The Ports, Harbours, Watering-places and Picturesque Scenery of Great Britain Volume I Part 2

"But like an Eagre rode in triumph o'er the tide."

[Ill.u.s.tration: BURLINGTON QUAY.]

BURLINGTON QUAY.

The Engraving of Burlington Quay, from a painting by Balmer, presents a view of the entrance to the Harbour from the eastward. To the right is seen the inner part of the Old Pier, as it appeared after the great storm of 17th and 18th February, 1836. In front are the houses at the end of Quay Street, and to the left is the South Pier; between this and the sh.o.r.e two ships are perceived aground at the entrance of the inner harbour, which is nearly dry at low water. In the storm above alluded to, great injury was done to the old North Pier, and part of one of the houses to the right was washed down by the violence of the sea.

Burlington Quay lies about a mile to the north-east of the market-town of Burlington, and at the bottom of a bay of the same name. It is in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and is about two hundred and eight miles from London, forty from York, and twenty from Scarborough. The earliest mention of it as a harbour occurs in a mandate of King Stephen, addressed to the Sheriff of Yorkshire, commanding him to allow the Prior of Burlington to hold it on the same terms as Walter de Gaunt, and Gilbert, his ancestor, had held the same. During the time that it was in the possession of the Priors of Burlington, it seems to have been an inconsiderable place; but subsequently, as the coal trade between London and the northern parts of the kingdom increased, it began to be of greater importance as a harbour, in consequence of its affording shelter in stormy weather to vessels engaged in that trade. In 1546, an act was pa.s.sed imposing a duty for erecting the piers and keeping them in repair; and, in 1614, a second act was pa.s.sed, upon a pet.i.tion from the merchants and ship-owners of the eastern coast, imposing a duty, for the same purposes, on all coals shipped at Newcastle. Since 1614, several other acts have been obtained, authorising the levy of duties and tolls for the purpose of improving the harbour and repairing the piers; and since 1816, the sum thus collected has averaged about 1,750 per annum.

The harbour at Burlington Quay is almost entirely the work of art, as the small stream which there runs into the sea is scarcely sufficient to turn a mill. Its locality seems to render it one of the most appropriate stations for a harbour of refuge between the Frith of Forth and Yarmouth Roads, more especially in gales of wind from the north-eastward; but unfortunately it can only be entered by comparatively small vessels, as the depth of water at the entrance is only from ten to twelve feet at neap-tides, and from fourteen to sixteen feet at springs. The harbour is also so small, that fifty sail of colliers taking shelter there would render it extremely crowded.

The history of Burlington Quay, considering it as a separate place from the town of Burlington, is extremely meagre. The most remarkable event which its annals record is the landing there of Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles I., on her return, in 1643, from Holland, whither she had been to conduct her newly-married daughter to her husband, the Prince of Orange, and where she pledged part of the crown jewels in order to obtain money to purchase arms for the Royalists. The Queen, who was attended by a convoy of Dutch men-of-war, under the command of Admiral Van Tromp, landed at Burlington Quay, on the 22nd of February. The Parliamentary admiral, Batten, who had been cruising, with four ships, for the purpose of intercepting her, having received intelligence of her arrival, sailed into the bay and began to cannonade the town. Several of the shot struck the house in which the Queen was lodged, so that she was obliged to leave it, and take shelter in a ditch in a neighbouring field. A serjeant was killed near her, and the Parliamentary admiral continued his fire until the reflux of the tide and the threats of Van Tromp compelled him to desist.

Burlington Quay is much frequented in summer as a bathing-place; and many persons prefer its quiet and retirement to the greater gaiety of Scarborough. The beach, to the northward of the quay, affords excellent opportunities for bathing, and the walks and rides in the vicinity are extremely pleasant. A visit to Flamborough Head, which is only about five miles distant, forms a highly interesting excursion either by land or water.

The market-town of Burlington, or, as it is frequently spelled, Bridlington, is situated about a mile to the north-westward of the quay.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FLAMBOROUGH HEAD.]

FLAMBOROUGH HEAD.

The view of Flamborough Head, drawn by Balmer, is taken from the cliffs to the north-west. To the left is the promontory properly called "The Head," at a short distance from which stands the lighthouse. Between the Head and the nearer cliffs is a small haven, which is used as a landing place by the fishermen of the village of Flamborough, which lies about a mile to the south-west of the lighthouse.

Flamborough Head, which lies about eighteen miles southward of Scarborough, and four and a half miles northward of Burlington, is one of the most remarkable promontories on the eastern coast. It projects about five miles into the sea, from a line drawn between Burlington Quay and Filey; and its southern side forms the northern boundary of Burlington Bay. The cliffs, which are of limestone rock, are from three hundred to four hundred feet high, and their crumbling sides form the haunt and the breeding place of innumerable flocks of sea-birds: among which are cormorants, puffins, razor-bills, and guillemots, with gulls and terns of several species. Guillemots, which are here extremely numerous, are known to the seamen of Shields and Newcastle by the name of "Flamborough-head pilots," as their presence in considerable numbers is almost a certain indication of the ship being "off the Head." Great numbers of those feathered denizens of the cliff are killed every year by "parties of pleasure," from Burlington, Scarborough, and other places, who visit the "Head" for the sake of indulging in the heartless sport, which requires neither skill nor courage, of killing birds by wholesale. At the foot of the cliff, which to the north-west is much indented, there are several caverns and large insulated ma.s.ses of rock.

The largest of those caverns, called Robert Lyth's Hole, has two openings, the one communicating with the land and the other exposed to the sea. The roof, though low at the landward entrance, is in some places fifty feet high; and the view, looking through the rocky vault towards the sea, is extremely grand.

Flamborough Head, which is a most important land-mark for vessels navigating the eastern coast, lies in 54 8' north lat.i.tude; longitude 2' 30" west. A revolving light is displayed from the lighthouse from sunset to sunrise, and presents, first the appearance of two lights on the same tower, and next a brilliant red light. Each of those lights appears at intervals of two minutes; and after gradually attaining their greatest l.u.s.tre, they in the same manner decline and become eclipsed.

Between Flamborough Head and Burlington Quay, is situated Burlington Bay, a secure roadstead in north-east gales; and, during the prevalence of such winds, it is not unusual for three hundred ships to be riding there at the same time, sheltered from the violence of the wind and sea by the lofty promontory. On the south-east, the Bay is partially sheltered from the violence of the sea by the Smithwick Sands, which run nearly in a line with the coast, from Burlington Quay to Flamborough Head. At each extremity of those sands there is a channel leading into the Bay; that towards the Head is called the North Sea; and the other, towards Burlington, the South Sea. Though the Smithwick Sands effectually break the violence of the sea at low water, yet at high water, when they are covered to a considerable depth, the protection which they afford, in gales of wind from the south-eastward, is not to be depended on. Vessels, therefore, leave the Bay as soon as the wind changes to east or south-east, as it no longer affords them sufficient security; the protection of the Smithwick Sands not being equivalent to the risk of the lee-sh.o.r.e, to which they would be exposed in a gale from the south-east. Were the harbour of Burlington, which is situated to the westward of the Bay, enlarged and deepened, its importance, as a place of refuge for vessels compelled to leave the Bay from the wind changing to the eastward, would be very greatly increased. Could it be so enlarged as to admit one hundred vessels, of from 200 to 300 tons each, it would, with the Bay, afford a place of refuge in all storms from north-east to south-east, which are generally the most destructive on the eastern coast.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SCARBOROUGH.]

SCARBOROUGH.

In this view of Scarborough, by Harding, which is taken from the southward, the most conspicuous object is the Lighthouse on the Old Pier, or, as it is sometimes called, Vincent's Pier, from the name of the engineer, by whom the outer portion was erected about the year 1750.

Beyond the pier are seen the masts of vessels lying in the harbour; to the left are the houses, which are built near the sh.o.r.e between West Sand-gate and Bland's Cliff; and on the height are the barracks, with the ruins of the old castle, a little further distant, to the left.

Though the name of Scarborough appears to be of Saxon origin, yet as the place is not mentioned in any author who wrote before the Conquest, nor in the Domesday-book, we cannot reasonably suppose it to have been of much importance, either during the Saxon period, or at the time when the Conqueror's survey was made. The castle of Scarborough was built about 1163, by William le Gros, Earl of Albemarle and Holderness; and from that period the authentic history of the town commences. The castle is situated to the north-eastward of the town, and is built on the isthmus of a peninsula, which comprises an area of about sixteen acres, and is bounded on the north, east, and south by inaccessible cliffs, whose summits are about 300 feet above the level of the sea. The western boundary, overlooking the town, is also formed by an elevated rock; and the only means of approach to the castle is by a steep path near the edge of the cliff forming the north side of the isthmus. On pa.s.sing through a gateway, and over a draw-bridge, we arrive at the castle, which, previous to the introduction of cannon, must have been almost impregnable. The keep or princ.i.p.al tower is ninety-seven feet high, and though greatly dilapidated, is yet a striking object, more especially when viewed from the sea, at about two miles' distance from the north cliff.

There is no river at Scarborough; and the harbour, which is formed by the piers, is only accessible towards high water. It is high water at Scarborough at forty-five minutes past three o'clock at the full and change of the moon; and at spring tides there is about twenty-two feet water at the end of the pier. At night a light is shown from the lighthouse as long as there is twelve feet water at the entrance to the harbour; and during the same period a flag is hoisted by day.

About 1620 the sanative virtues of the Spa-well were discovered by Mrs.

Anne Farrow, who "sometimes walked along the sh.o.r.e, and observing the stones over which the water pa.s.sed to have received a russet colour, and finding it to have an acid taste different from the common springs, and to receive a purple tincture from galls, thought it probably might have a medical property." The lady having tried the water herself, and persuaded others to do the same, it was in a short time p.r.o.nounced an all-heal, and the people of the place took it as their usual physic.

Before 1670 these waters had become celebrated, and many persons resorted to Scarborough for the sake of drinking them. Medical men, however, disagreed both as to their composition and effects; and the opinions of Dr. Witty, a resident physician, who recommended them in every case, were controverted by Mr. Simpson and Dr. George Tonstall.

The latter says of the Spa-water, "The essence is fit for the cup of a prince; the _caput mortuum_, which is sand and clay, is fit for nothing but the bricklayer's trowel. Hence it doth follow that those who are weak in their digestive faculties, and strong in their distributive, may find good by drinking this water; but those who are weak in both will experience the contrary." From the following anecdote related by the doctor, we may infer that the spa-drinkers of that period were accustomed to indulge in rather copious draughts. "Mr. Westro came to us at Scarborough only to visit his friends, and the two or three days he drank the waters (_not above two quarts at a time_), did so far put him out of tune, that he made his complaint to me he could neither eat nor sleep; and it took me a week's time before I could reduce him to the state of health which he had before he meddled with the waters." He would have been a person of strong const.i.tution indeed not to have been "put out of tune" by such drenching; and it is no small proof of Dr.

Tonstall's skill that he should have been able to restore Mr. Westro the blessings of sound sleep and a good appet.i.te in so short a time as a week. From the double advantage which Scarborough presents to visitors, of drinking the waters and enjoying the benefit of sea bathing, it is much frequented during the summer season; and a more agreeable place is not to be found on the coast betwixt the Humber and the Tyne.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WHITBY.]

WHITBY.

This engraving of Whitby, from a drawing by Harding, presents a view of the entrance to the harbour, as seen from the northward. Towards the middle of the plate is seen the end of the east pier; on the top of the cliff are the ruins of the abbey and the parish church; while, farther to the right, part of the town is perceived.

Whitby is in the North Riding of Yorkshire, and lies about 246 miles north of London, 22 north-north-west of Scarborough, and 47 north-east of York. It is chiefly built on the sloping banks of the river Esk, by which it is divided into two parts; that on the west side being the most populous. The opposite parts of the town are connected by means of a bridge, the middle of which is moveable for the purpose of allowing ships to pa.s.s through. In the old bridge, which has been pulled down, the opening in the middle was upon the principle of a drawbridge, in which the roadway is raised and lowered by means of beams and chains. At high-water the river above the bridge expands into a s.p.a.cious harbour, where ships can lie in perfect security; but at ebb tide, except in the mid-channel, the harbour is nearly dry. In the outer harbour, as it is called, below the bridge, vessels cannot ride with safety in gales of wind upon the land.

The piers at the entrance to Whitby harbour are not built and maintained at the sole expense of the place, but by a duty on coals shipped at Newcastle, Sunderland, Blyth, and their dependencies--Yarmouth vessels only being exempt--and the sum thus raised amounts to upwards of 2,000 per annum. It is doubtless a great advantage to the people of Whitby to have their piers built and kept in repair at the expense of other ports; but it is equally certain that the same sum might be employed more to the advantage of those by whom it is paid in improving other places--Scarborough and Burlington, for instance--as harbours of refuge on the eastern coast. In a gale of wind from the eastward, Whitby is perhaps one of the most dangerous harbours that a vessel can attempt to take between Yarmouth roads and the Frith of Forth, and captains of coasting vessels cannot be too frequently warned to avoid it. As the flood tide sets strong to the southward across the entrance to the harbour, vessels in attempting to enter with a gale of wind from the north-east are extremely liable to be driven on the rocks and wrecked at the foot of the cliff beyond the east pier.

A singular customary duty, called "making the penny-stake hedge," is annually performed at Whitby, by certain tenants of the Lord of the Manor. It consists in driving a certain number of stakes, which, according to the ancient prescribed form, were to be cut with a knife of the value of one penny, on the sh.o.r.e of the south side of the Esk, at low-water mark, at nine o'clock on the morning of the day before Ascension-day, while a man with a horn blows, "Out on you! Out on you!"

to the shame of the persons whose duty it is to drive the stakes. When it shall be full sea or high-water at nine o'clock on the day of performing this service, it was to cease; but as Ascension-day is regulated by the change of the moon this can never happen. This custom is of great antiquity, as the _horngarth_, the enclosure formed by the stakes, is mentioned about 1315 in the registers of the Abbey, in an account of certain disputes between the abbot, Thomas de Malton, and Alexander de Percy, of Sneaton. Tradition reports that this custom was imposed as a penance on three persons of the families of Percy, Bruce, and Allatson, who held lands of the Abbey, for having killed a hermit in the chapel of Eskdale-side, when hunting a wild boar which had there taken refuge. The penance imposed was the tenure by which they and their successors were to hold the Abbey lands.

Leland, who visited Whitby a few years before the suppression of the monastery, describes it as a "great fisher town;" and he mentions that when he was there a new quay and pier were in course of erection. Until the establishment of the alum works in its neighbourhood, towards the latter end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Whitby appears to have been a place of little trade. As this new branch of commerce extended, the trade and population of Whitby steadily increased until it has attained its present importance.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WHITBY.

_FROM THE NORTH WEST_]