Once there was a Roman settlement on what is now Filey Brig. In Holderness, a prosperous town called Ravenser saw kings and princes on its soil, and its progress threatened the good people of Grimsby. But the Romans and the Ravenser folk are long gone, as are their streets and buildings sunk beneath the hungry waves of what was once the German Ocean. Lost to the Sea: The Yorkshire Coast and Holderness tells the story of the small towns and villages that were swallowed up by the North Sea. Old maps show an alarming number of such places that no longer exist. Over the centuries, since prehistoric times, people who settled along this stretch have faced the constant and unstoppable hunger of the waves, as the Yorkshire coastline has gradually been eaten away. County directories of a century ago lament the loss of communities once included in their listings; cliffs once seeming so strong have steadily crumbled into the water. In the midst of this, people have tried to live and prosper through work and play, always aware that their great enemy, the relentless sea, is facing them.As the East Coast has lost land, the mud flats around parts of Spurn, at the mouth of the Humber, have grown. Stephen Wade s book tells the history of that vast land of Holderness as well, which the poet Philip Larkin called the end of land. AUTHOR: Stephen Wade is a biographer and social historian, usually known for his writing on crime history. Here he turns his historian s eye to the coast of his home county. He has lived close to the Humber for many years, and worked in Hull for over a decade, but never written about this area until now. His most recent books include ‘Going to Extremes, The Justice Women’ and three volumes in the ‘Your Town in the Great War’ series (all Pen & Sword), and ‘No More Soldiering’ (Amberley). 30 illustrations
