The Hull, which is but a small river, has its source near the village of Lissett, about five miles from Burlington, and after running about twenty-six miles, in a southern direction, discharges itself into the Humber, on the east side of the town to which it gives name. It is navigable for small craft as far as Elmotlands about sixteen miles from its mouth. It contains many fish, such as roach, perch gudgeon, eels, and pike; and Driffield Beck, one of its tributaries, is famed for the size and excellence of its trout.
The Humber, which opposite to Hull, is nearly three miles broad, and about six fathoms deep in mid-channel, is formed by the junction of the Trent and the Ouse, about sixteen miles above Hull, and it discharges itself into the sea about twenty-four miles below that town. From the rapidity of the current, which at spring tides runs at the rate of five miles an hour, and from the numerous sand-banks which are in the river, the navigation of the Humber is both intricate and dangerous; for should a vessel get aground on one of the sands, she is extremely liable to be overset by the force of the tide. Such accidents are, indeed, by no means uncommon, for almost every year affords instances of vessels, both ships and river-craft, being lost in the Humber in this manner. In the upper part of the Humber, in the Trent, and in the Ouse between Trent-falls and Selby, the flood tide, more especially in a strong easterly wind, frequently rushes up the river like a wave, considerably raised above the water which it meets. This tidal wave is called by the people of Hull and its vicinity the "Ager,"—the g being pronounced hard; and from the murmuring sound which it makes, as it rolls onward and dashes against the shore, it has been supposed that the river was called the "Humber." Drayton, in his Poly-Olbion, thus notices the "Ager," or as he spells it, the "Higre," in his description of the Humber:—
"For when my Higre comes, I make my either shore
Ever tremble with the sound that I afarre doe send."
Taylor, the water-poet, observed this tidal wave in the estuary of the Wash below Boston:—
"It hath lesse mercy than beare, wolfe, or tyger,
And, in those countries it is called the Hyger."
Dryden, who had noticed it in the river Trent, calls it the "Eagre."
"But like an Eagre rode in triumph o'er the tide."
BURLINGTON QUAY.
The Engraving of Burlington Quay, from a painting by Balmer, presents a view of the entrance to the Harbour from the eastward. To the right is seen the inner part of the Old Pier, as it appeared after the great storm of 17th and 18th February, 1836. In front are the houses at the end of Quay Street, and to the left is the South Pier; between this and the shore two ships are perceived aground at the entrance of the inner harbour, which is nearly dry at low water. In the storm above alluded to, great injury was done to the old North Pier, and part of one of the houses to the right was washed down by the violence of the sea.
Burlington Quay lies about a mile to the north-east of the market-town of Burlington, and at the bottom of a bay of the same name. It is in the East Riding of Yorkshire, 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