Robin Hood's Bay is a small

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

village and a bay located in the

North York Moors National Park North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, south of

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

and north of

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

on the coast of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England. Bay Town, its local name, is in the ancient

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel of ease (chapel) which was the communi ...

Fylingdales Fylingdales is a civil parish in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England situated south of Whitby, within the North York Moors National Park. It contains the villages of Robin Hood's Bay and Fylingthorpe and Fyling Hall School. Ac ...

in the

wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, C ...

Whitby Strand Whitby Strand was a wapentake and liberty in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was one of thirteen wapentakes across the old North Riding of Yorkshire. The division of the area into the Liberty and Wapentake of Whitby Strand occurred in ...

. It is on the

Cleveland Way The Cleveland Way is a National Trail in the historic area of Cleveland in North Yorkshire, northern England. It runs between Helmsley and the Brigg at Filey, skirting the North York Moors National Park. History Development of the Clevela ...

national trail and also the end point of Wainwright's Coast to Coast route.

History

(Whitby, Robin Hood's Bay, Yorkshire, England) (LOC) (16180464504)

Toponymy

The origin of the name is uncertain, and it is doubtful (even if such a person existed), that

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

was ever in the vicinity of the village. An English ballad and legend tell a story of Robin Hood encountering French

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

who came to pillage the fishermen's boats and the northeast coast. The pirates surrendered and Robin Hood returned the loot to the poor people in the village that is now called Robin Hood's Bay.

Early history

By about 1000 the neighbouring hamlet of Raw and village of Thorpe (Fylingthorpe) in Fylingdales had been settled by

Norwegians Norwegians ( no, nordmenn) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the N ...

and

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

. After the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

in 1069 much land in

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

, including Fylingdales, was laid waste.

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

gave Fylingdales to Tancred the Fleming who later sold it to the Abbot of Whitby. In the period 1324–1346 there was an early reference to Robin Hood's Bay. Louis I, Count of Flanders, wrote a letter to

King Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

in which he complained that Flemish fishermen together with their boats and catches were taken by force to Robyn Oeds Bay. The settlements were about a mile inland at Raw but by about 1500 a settlement had grown up on the coast. "Robin Hoode Baye" was mentioned by Leland in 1536 who described it as, Fisher Folk in Robin Hood's Bay , 1880

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540,

Whitby Abbey Whitby Abbey was a 7th-century Christian monastery that later became a Benedictine abbey. The abbey church was situated overlooking the North Sea on the East Cliff above Whitby in North Yorkshire, England, a centre of the medieval Northumbrian ...

and its lands became the property of

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

with King Street and King's Beck dating from this time. In the 16th century, Robin Hood's Bay was a more important port than Whitby, it is described by a tiny picture of tall houses and an anchor on old

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

charts published by Waghenaer in 1586 and now in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

's Maritime Museum.

Smuggling

The village, which consists of a maze of tiny streets, has a tradition of

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

, and there is reputed to be a network of subterranean passageways linking the houses. During the late 18th century smuggling was rife on the Yorkshire coast. Vessels from the continent brought contraband which was distributed by contacts on land and the operations were financed by syndicates who made profits without the risks taken by the seamen and the villagers. Tea, gin, rum, brandy and tobacco were among the contraband smuggled into Yorkshire from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and France to avoid the duty. In 1773 two excise cutters, the ''Mermaid'' and the ''Eagle'', were outgunned and chased out of the bay by three smuggling vessels, a schooner and two shallops. A pitched battle between smugglers and excise men took place in the dock over 200 casks of brandy and geneva (gin) and 15 bags of tea in 1779.

Fishing, farming and lifeboats

Robin Hoods Bay Whitby North Yorkshire Fishing Beach

Fishing and farming were the original occupations followed by generations of Bay folk. Many houses in the village were built between 1650 and 1750 and whole families were involved in the fishing industry. Many families owned or part-owned cobles. Later some owned ocean-going craft. Fishing reached its peak in the mid 19th century, fishermen used the coble for line fishing in winter and a larger boat for herring fishing. Fish was loaded into panniers and men and women walked or rode over the moorland tracks to Pickering or York. A plaque in the village records that a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

named "Visiter" ran aground in Robin Hood's Bay on 18 January 1881 during a violent storm. In order to save the crew, the lifeboat from

was pulled 6 miles overland by 18 horses, with the 7 feet deep snowdrifts present at the time cleared by 200 men. The road down to the sea through Robin Hood's Bay village was narrow and had awkward bends, and men had to go ahead demolishing garden walls and uprooting bushes to make a way for the lifeboat carriage. It was launched two hours after leaving Whitby, with the crew of the "Visiter" rescued on the second attempt. The main legitimate activity had always been fishing, but this started to decline in the late 19th century. These days most of its income comes from tourism. Robin Hood's Bay is also known for the large number of

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s which may be found on its beach. The foreshore rocks on the north side of the bay, in particular, are a well known location for finding

ammonites Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttlefish) ...

, especially after winter storms. In 1912, Professor

Walter Garstang Walter Garstang FLS FZS (9 February 1868 – 23 February 1949), a Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford and Professor of Zoology at the University of Leeds, was one of the first to study the functional biology of marine invertebrate larvae. His ...

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, in cooperation with Professor Alfred Denny of the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

, established the Robin Hood's Bay Marine Laboratory, which continued on the site for the next 71 years, closing in 1983.

Governance

Robin Hood's Bay was part of the chapelry of Fylingdales in the Liberty of Whitby Strand which was a

in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...

Geography

Robin Hood's Bay is built in a fissure between two steep cliffs. The village houses were built mostly of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

with red-tiled roofs. The main street is New Road, which descends from the cliff top where the manor-house, the newer houses and the church of St Stephen stand. It passes through the village crossing the King's Beck and reaches the beach by a cobbled slipway known as Wayfoot where the

beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

discharges onto the beach. The cliffs are composed of Upper

Lias Lias may refer to: Geology * Lias Formation, a geologic formation in France *Lias Group, a lithostratigraphic unit in western Europe * Early Jurassic, an epoch People * Godfrey Lias, British author * Mohd Shamsudin Lias (born 1953), Malaysian ...

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

capped by Dogger and False Bedded Sandstones and shales of the Lower

Oolite Oolite or oölite (''egg stone'') is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Ancient Greek word for egg (ᾠόν). Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 ...

. The ''Wine Haven Profile'' near Robin Hood's Bay is the Global Stratotype Section and Point (

GSSP A Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) is an internationally agreed upon reference point on a stratigraphic section which defines the lower boundary of a stage on the geologic time scale. The effort to define GSSPs is conducted b ...

) of the

Pliensbachian The Pliensbachian is an age of the geologic timescale and stage in the stratigraphic column. It is part of the Early or Lower Jurassic Epoch or Series and spans the time between 190.8 ± 1.5 Ma and 182.7 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago). The Plien ...

Epoch (183,0–189,6 mya), one of four chronographic substages of

Early Jurassic The Early Jurassic Epoch (geology), Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic series (stratigraphy), Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-J ...

Epoch. The headlands at each end of the beach are known as Ness Point or North Cheek (north) and Old Peak or South Cheek (south).

Transport

The village was once served by

Robin Hood's Bay railway station Robin Hood's Bay railway station was a railway station on the Scarborough & Whitby Railway situated from Scarborough and from Whitby It opened on 16 July 1885, and served the fishing village of Robin Hood's Bay, and to a lesser extent the v ...

on the

Scarborough and Whitby Railway The Scarborough & Whitby Railway was a railway line from Scarborough to Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. The line followed a difficult but scenic route along the North Yorkshire coast. The line opened in 1885 and closed in 1965 as part of ...

line which opened in 1885 and closed in 1965. The track of the old railway is now a footpath and cycleway. The nearest railway station is in

. The village connects to the A171 allowing access to Whitby and

. The X93 Arriva bus service between Scarborough and

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

passes through Robin Hood's Bay every hour, increasing to every 30 minutes or every 20 minutes during the summer. Robin Hood's Bay is the eastern terminus of Wainwright's

Coast to Coast Walk The Coast to Coast Walk is a long-distance footpath between the west and east coasts of Northern England, nominally long. Devised by Alfred Wainwright, it passes through three contrasting national parks: the Lake District National Park, th ...

. Robin Hood's Bay is also on the coastal section of the

, a long-distance footpath.

Religion

St Stephens Church Robin Hoods Bay 4 (Nigel Coates)

Robin Hood's Bay is in the parish of Fylingdales which contains two churches both dedicated to St Stephen. The

Old St Stephen's Church, Fylingdales Old St Stephen's Church is a redundant Anglican church standing on a hillside in Fylingdales, overlooking Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed ...

, on the hill side at Raw, above the village, replaced an ancient church which had

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

origins and was demolished in about 1821 and was a dependent chapel of

. A new church, also St Stephen's, designed by

George Edmund Street George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccle ...

, was built in 1870.

Culture

The novel ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

'' by

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...

, written in 1897, has scenes set in Robin Hood's Bay. Abraham visited the area recreating the steep steps and the sightings of the red eyes, the ship that ran aground with the immense dog, the dog being none other than Dracula. Robin Hood's Bay is the setting for the ''Bramblewick'' novels (''Three Fevers'', ''Phantom Lobster'', ''Foreigners,'' ''Sally Lunn, Master Mariner'' and ''Sound of the Sea'') by

Leo Walmsley Leo Walmsley (29 September 1892–8 June 1966) was an English writer. Walmsley was born in Shipley, West Riding of Yorkshire, but brought up in Robin Hood's Bay in the North Riding. Noted for his fictional ''Bramblewick'' series, based on Robi ...

(1892–1966), who was educated in the schoolroom of the

old Wesleyan Chapel Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...

, in the lower village. The 1935 film ''Turn of the Tide'', based on Walmsley's ''Three Fevers'', was filmed in the village. In 1925, the

Fylingdales Group of Artists The Fylingdales Group of Artists is a group of Yorkshire-based artists in England. The group was founded in 1925 at Denton Hawley's studio, located at Robin Hood's Bay in Yorkshire. Initially, there were eight members, including Owen Bowen, Dam ...

was founded at Denton Hawley's studio in Robin Hood's Bay. In 1948, ''

LIFE Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazine ran a story of an unknown Poison Penman who had been writing spiteful anonymous letters to the inhabitants of Robin Hood's Bay since 1928. The 2008 film '' Wild Child'' contains several scenes filmed at Robin Hood's Bay. The 2017 film ''

Phantom Thread ''Phantom Thread'' is a 2017 American historical drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, and starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps and Lesley Manville. Set in 1950s London, it stars Day-Lewis as an haute couture dressmaker w ...

'' starring Daniel Day-Lewis features a number of Robin Hood's Bay locations, including the classic interior of the Victoria Hotel and the clifftops above the village. ''Missing in Time'', a novel by Catherine Harriott, is set in Robin Hood's Bay and contains references and descriptions of local history, geography and culture. "Robin Hood's Bay" is a poem by children's poet

Michael Rosen Michael Wayne Rosen (born 7 May 1946) is a British children's author, poet, presenter, political columnist, broadcaster and activist who has written 140 books. He served as Children's Laureate from 2007 to 2009. Early life Michael Wayne Ro ...

. The ''Bayfair'' newspaper contains news and local information on the village. Wireless Internet access is provided for visitors all around the village by the Bay Broadband Co-operative.

Notable people

Eileen Colwell Eileen Hilda Colwell (16 June 1904 – 17 September 2002) was a pioneer children’s librarian, "the doyenne of children's librarianship in Great Britain". Life Born at The Manse, Robin Hood’s Bay, Fylingdales, near Whitby in North Yorkshir ...

, librarian, born in Robin Hood's Bay *

Steve Huison Steve Huison (born 2 December 1962) is a British actor who is mostly seen on television and occasionally in films. He is best known as “Lomper” in the film ''The Full Monty'' (1997) and for his role as Eddie Windass in ''Coronation Street'' ...

, actor (''

The Full Monty ''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film is s ...

''), has lived in Robin Hood's Bay *

, lived in the village between 1894 and 1913

Gallery

File:Robin Hood's Bay - Dame Ethel Walker - ABDAG003562.jpg, ''Robin Hood's Bay'' by Dame Ethel Walker,

Aberdeen Art Gallery Aberdeen Art Gallery is the main visual arts exhibition space in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1884 in a building designed by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, with a sculpture court added in 1905. In 1900, it received the art ...

File:RobinHoodsBay.jpg, King Street in Robin Hood's Bay File:Robin Hood Bay.jpg, Robin Hood's Bay - view from the sea File:Robin Hoods Bay from the Cleveland Way.jpg, Robin Hood's Bay from the

File:Robin hoods bay 2005.jpg,

Morris Dance Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may ...

rs in Robin Hood's Bay

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * *
abstract

External links

Local informationRobin Hood's Bay community informationLost Brig
The ''brig Elizabeth Jane'', launched at Guysborough,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, in 1817, was abandoned off Robin Hood's Bay on 8 July 1854. Her crew were picked up by the ''Samuel'' of

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linco ...

and set down at

Bridlington Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 Cen ...

Quay on the morning of 9 July. The vessel washed ashore at Ravenscar and was built into a house at Robin Hood's Bay. Her timbers, including nameboard and port of registration board, were only discovered when a cottage ceiling was removed in 2003. {{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire National Trust properties in North Yorkshire Bays of North Yorkshire Tourist attractions in North Yorkshire Populated coastal places in North Yorkshire Fishing communities Beaches of North Yorkshire Fishing communities in England