Haddock Legend, And Herring Fishery in Filey
At Filey a singular range of rock, said to resemble the celebrated mole of Tangiers, extends from the cliff a considerable way into the sea, and is called Filey bridge. It is covered by the sea at high tide, but may be traversed for upwards of a quarter of a mile at low water. From the farther end a distant, but, in fine weather, a distinct view may be had of Scarborough and the Castle on the one hand, and of Flamborough Head and the Lighthouse, with an extensive stretch of lofty chalk-stone cliff, on the other. When the wind is from the north-east the waves break over it majestically, and may be seen rising up in foamy spray to a great distance, producing an imposing and awful appearance. From its singularity there is no wonder that the credulous, the superstitious, and the vulgar, who have always had a propensity to attach something of the marvellous to whatever is extraordinary, should have made this ridge an object from which to form a story.
...But do you know, sir, how the haddock came by these said marks? The legendary tale of Filey says, that the devil in one of his mischievous pranks determined to build Filey bridge for the destruction of ships and sailors, and the annoyance of fishermen, but that in the progress of his work he accidentally let fall his hammer into the sea, and being in haste to snatch it back caught a haddock, and thereby made the imprint, which the whole species retains to this day.
The village of Filey is seated in a small and beautiful bay. The settled inhabitants depend chiefly on the fishery, which is carried on with success to a considerable extent, although of late years a few good houses have been built, and several respectable families have resorted thither during the season, for the purpose of sea-bathing, for which the beach is well adapted. The church is in the form of a cross, with a steeple in the middle, and bears some resemblance to an ancient cathedral in miniature; it stands at a distance from the village, being divided by a deep ravine, which forms the boundary of partition between the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire ; the church consequently stands in the former, and the village in the latter of the two Ridings.
From an article By William Hone in 1828
OTHER ARTICLES
• Filey and its early fishing industry
• Church first and Church last - Filey methodists and St Oswald's
• An early history of Filey and its fishing community
• Filey and the gales of 1860,1867,1869 AND 1880
• A sea shanty about a storm on the Scarborough coast
• Charles Dickens account of Filey and Scarborough graveyards
• Primitive Methodism amongst the Scarborough Filey and Flamborough fishing communities
• Sea shanties and the filey Fishermen's choir
• Filey fishermen in 1862 - yawls and cobles
• aThe coble boats of Filey Flamborough and Runswicks Bay
• The national RNLI and the Scarborough lifeboat of 1861.
• Thomas Crimlisk - First of the Crimlisks
• Tunny fishing in Scarborough in the 1930's
• Trawling and overfishing - Filey fishing
• Theakston's guide to the Scarborough fisheries 1866
• The port of Scarborough in the late 15th Century
• Coastal erosion in the 19th Century around the North Bay and Scarborough Castle area
• The early years of the Scarborough Lifeboat
• A great storm off Filey Bridge and a famous rescue in 1799
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