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Robin Hood’s Bay - Its History and Origins

Millions of years ago, the land upon which Robin Hood’s Bay is situated was once a deep sea. The sea animals of the time, buried in the mud, became fossilised, providing one of the best sources in Britain for the fossil hunter. Some of these fossils can be seen on display in the museum and can still be picked up on the beach if you look carefully.

The scaurs (derived from a Norse word meaning ‘rock’) exposed at low tide, were formed 170 million years ago and consist of limestone and blue shale. A wealth of sea life can be found in the rock pools at low tide.

Robin Hood’s Bay lies in the ancient parish of Fylingdales. The name itself is believed to be derived from the Old English word ‘Fygela’ which meant ‘marshy ground’. The first evidence of man in the area was 3000 years ago when Bronze Age burial grounds were dug on the high moorland a mile or so south of the village. These are known as Robin Hood’s Butts. Some 1500 years later, Roman soldiers had a stone signal tower built at Ravenscar about the 4 th century AD. The first regular settlers, however, were probably Saxon peasants, followed by the Norsemen. The main colonists of this coast were Norwegians who were probably attracted by the rich glacial soil and ample fish, and this is how they survived by a mixture of farming and fishing. The likely original settlement of the Norsemen was at Raw, a hamlet slightly inland, which helped to avoid detection by other pirates.

After the Norman Conquest, the Manor of Fyling was given as the spoils of war to one of William the Conqueror’s relatives, Hugh of Chester. Eventually, it passed to the Percy family who gave the land to Whitby Abbey.

The first recorded reference to Robin Hood’s Bay was in 1536 by King Henry VIII’s topographer, Leland, who described ‘a fischer townelet of 20 bootes with Dok or Bosom of a mile yn length’. By now the cliff settlement had grown larger than the inland settlement, probably because they felt more secure from piracy and because it would be more convenient to walk from the boats. By 1540, the village was said to have fifty cottages by the shore (a large settlement at that time) so we can speculate that the present village originated somewhere in the 15 th century. In 1540, the chief tenant was Matthew Storm and his descendants still live in the area. At the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539, the land passed to the King who sold it to the Earl of Warwick. The Cholmleys and then the Stricklands became the final ‘Lords of the Manor’

It appears that in the 16th century, Robin Hood’s Bay was far more important than Whitby. In a series of Dutch sea charts published in 1586, Robin Hood’s Bay is indicated while Whitby is not even mentioned.

The actual origin of the name remains a mystery. There is not a scrap of evidence to suggest that Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest folklore visited the Bay. The name is more likely to have grown from legends with local origin and probably from more than one legend. Robin Hood was the name of an ancient forest spirit similar to Robin Goodfellow and the use of the name for such an elf or spirit was widespread in the country. Many natural features were named after these local folk of legend and, in time, stories crossed over from one legend to another. The traditional anecdotes probably go way back in time but as to their origin - who knows?

What we are more certain of is that in the 18 th century, Robin Hood’s Bay was reportedly the busiest smuggling community on the Yorkshire coast. Its natural isolation, protected by marshy moorland on three sides, offered a natural aid to this well-organised business which, despite its dangers, must have paid better than fishing.

Smuggling at sea was backed up by many on land who were willing to finance and transport contraband. Fisherfolk, farmers clergy and gentry alike were all involved. Fierce battles ensued between smugglers and excise men, both at sea and on land, and Bay wives were known to pour boiling water over excise men from bedroom windows in the narrow alleyways. Hiding places, bolt holes and secret passages abounded. It is said that a bale of silk could pass from the bottom of the village to the top without leaving the houses.

The threat of the excise men was not the only danger to Bayfolk. In the late 18 th century and early 19 th century, the Press Gangs were feared and hated. Sailors and fishermen were supposed to be exempt but, in reality, rarely were. Once ‘pressed’, their chances of returning to their homes were not high. Village women would beat a drum to warn the men folk that the Press Gangs had arrived and it was not unusual for the Press Gang to be attacked and beaten off.

The fishing industry reached its zenith in the mid 19 th century and a thriving community existed in Bay. The townsfolk liked to amuse themselves in the winter and there were dances almost every evening.

Church and chapel were well attended and funerals and weddings were occasions for a festival. Like other fishing villages, Bay had its own gansey pattern. From the early 19 th century, Robin Hood’s Bay began to attract visitors from the outside and this has continued to the present day.

With grateful thanks to the Fylingdales Local History Group.

1000 Years of Fylingdales History

1000	Raw and Thorpe had been settled by Norwegians and Danes
1066	Fylingdales belonged to Yorkshire Earl, Gospatric, who fled to Scotland rather than submit to William. William gave Fylingdales to Tancred the Fleming.
1069	Uprising in the north of England. Much land, including Fylingdales, laid waste.
1074	Abbey founded at Whitby with 240 acres of land from William de Percy.
1107-9	Tancred the Fleming leaves England and sells Fylingdales to the Abbot of Whitby.
1536	First mention of Robin Hood’s Bay in Whitby ‘Abbot’s Book’.
1538	Leland mentions Robin Hood’s Bay in his itinerary of the North of England.
1540	Whitby Abbey and estate, including RHBay, handed over to Henry VIII. Names such as King St, King’s Beck and Kingston Rd date from this time.
1563	Elizabeth I sold all her land at Fylingdales to Sir Richard Cholmley, including cottages at RHBay for £1,120. 12s. 6d.
1603	James I made John Farsyde bow bearer and ranger of Pickering when the Farsydes moved from Scotland to Fylingdales.
1616	Alum works opened at Old Peak (Ravenscar).
1629	Sir Hugh Cholmley rebuilt the Abbey Grange (Fyling Old Hall).
1630s	Land in RHBay for cottages sold on 1000 year leases.
1669	The ’Robin Hood’s Bay Halfpenny’ token was issued by Roger Dickinson, landlord of the Robin Hood Inn.
1757	John Wesley first preached in RHBay.
1773	Revenue cutters ‘Mermaid’ and ‘Eagle’ chased out of Bay by 4 smuggling vessels.
1779	Foundation stone laid of ‘new’ Weslyan Chapel in Low St. Pitched Battle between smugglers and excise men in the dock over 260 casks of brandy and geneva.
1780s	King St. and 22 cottages fall into the sea in a major cliff fall.
1790	New Road opened
Early 1800s	Robin Hood and Little John Friendly Society formed.
1806	RHBay named, along with Staithes, as ‘general rendezvous for large smuggling vessels which are given every facility by almost all the lower class of people and a large proportion of the higher ranks of society.’
1808	Raw Pasture Common enclosed by Act of Parliament.
1814	National School opened in Sunny Place. First Thorpe school opened.
1817	Stoupe Brow alum quarries closed. Bay’s fishing fleet consists of 5 large and 36 small cobles. Preventive boat stationed at Wayfoot with a ‘sitter’ and 6 armed men.
1818	First methodist chapel built at Thorpe (now Chapel Cottages).
1821-2	Old St Stephen’s Church rebuilt.
1822	Formation of the coastguard as an anti-smuggling force.
1830	First lifeboat at RH Bay.
1836	Old Bay Hotel washed away. Rebuilt and named ‘New Inn’.
1839	RHBay Lodge of Ancient Shepherds opened.
1840	Congregational Church (now United Reformed Church) built on Fisherhead. Independent Order of Oddfellows Lodge opened in RHBay.
1841	Methodist chapel in Low St. rebuilt and enlarged. Wesleyan school for 60 pupils opened. First census return.
1850	Sub Post Office established in King St.
1853	RH Bay Steam Packet Company formed.
1856	Raven Hill Cow Club formed for insurance of cows.
1860	Master Mariners Mutual Assurance Society formed for cases of shipwreck and death.
1861	New school built at Thorpe (now flats).
1863	May Queen ceremonies revived.
1864	Peak Alum Works closed.
1865	RH Bay at peak of prosperity. Over 170 ships owned by Bay families.
1868	First telegraph for Bay ship owners.
1870	Old St Stephen’s Church closed. New St Stephen’s Church opened on Thorpe Lane.
1871	First telegraph between Whitby and Bay.
1876	First horticultural show held.
1879	Centenary of Wesleyan Chapel. Ovens used in Chapel St to feed all visitors.
1881	‘Visiter’ rescue. First RNLI lifeboat delivered.
1885	Railway station opened at RHBay. First visitors arrive by rail.
1886	Police Station built on New Rd.
1891	Rev. Cooper bought building on Fisherhead and converted it into a mortuary and coroner’s room.
1892	Leo Walmsley born. Coal still being delivered to Bay by coastal colliers. ‘The Villa’, first house built on Mt. Pleasant sold for £470.
1894	Mt. Pleasant estate - 52 plots advertised for sale.
1896	New national school opened on Fisherhead.
1897	Victoria Hotel built.
1900	Brickworks opened below Old Peak alum works. Coroner’s room became a reading room.
1901	Ravenscar Estate auctions plots for homes at Ravenscar.
1903	New lifeboat, The Mary Ann Lockwood, launched.
1909	Reading room and library officially opened.
1910	Parish hall built near St. Stephen’s church.
1911	Steamer ‘Dunmail’ wrecked on Ness Point. First car down Bay Bank.
1917	St. Stephen’s old church reopened on 27 th May.
1919	Men’s Institute opened on King St.. Sailing ship ‘Cap Palas’ wrecked on beach, remaining there until 1920 when it sank whilst being towed away.
1920	Bay Hotel extended over the stable block.
1920s	New coastguard cottages and lookout built.
1925	Formation of the Fylingdales Group of Artists.
1927	‘Ben Read’ came ashore.
1928	W.I. started.
1931	Lifeboat station at RHBay closed on 23 rd April.
1932	Electricity came to Thorpe, Mount Pleasant and RH Bay.
1935	‘Turn of the Tide’ filmed. Best coal was £3 per ton . Beer came by rail.
1937	Methodist church moved from Chapel St. to Manor Rd.
1940	Tractors first appeared on local farms.
1941	The Observer Corps was formed
1942	German Messerschmitt 210 crashed at Sunnyside Farm.
1944	Halifax bomber LW585 crashed at Browside alum quarry. All 7 crew killed.
1946	First council houses built at Thorpe.
1947	Raw sports started.
1948	Lodge of Ancient Shepherds closed.
1950	Regent Cottage, the last to go over the cliff before the new sea wall was built.
1951	Boggle Hole Youth Hostel opened.
1952	Thorpe became Fylingthorpe in postal terms.
1953	Coronation celebrations. Oliver Storm, last coxswain of RHBay lifeboat, died.
1955	Mains electricity extended to Raw. Fylingdales Inn opened in its present building.
1959	St. Bede’s (Madonna House) opened. Mains electricity reached farms in Ramsdale.
1961	Leeds University demolished the Old Coastguard Station in the Dock.
1962	‘Wibury’ was bought for the W.I. By Mrs. Briggs.
1963	Fylingdales Local History Group formed.
1965	Closure of the railway between Whitby and Scarborough. Commons Registration Act required common rights on the moors to be registered.
1966	Leeds University Marine Laboratory opened.
1975	First edition of Bayfair published.
1977	Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations.
1979	Telephone exchange became Whitby 880 instead of RHBay.
1980	Museum opened. Robin Hood and Little John Friendly Society wound up.
1983	Parish Hall dismantled. Stone used for the new building.
1984	Storm damage to St. Stephen’s Church. Silver cross, candlesticks and vases stolen. New parish hall opened.
1985	Restoration of maidens garlands in old St. Stephen’s Church.
1987	Reading room and library closed.
1990	Observer Corps disbanded.
1991	Last RHBay village policeman left.
1992	Village Trust wound up.
1993	New surgery opened near Station Car Park by Miss M. Strickland, Lady of the Manor.
1994	Trawler ‘Saab J’ ran aground at Ness Point. Museum opened in old reading room. RHB Tourism Association formed. First Victorian Weekend.
1995	Bay’s snooker team won the Whitby league.
1996	Play coble ‘Josh Anne’ berths in Tracey Hutchinson play area at bank top.
1997	King St. Post Office closed. Fyling Hall School new sports hall opens.
1998	Charges imposed for residents car parking at RHBay. Village shops and post offices closed at Ravenscar and Hawsker.
1999	Re-enactment of ‘The Visiter’ rescue raised £25,000 for the RNLI. Len Turner retired. Millennium clock unveiled at Thorpe

This chronology was compiled mainly by members of the Fylingdales Local History Group and was published in ‘Bayfair’ between December 1999 and March 2000.