The Ports, Harbours, Watering-places and Picturesque Scenery of Great Britain Vol. 1. Finden William

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СКАЧАТЬ and is about two hundred and eight miles from London, forty from York, and twenty from Scarborough. The earliest mention of it as a harbour occurs in a mandate of King Stephen, addressed to the Sheriff of Yorkshire, commanding him to allow the Prior of Burlington to hold it on the same terms as Walter de Gaunt, and Gilbert, his ancestor, had held the same. During the time that it was in the possession of the Priors of Burlington, it seems to have been an inconsiderable place; but subsequently, as the coal trade between London and the northern parts of the kingdom increased, it began to be of greater importance as a harbour, in consequence of its affording shelter in stormy weather to vessels engaged in that trade. In 1546, an act was passed imposing a duty for erecting the piers and keeping them in repair; and, in 1614, a second act was passed, upon a petition from the merchants and ship-owners of the eastern coast, imposing a duty, for the same purposes, on all coals shipped at Newcastle. Since 1614, several other acts have been obtained, authorising the levy of duties and tolls for the purpose of improving the harbour and repairing the piers; and since 1816, the sum thus collected has averaged about £1,750 per annum.

      The harbour at Burlington Quay is almost entirely the work of art, as the small stream which there runs into the sea is scarcely sufficient to turn a mill. Its locality seems to render it one of the most appropriate stations for a harbour of refuge between the Frith of Forth and Yarmouth Roads, more especially in gales of wind from the north-eastward; but unfortunately it can only be entered by comparatively small vessels, as the depth of water at the entrance is only from ten to twelve feet at neap-tides, and from fourteen to sixteen feet at springs. The harbour is also so small, that fifty sail of colliers taking shelter there would render it extremely crowded.

      The history of Burlington Quay, considering it as a separate place from the town of Burlington, is extremely meagre. The most remarkable event which its annals record is the landing there of Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles I., on her return, in 1643, from Holland, whither she had been to conduct her newly-married daughter to her husband, the Prince of Orange, and where she pledged part of the crown jewels in order to obtain money to purchase arms for the Royalists. The Queen, who was attended by a convoy of Dutch men-of-war, under the command of Admiral Van Tromp, landed at Burlington Quay, on the 22nd of February. The Parliamentary admiral, Batten, who had been cruising, with four ships, for the purpose of intercepting her, having received intelligence of her arrival, sailed into the bay and began to cannonade the town. Several of the shot struck the house in which the Queen was lodged, so that she was obliged to leave it, and take shelter in a ditch in a neighbouring field. A serjeant was killed near her, and the Parliamentary admiral continued his fire until the reflux of the tide and the threats of Van Tromp compelled him to desist.

      Burlington Quay is much frequented in summer as a bathing-place; and many persons prefer its quiet and retirement to the greater gaiety of Scarborough. The beach, to the northward of the quay, affords excellent opportunities for bathing, and the walks and rides in the vicinity are extremely pleasant. A visit to Flamborough Head, which is only about five miles distant, forms a highly interesting excursion either by land or water.

      The market-town of Burlington, or, as it is frequently spelled, Bridlington, is situated about a mile to the north-westward of the quay.

      FLAMBOROUGH HEAD

      The view of Flamborough Head, drawn by Balmer, is taken from the cliffs to the north-west. To the left is the promontory properly called "The Head," at a short distance from which stands the lighthouse. Between the Head and the nearer cliffs is a small haven, which is used as a landing place by the fishermen of the village of Flamborough, which lies about a mile to the south-west of the lighthouse.

      Flamborough Head, which lies about eighteen miles southward of Scarborough, and four and a half miles northward of Burlington, is one of the most remarkable promontories on the eastern coast. It projects about five miles into the sea, from a line drawn between Burlington Quay and Filey; and its southern side forms the northern boundary of Burlington Bay. The cliffs, which are of limestone rock, are from three hundred to four hundred feet high, and their crumbling sides form the haunt and the breeding place of innumerable flocks of sea-birds: among which are cormorants, puffins, razor-bills, and guillemots, with gulls and terns of several species. Guillemots, which are here extremely numerous, are known to the seamen of Shields and Newcastle by the name of "Flamborough-head pilots," as their presence in considerable numbers is almost a certain indication of the ship being "off the Head." Great numbers of those feathered denizens of the cliff are killed every year by "parties of pleasure," from Burlington, Scarborough, and other places, who visit the "Head" for the sake of indulging in the heartless sport, which requires neither skill nor courage, of killing birds by wholesale. At the foot of the cliff, which to the north-west is much indented, there are several caverns and large insulated masses of rock. The largest of those caverns, called Robert Lyth's Hole, has two openings, the one communicating with the land and the other exposed to the sea. The roof, though low at the landward entrance, is in some places fifty feet high; and the view, looking through the rocky vault towards the sea, is extremely grand.

      Flamborough Head, which is a most important land-mark for vessels navigating the eastern coast, lies in 54° 8' north latitude; longitude 2' 30" west. A revolving light is displayed from the lighthouse from sunset to sunrise, and presents, first the appearance of two lights on the same tower, and next a brilliant red light. Each of those lights appears at intervals of two minutes; and after gradually attaining their greatest lustre, they in the same manner decline and become eclipsed.

      Between Flamborough Head and Burlington Quay, is situated Burlington Bay, a secure roadstead in north-east gales; and, during the prevalence of such winds, it is not unusual for three hundred ships to be riding there at the same time, sheltered from the violence of the wind and sea by the lofty promontory. On the south-east, the Bay is partially sheltered from the violence of the sea by the Smithwick Sands, which run nearly in a line with the coast, from Burlington Quay to Flamborough Head. At each extremity of those sands there is a channel leading into the Bay; that towards the Head is called the North Sea; and the other, towards Burlington, the South Sea. Though the Smithwick Sands effectually break the violence of the sea at low water, yet at high water, when they are covered to a considerable depth, the protection which they afford, in gales of wind from the south-eastward, is not to be depended on. Vessels, therefore, leave the Bay as soon as the wind changes to east or south-east, as it no longer affords them sufficient security; the protection of the Smithwick Sands not being equivalent to the risk of the lee-shore, to which they would be exposed in a gale from the south-east. Were the harbour of Burlington, which is situated to the westward of the Bay, enlarged and deepened, its importance, as a place of refuge for vessels compelled to leave the Bay from the wind changing to the eastward, would be very greatly increased. Could it be so enlarged as to admit one hundred vessels, of from 200 to 300 tons each, it would, with the Bay, afford a place of refuge in all storms from north-east to south-east, which are generally the most destructive on the eastern coast.

      SCARBOROUGH

      In this view of Scarborough, by Harding, which is taken from the southward, the most conspicuous object is the Lighthouse on the Old Pier, or, as it is sometimes called, Vincent's Pier, from the name of the engineer, by whom the outer portion was erected about the year 1750. Beyond the pier are seen the masts of vessels lying in the harbour; to the left are the houses, which are built near the shore between West Sand-gate and Bland's Cliff; and on the height are the barracks, with the ruins of the old castle, a little further distant, to the left.

      Though the name of Scarborough appears to be of Saxon origin, yet as the place is not mentioned in any author who wrote before the Conquest, nor in the Domesday-book, we cannot reasonably suppose it to have been of much importance, either during the Saxon period, or at the time when the Conqueror's survey was made. The castle of Scarborough was built about 1163, by William le Gros, Earl of Albemarle and Holderness; and from that period the authentic history of the town commences. The castle is situated to the north-eastward of the town, and is built on the isthmus of a peninsula, which comprises an area of about sixteen acres, and is bounded on the north, east, and south by inaccessible СКАЧАТЬ