Stories from Robin Hood's Bay and Whitby

Some extracts from the Yorkshire Annals



1849:— On Tuesday morning, the 24th of April, at an early hour, a small vessel belonging to Boston, being off Robin Hood's Bay, near Scarborough, was struck by an electric fire-ball or meteor, which descended not more than a yard from the place where the crew were standing, and so sudden was the conflagration, that the poor men had only sufficient time to get into their boats and leave the unfortunate vessel; the ship's papers, and other articles of value, the men's clothes, and everything, in short, but life, was lost. Another Boston vessel, being near at the time, took the men on board, and landed them at Scarborough.

1867 August 25th - An immense dispatch of fish to the interior took place from Whitby and Scarbro'. The herring trains passing through the junction at Malton gave 135 truck loads from Scarbro' and 77 from Whitby—upwards of 1,000 tons. The rails were so greasy from the fish traffic that the first train on the following morning lost three quarters of an hour in getting up the Gothland incline going south.

1872 December - The floods in Yorkshire caused great destruction to property. The ancient village of Runswick, famous as a fishing place, had a landslip which totally destroyed many houses, rendering many families homeless. At Robin Hood's Bay, there was a very heavy landslip from the flagstaff, 30 or 40 yards on the beach, and the old road was rendered impassable.

1873 June 26th - An ancient chalybeate spa, possessing superior medicinal properties, existed at the base of the West Cliff, Whitby, near a battery of the Whitby Volunteer Artillery Corps, but for more than a generation all traces of it had been lost. It was accidentally re-discovered at this time, and was both copious and excellent.

1873 August 14th - The "takes" of the Whitby Herring boats were heavy. Several of the boats delivered nearly two lasts each, and it was calculated that altogether about forty lasts were landed at Whitby. A last means 10,000, so that about 400,000 fish were discharged at Whitby, this day.

1873 September 6th - A sad boat accident happened at Skinningrove, between Saltburn and Whitby. Eight miners went out in a boat which was upset by a heavy sea, and five of them were drowned. A fatal shipping disaster was also reported from Grimsby, a fishing smack, the May Queen, of that port, having been run down by another vessel, and lost with three of the crew.

1873 September 18th - An interesting celebration took place at Whitby. Mrs.Harrison who was born in the locality, and had lived there all her life, celebrated her 100th birthday. After a drive out, she was joined at tea by her brother from Scarborough, who was 90 years of age. Her faculties were unimpaired. Her sister, who lived at Burniston, near Scarborough, and was 97 years of age, would have joined this deeply-interesting family gathering, so famed for longevity, had not her friends at the above place been busy with the harvest.



OTHER ARTICLES
• The fishermen and fisheries of Robin Hood's Bay in 1838
• Sharks and big fish along the Robin Hood's Bay coast
• Robin Hood's Bay - The Storm family website
• Famous fishing families - the Whitby Storr family and the Leadleys
• Shipbuilding at Scarborough - the wooden barques and schooners
• The Yorkshire smuggler - the smuggling of contraband
• The origin of Robin Hood's Bay - its name
• Filey and the gales of 1860,1867,1869 AND 1880
• Funny stories from the age of sailing ships in Scarborough
• Dennis Allen - stories from the sea
• Shipping Ironstone down the coast by John Rushton
• The coastline and cliffs of Robin Hood's Bay
• Flamborough Head - ancient fishing village
• A sea shanty about a storm on the Scarborough coast
• Stories from Flamborough Head and Filey
• Havens on the North Yorkshire coast. An article on scarboroughs maritime history by John Rushton
• Tommy Rowley - stories about loss of life at sea
• An epic Lifeboat rescue in Robin Hoods bay and a terrible tragedy
• The Allen and Truman Scarborough fishing families

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