A-Z of Bridlington by Richard M. Jones
The East Yorkshire town of Bridlington is one of those places where many people know by name due to the vast amount of holidaymakers that have made this their go-to place during the summer months, but few will know the rich and varied history of the area and how this has shaped such a small area of the coast as well as had the effect on the people there.
It is hard to pinpoint just one or two things that are interesting about Bridlington, indeed writing A-Z of Bridlington was a pleasure because it allowed me to take bits of history and culture and write a short description to introduce the visitor to the fascinating aspects without delving too deep into just one aspect. But some of my personal favourite parts I would like to share today to give a rundown of just what Bridlington is as a whole.
On 10th February 1871 hundreds of ships had been anchored overnight to suddenly find that the winds were picking up and unfortunately these vessels were now trapped between the beach and a huge sandbank. What had previously been known as the Bay of Safety was now challenging that reputation as the old and rotten vessels started to go aground and be smashed up onto the beaches. The horrified locals launched two lifeboats but on the tenth rescue the Harbinger upended and killed six of the locals. The disaster ended up being known as The Great Gale of 1871 and with a death toll of around fifty sailors and lifeboatmen, a memorial ceremony on the anniversary continues to this day.
The number of famous people in Bridlington is an interesting aspect. Aviator Amy Johnson came to open Sewerby Hall where a vast display of her flying items is now on display today, Charlie Heaton from the TV show Stranger Things grew up in the town and Titanic violinist Wallace Hartley performed here in his early years. It would be almost a century after his death that the instrument he actually played during the sinking of the liner in 1912 would be located in the town and sold at auction for over £1million!
The buildings around the town have their own fascinating history as the 900-year-old Priory Church leads the way with the nearby Bayle, the church being mostly destroyed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536 and the Bayle being the meeting place for the Lords Feoffes and which is now a museum. Garrison Square down by the harbour used to have a huge castle-like structure that was the Royal Victoria Rooms. Built in 1847 and was the principal town hall as well as the town’s first cinema and host to a row of shops and houses on the outside. Upon the opening of the new Town Hall in 1932 the Rooms were not used as much and an electrical wiring fault led to a fire that destroyed the building in spectacular fashion in September 1933. Thanks to 19-year-old Kathleen Hackett raising the alarm, every person still inside managed to get to safety.
The Spa Theatre was opened in 1896 but after several fires it has been rebuilt and re-vamped on several occasions. Overlooking the south side beach, it has been host to a number of events such as concerts, conferences, stage shows and of course the Christmas panto!
With a town so close to the coast it was inevitable that it would be targeted during the Second World War and a succession of air raids led to many town shops being hit and some of the residential areas completely destroyed killing 27 people over the first few years of the war. Direct hits on the likes of the Britannia Hotel and Woolworths on Prince Street led to huge rescue operations taking place to free the people trapped in the wreckage, the likes of which led to Bridlington resident Thomas Alderson being awarded the very first George Cross for his efforts on three of these sites including the Woolworths bombing. Another attack in 1940 led to an ammunition train fire where three of the railway workers fought the blazes and stopped an even bigger catastrophe, a plaque to all three of them are now within the railway station today (two of these plaques were opened on the same day that A-Z of Bridlington was officially launched – I had to go from the opening of the plaques straight to the library to launch the book).
So this is just a small taste of the history and heroes that have made Bridlington the place it is today. I could write about this town for many more years to come (my other books have focuses solely on the Titanic connection, the Royal Victoria Rooms and nearby railway disasters). Who knows what fascinating aspects will be discovered in years to come.
A-Z of Bridlington by Richard M. Jones is available for purchase now.