Withernsea

Withernsea
Town and civil parish
Pier Towers, Withernsea
Withernsea is located in East Riding of Yorkshire
Withernsea
Withernsea
Location within the East Riding of Yorkshire
Population6,159 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid referenceTA344277
• London150 mi (240 km) S
Civil parish
  • Withernsea
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townWITHERNSEA
Postcode districtHU19
Dialling code01964
PoliceHumberside
FireHumberside
AmbulanceYorkshire
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
53°43′43″N 0°02′18″E / 53.7285°N 0.0382°E / 53.7285; 0.0382

Withernsea /ˈwɪðərnsi/ is a seaside resort town and civil parish in Holderness, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Its white inland lighthouse, rising around 127 feet (39 m) above Hull Road, now houses a museum to 1950s actress Kay Kendall, who was born in the town.

The Prime Meridian crosses the coast north-west of Withernsea.

At the 2011 UK census, Withernsea had a population of 6,159,[1] an increase on the 2001 UK census figure of 5,980.[2]

Withernsea education system consists of both Withernsea High School, and Withernsea Primary School.

History

[edit]
St Nicholas' Church

Like many seaside resorts, Withernsea has a wide promenade which reaches north and south from Pier Towers, the historic entrance to the pier, built in 1877 at a cost of £12,000. The pier itself was originally 399 yards (365 m) long, costing £14,000 in 1878, but was gradually reduced in length through several impacts by local ships, starting with the Saffron in 1880 before the collision by an unnamed ship in 1888, again by a Grimsby fishing boat and again by the Henry Parr in 1893, leaving the pier with a mere 50 feet (15 m) of damaged wood and steel, which was removed in 1903.[3] The Pier Towers have been refurbished.[4]

During the mid-19th century the Hull and Holderness Railway was constructed, connecting the nearby city of Hull with Withernsea (via Keyingham and Patrington) and making possible cheap and convenient holidays for Victorian workers and their families, as well as boosting Withernsea's economy. It closed in 1964 and all that remains of it is an overgrown footpath where the track used to be.[5][6]

Withernsea, like many British resorts, has suffered from a decline in the number of visiting holidaymakers.[7]

In 1916 a flying field (Owthorne), 35 acres (14 ha) in size was established by The Admiralty on the site now occupied by Withernsea High School. From June 1918 No. 506 Special Duty Flight (No. 251 Squadron) operated from Owthorne. Another 5 acres (2 ha) of land was requisitioned and Bessonneau hangars were constructed, and the site then became classified as an aerodrome. Activities ceased in June 1919 and Flight 506 was disbanded shortly thereafter.[8]

Withernsea sea front

Economy

[edit]

Following an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the Proudfoot Supermarket, Tesco opened a competing store which originally struggled to attract sales. Tesco resorted to a campaign of price flexing, offering customers £8 off for every £20 spent in their Withernsea branch.[9] This led to an investigation by the Competition Commission.[10][11] After their market share increased, Tesco prices returned to a level closer to the national average. Subsequently, Aldi took over the former Proudfoot supermarket, and are now offering very competitive opposition to Tesco. In the 21st century, Withernsea Town Council has bought a former pub and nightclub, centrally located opposite Aldi, and has renamed it the Meridian Centre. A lottery bid for over £400,000 – Reaching Communities building fund – was successful, and the building was refurbished to provide a community centre, including a cinema and performing arts venue by 2013.[12][13]

There is a 9-hole golf course and leisure centre complex (with a gym and indoor pool) and a variety of pubs and restaurants are situated around the centre of the town.[14]

Landmarks

[edit]
Withernsea Lighthouse

Some of the town's better-known tourist attractions and landmarks include:

Media

[edit]

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and ITV Yorkshire. Television signals are received from the Belmont TV transmitter.[20] The area is served by BBC Radio Humberside, Hits Radio East Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire, Seaside FM, Capital Yorkshire and Greatest Hits East Yorkshire.[21] Ofcom awarded Seaside FM a community radio licence to broadcast to the town on 105.3 MHz and the station launched on 5 October 2007 from studios at 27 Seaside Road. It ceased broadcasting in October 2022.[22] Weekly newspaper The Holderness Gazette also has offices on Seaside Road.[23]

Education

[edit]

There are a number of primary schools located in Withernsea which serve the surrounding area. Withernsea High School is the main secondary provider and has a technology college. The high school was refurbished in 2015.[24]

Public services

[edit]

Withernsea has its own hospital owned by the NHS which was subject to services cuts and lost its Accident and Emergency Department facility,[25] it is now a community hospital. Withernsea has five emergency service stations located within the town, Yorkshire Ambulance Service; Humberside Fire and Rescue Service; Humberside Police; Her Majesty's Coastguard and lifeboat station.[26]

Notable people

[edit]
[edit]
  • Withernsea Bus Depot
    Withernsea Bus Depot
  • Teddy's Amusements
    Teddy's Amusements
  • Valley Gardens
    Valley Gardens
  • Withernsea Bowling Club
    Withernsea Bowling Club
  • Withernsea beach, south promenade.
    Withernsea beach, south promenade.
  • Withernsea lighthouse at night.
    Withernsea lighthouse at night.
  • Coastal erosion to the south of Withernsea.
    Coastal erosion to the south of Withernsea.
  • South of Withernsea at low tide.
    South of Withernsea at low tide.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Withernsea Parish (1170211289)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  2. ^ UK Census (2001). "Local Area Report – Withernsea Parish (1543504330)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  3. ^ "Violent gale and snowstorm". The Hull Packet. No. 5134. 9 March 1883. p. 8.
  4. ^ "BBC Bus – Withernsea". BBC Humber. BBC. 22 August 2003. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  5. ^ Price, Peter (1 January 1989). Lost Railways of Holderness, The Hull Withernsea and Hull Hornsea Lines. Hutton Press Ltd. ISBN 0-907033-86-5.
  6. ^ Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
  7. ^ "Reinventing the seaside". BBC News Online. BBC. 19 August 2006. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  8. ^ Simmons, Geoffrey (2007). East Riding airfields : 1915–1920. Ottringham: Flight Recorder. ISBN 978-0-9545605-9-1. OCLC 76798530.
  9. ^ Pratley, Nils (6 January 2005). "Shop tactics". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  10. ^ "main party responses emerging thinking no 3" (PDF). Archived from the original on 11 June 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ^ "Groceries Market inquiry: Main party submission" (PDF). Archived from the original on 11 June 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ^ "The Meridian Centre - Project | The National Lottery Community Fund". tnlcommunityfund.org.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  13. ^ Wood, Alexandra (2 August 2013). "Memories are captured of living life on the edge". The Yorkshire Post. p. 8. ISSN 0963-1496.
  14. ^ "Withernsea Town Council – home page". Withernsea Town Council. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  15. ^ Winn, Christopher (2010). I never knew that about Yorkshire. London: Ebury. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-09-193313-5.
  16. ^ Hall, Deborah (16 May 2023). "Four best Yorkshire beaches as Blue Flag winners revealed". HullLive. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Withernsea Valley Gardens". visiteastyorkshire.co.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  18. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Nicholas (1366257)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  19. ^ "The spot near Withernsea where you can straddle two hemispheres". The Yorkshire Post. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Belmont (Lincolnshire, England) Full Freeview transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  21. ^ "Analogue Commercial Radio licences by size, control and approved area" (PDF). ofcom.org.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Ofcom | Community Radio Stations". static.ofcom.org.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Contact - The Holderness and Hornsea Gazette". holderness-gazette.co.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  24. ^ "£13 million school rebuild starts in Withernsea, Yorkshire – GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  25. ^ "Hospital – Withernsea Community Hospital Managing Trust Information". National Health Service. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  26. ^ Chrystal, Paul (2012). Lifeboat stations of North East England through time : from Sunderland to the Humber. Stroud: Amberley. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-4456-1376-5.
  27. ^ "Jazz great Baker dies". BBC News Online. BBC. 9 December 1999. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  28. ^ Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan; Bull, David (2013). All the Saints: A Complete Players' Who's Who of Southampton FC. Southampton: Hagiology Publishing. p. 334. ISBN 978-0-9926-8640-6.
  29. ^ "Kay Kendall: Blue plaque commemorates Withernsea actress". BBC News. BBC. 7 September 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  30. ^ Campbell, James (14 April 2018). "Britain's Got Talent returns to ITV – we look at what Hull's stars are doing now". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  • Gazetteer – A–Z of Towns Villages and Hamlets. East Riding of Yorkshire Council. 2006. p. 12.
  • "Parish and Town Council elections". East Riding Council. Retrieved 17 November 2014.

Sources

[edit]
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus; Neave, David; Neave, Susan (2005). Yorkshire – York and the East Riding. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300095937.
[edit]

Media related to Withernsea at Wikimedia Commons

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