Holderness
The city of Kingston upon Hull lies in the south-west corner of Holderness and Bridlington borders the north-east but both are usually considered separately.
The ancient market town of Beverley lies just to the west of the Holderness area, on the eastern slopes of the Yorkshire Wolds.
The only remaining rail link is the Yorkshire Coast Line that runs between Hull in the south and Bridlington and it tends to skirt the area towards the west.
The latitude of the area means that it is influenced by predominantly westerly winds with depressions and their associated fronts, bringing with them unsettled and windy weather, particularly in winter.
For its latitude this area is mild in winter and cooler in summer due to the influence of the Gulf Stream in the northern Atlantic Ocean.
The two dominant influences on the climate of the Holderness are the shelter against the worst of the moist westerly winds provided firstly by the Pennines and then the Yorkshire Wolds and the proximity of the North Sea.
Geologically, Holderness is underlain by Cretaceous chalk but in most places it is so deeply buried beneath glacial deposits that it has no influence on the landscape.
The glacial deposits form a more or less continuous lowland plain which has some peat filled depressions (known locally as meres) which mark the presence of former lake beds.
The Holderness coastline is susceptible to erosion due to the long north-easterly fetch, allowing for powerful waves, and the softness of the geology that make up the cliffs.
The area stretches from Flamborough Head (high chalk cliffs, just north of Bridlington) down to Spurn Point (sand spit, on above map).
It has been suggested that a large underwater reef made of tyres could be built off the Holderness coast to mitigate this erosion, but it would be costly to build.
Other defences include sea walls, groynes, and gabions but business people say that if the erosion is not stopped then there will be millions of pounds of damage.
[6] For the purpose of describing the natural history the area can be divided into three parts:- The River Hull valley dominates the western landscape of Holderness.
The upper tributaries of the river originate on the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds before entering the area of glacial and alluvial deposits of Holderness.
Otters have recently recolonised the upper reaches of the river, yet the European water vole is now confined to a few isolated populations.
Plants that are typical of these habitats including a variety of reeds, rushes and sedges as well as yellow flag, valerian and meadowsweet may be found.
There are few surviving areas of woodland among the open farmland which supports golden plover and lapwing and a flora of arable weeds.
The soft cliffs of Holderness are subject to rapid erosion whilst the eroded material is being deposited on the Spurn peninsula.
The intertidal system of the Humber estuary has local seagrass beds that provide feeding and wintering areas for over 133,000 waders and wildfowl.
Isostatic recoil is, however, causing the area to sink at the rate of 3 mm annually and global warming is making the sea level rise.
Managed realignment of the coast by setting back the coastal defences will provide new intertidal habitats and harness natural equalising processes and is the preferred long-term solution.
[7] There is archaeological evidence to suggest that the first settlers in Holderness arrived in the Neolithic era when the plain was still very wet and most likely consisted of a mixture of marshes, lakes, islands and woodland.
[9] After the Norman Conquest of England the extensive Lordship of Holderness was given by King William I to Drogo de la Beuvrière, a Flemish supporter.
She was given custody of her children Thomas and William, but outlived them and also her daughter Aveline, who married Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster (son of Henry III), but died aged 15.
The three small towns of Hedon, Hornsea and Withernsea offer a range of facilities and the bigger local centres of Bridlington and Beverley are regularly used by Holderness people.
[14] Industrial activity ranges from small workshop units in Hornsea and Withernsea to the Easington and Dimlington gas terminals on the east coast.
The British Petroleum chemical works at Saltend uses condensates from the gas refining process and is a major employer in the area.
"The Adventure of the Priory School", a Sherlock Holmes mystery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, takes place mostly in Holderness.
Other works of fiction based in, or around, Holderness include The Summoner's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer and South Riding by Winifred Holtby.
In "Spurn Head," part three of Will Self's Walking to Hollywood, the rapid erosion of the Holderness Coast is used as a metaphor for the effects of Alzheimer's disease.
