Filey
| Filey | |
 Filey viewed from Filey Brigg |
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 Arms of Filey Town Council |
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  Filey |
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| Population | 6,981 (2011 census)[1] |
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| 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 | Thirsk and Malton |
Coordinates: 54°12′36″N 0°17′21″W / 54.2101°N 0.2893°W
Filey is a small town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the East Riding of Yorkshire, it is part of the borough of Scarborough between Scarborough and Bridlington on the North Sea coast. Although it was a fishing village, it has a large beach and became a popular tourist resort. According to the 2011 UK census, Filey parish had a population of 6,981,[1] an increase on the 2001 UK census figure of 6,819.[2]
Geography
Filey is at the eastern end of the Cleveland Way, a long-distance footpath; it starts at Helmsley and skirts the North York Moors. It was the second National Trail to be opened (1969). The town is at the northern end of the Yorkshire Wolds Way National Trail which starts at Hessle and crosses the Yorkshire Wolds. Filey is the finishing point for Great Yorkshire Bike Ride. The 70-mile (110 km) ride begins at Wetherby Racecourse.
Filey has a railway station on the Yorkshire Coast Line. A second station at Filey Holiday Camp railway station to the south of the town served the former Butlins holiday camp. The camp has been re-developed into a 600-home holiday housing development, The Bay Filey.[3] It is one of the largest coastal developments of this kind in the UK and the first homes were completed in 2007.[4]
In July 2007 Filey was hit by flash floods which caused major problems.[5][6]
History
The 12th century parish church dedicated to St Oswald, on Church Hill in the north of the town, is a Grade I listed building.[7] It is the oldest building in Filey and Nicholas Pevsner wrote "This is easily the finest church in the NE corner of the East Riding" (Buildings of England).[8]
Filey was a small village until the 18th century when visitors from Scarborough arrived seeking the peace and quiet that Filey then offered. In 1835 a Birmingham solicitor called John Wilkes Unett bought 7 acres (28,000 m2) of land and built the Crescent, later known as the Royal Crescent, which was opened in the 1850s.
English composer Frederick Delius stayed as a boy on the Crescent with his family at Miss Hurd's boarding house (number 24) in 1876 and 1877, and then at Mrs Colley's (number 24) in 1897.
In 1931 the spire of a church was damaged by the Dogger Bank earthquake.
For more than 40 years Butlin's Filey Holiday Camp was a major factor in Filey's economy. Building began in 1939 and continued during the Second World War when it became an air force station known as RAF Hunmanby Moor. In 1945 it became a popular holiday resort with its own railway station and by the late 1950s could cater for 10,000 holiday makers. It closed in 1984, causing a decrease in the holiday makers visiting Filey.[9]
Filey was historically split between the North Riding of Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire, with the boundary running along Filey Beck. When County Councils were formed by the Local Government Act 1888, the whole of Filey was placed in the East Riding.[10]
Coast and Country Housing Limited
Coast & Country Housing Limited plan to build 300 houses in Filey. Scarborough council has approved plans for the £45 million housing project off Muston Road by Coast & Country. Independent councillor Sam Cross, who represents Filey on the borough council, said: "The infrastructure of the town can't cope with it."[11] Coast and Country replied to the concerns by stating that the houses are being built to meet a pent-up latent demand for affordable housing and other housing within the town.[11]
Parliamentary representation
Filey was in the Ryedale constituency until the 2010 general election when it became part of the newly formed Thirsk and Malton constituency.
Notable people
- Leo Blair, the father of Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was born in Filey.[12]
References
- 1 2 "Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics: Area: Filey CP (Parish)". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
- ↑ "2001 Census: Key Statistics: Parish Headcounts: Area: Filey CP (Parish)". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 7 July 2008.
- ↑ Greenwood, Lynne (26 October 2006). "Hi de Hi for a holiday home". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ↑ "Home page". The Bay Filey. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- ↑ "Floods Hit". Filey & Hunmanby Mercury. 18 July 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
- ↑ "Flash floods hit east coast town". BBC. BBC News Online. 18 July 2007. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
- ↑ Historic England. "Church of St Oswald (1316455)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ↑ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Neave, David (2002) [1972]. Yorkshire: York and the East Riding: The Buildings of England (2nd ed.). Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09593-7.
- ↑ "Filey is an Anglican name". Filey & Hunmanby Mercury. 24 August 2005. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- ↑ Local Government Act 1888#Towns on county boundaries
- 1 2 "Filey new homes plan approved by Scarborough council". BBC News. BBC. 21 February 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- ↑ "Leo Blair: Barrister who began as a Conservative but followed his son into the Labour Party". The Independent. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Filey. |
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Filey. |