones, who was a Scottish born American known as the "father of the US Navy", was lost after a fierce landmark battle in 1779 (The Battle of Flamborough Head) in which hundreds died. Its location remains a mystery and is believed by many to lie somewhere within Filey Bay. The Bonhomme Richard fought in the Battle and even through its eventual sinking, the outcome of the battle convinced the French crown to back the colonies in their fight to separate from British authority. Although the precise location of the Bonhomme Richard is unknown, numerous expeditions have been undertaken to try and locate her. However, decades of fishing trawling and numerous other wrecks have made this procedure complicated. So far, she has not been located.

Notable people

• Leo Blair, the father of Tony Blair, the previous Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was born in Filey.
• Fred Pratt Green, a Hymn writer and Methodist clergyman, began his ministerial career in the Filey circuit.
• Dame Madge Kendal lived for a time at South Crescent Villa (now the White Lodge Hotel) in the early years of the 20th century.
• The Beatles stayed in Filey for a short period of time and also performed in a local pub.
• Jack Charlton owns a holiday home in the town and managed the local football team for a period.

References

External links

• Filey Town Council
• Filey Brigg Bird Observatory
• Filey Brigg Project Group
• The Bay Filey, Coastal Holiday Village off the A165
• Visitor's guide to Filey
• Pictures of Filey on moblog
• History of Filey
• Filey
• Tide times at Filey Bay from the BBC
• Hopes high as bay hunt is launched