Heritage Coast :

Flamborough Head is one of the most prominent features on the East Coast of England. Jutting out miles into the North Sea, the headland has in the past been effectively cut off by the construction, in the Iron Age, of the erroneously named Danes’ Dyke, which encloses five square miles of the peninsula. The village of Flamborough itself is situated in the centre of the Headland but the sound and smell of the sea are never far away.

Flamborough Head was defined as a Heritage Coast by the Countryside Commission and the local authorities concerned in October 1979. In October 1982 the Flamborough Headland Heritage Coast Project was launched to promote and encourage interest in the area.

Flamborough Head has much to offer. The lighthouse was built in 1806 by John Matson of Bridlington without the use of scaffolding, is 85 feet tall and stands atop a chalk cliff 170 feet high. Further back from the coast is the old Beacon light tower, dating from circa 1674, and the only known example in England. Recent restoration work has cast doubt on whether a fire was ever actually lighted atop the structure. It now stands, a gleaming monument to the rightful awe in which mariners beheld the jagged, dangerous coast.

The firing of two rockets to signal a vessel in distress would bring villagers racing to North Landing to witness the launching of the Lifeboat, a sight not easily forgotten. The new lifeboat is now stationed at South Landing. Lifeboatmen in the village, instead of being summoned by the rockets, are now paged instead. The sea off Flamborough is the resting place of many ships, none more famous than the Bonhomme Richard, flagship of John Paul Jones, which was sunk after the first action of the fledgling United States Navy in September 1779.