East Riding of Yorkshire (pop. 342,215) is a region in northeastern England. In 1996, the East Riding became a unitary authority, responsible for all local government services within its boundaries. The East Riding of Yorkshire lies on the north side of the Humber estuary, with the North Sea as its eastern boundary.
Agriculture is a large part of the economy of the East Riding. Farmers in the Wolds and the Vale of York grow cereal grains and root crops. Local industries include chemical production and the manufacture of clothing, engineering equipment, furniture, and vehicle and aircraft components. Tourism is also an important part of the local economy.
The seaside resorts of Bridlington, Hornsea, and Withernsea are all noted for their fine sandy beaches. Bridlington is the largest town in the East Riding. It has the beautiful remains of the nave of Bridlington Priory dating from the 1100’s. Hornsea is noted for its pottery industry based on a type of stiff local clay called boulder clay. Other towns in the East Riding include the busy port of Goole, on the River Ouse, and the market town of Howden. Other places of interest include the villages of Burton Agnes, Burton Constable, and Sledmere, which have magnificent historical houses.
Beverley is the administrative center and second largest town of the East Riding of Yorkshire. It has a monastery church dating from the 1200’s in the early English style of church architecture, and St. Mary’s Parish Church, also from the 1200’s. Beverley has a famous race track and cattle market.
There are many scenic coastal walks in the East Riding, passing through nature reserves, along clifftops, and past historic lighthouses. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has a reserve at Bempton Cliffs, where thousands of seabirds nest each year. Around Flamborough Head, the sea constantly wears away the coastline by erosion. Since the time of the ancient Romans, about 30 villages along the coast of the East Riding have disappeared as the sea gradually reclaimed the land.
History.
Evidence of human settlement in the East Riding dates back to about 5000 B.C. Archaeologists have discovered stone tools from this period. The Celtic culture, a technologically advanced Iron Age culture, arrived in the area around 300 B.C. When the Romans invaded Britain in A.D. 43, they found the area of the East Riding inhabited by the Parisii, descendants of the earlier Iron Age Celts. The Romans built several villas (country houses) in the region. In the 500’s, Angles from Denmark and northern Germany invaded the area north of the Humber, making it the foundation of their kingdom of Deira. Over the next 300 years, Deira expanded to cover the whole of what later became Yorkshire.
The history of East Riding as an administrative region dates from the 800’s, when Danish Vikings dominated the area that later became the county of Yorkshire. The Danes divided this area into three districts called ridings (from the Old Norse word thriding, meaning a third part): the North Riding, the West Riding, and the East Riding.
In 1066, King Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, defeated the invading army of his brother Tostig and King Harald Hardrada of Norway at Stamford Bridge. In 1399, Henry of Bolingbroke, later King Henry IV, landed at Ravenspurn, leading an army of 300 men in his successful bid to win the throne of England.
