Bridlington Old Town TrailThis trail will take you around the historical Old Town of Bridlington which was originally the main part of the town. Quay Road took you to the smaller part of the town - at the quay, where the present day Harbour is still a thriving port.
Follow the trail as you stroll through the Old Town’s heritage and history, visiting the Priory Church and Bayle Museum. These are places of outstanding interest that you will want to visit to find out more about Bridlington Old Town, its links with the Monarchy of England and how it has developed over the years.
With its High Street, Market Place and greens, the old town was a major trading area for many of the surrounding villages which were dependent on the goods and products sold here. Cottage industries grew and developed around the Old Town. People had moved into the town with nowhere to live so wealthy owners of the area built tenements at the back of their properties and gave them work.
Today there are still many interesting buildings to look at and admire (look out for the blue plaques). Some of the older houses may date back from the 1600s but many were re-developed and altered in the 18th and 19th century.
Along the trail you will find restaurants, cafes, public houses and a variety of shops, and down Westgate there is a park which includes a bowling green.
Begin at the top of Market Place and walk down towards High Street.WP11 Coverley House.
Now 23 Market Place, this is a handsome late Georgian structure (circa 1800) at the north end of Market Place. A Miss Jennie Barmby and her sister Martha lived there in the 1870s to 80s and
ran it as a school for day and boarders of between 9 to 19 years old. This was then taken over by Mrs and Miss Harrison and
remained a school until 1895 when it became what we see today.
Walk on, and note the aptly named “Three Cottages” and Levisham
House opposite. No 18 was a public house called The Kings Head,
and further down on the left was the Nags Head which has been rebuilt on the original site but converted to a dental centre in 2013.DotWaypointsWP22 Corn Exchange House.
Corn Exchange House was built in 1824 on the east side of Market Place but it seems to have been little used by the dealers during the 1870s and was rebuilt in the original style in 1972.DotWaypointsWP33 The Pack Horse.
This inn was kept by Arthur W. Smith in 1895. Records mention it as a coaching inn in 1768 and by 1791 a coach service ran between Scarborough and Hull twice a week. By 1840 there was a thrice weekly service to Leeds and in 1846 a daily summer service to York began. A
horse bus service started running between the Old Town and the Quay
by 1880.DotWaypointsWP44 Stocks and Pillory.
Wooden stocks and a pillory were placed in Market Place around 1636. Wrongdoers faced public humiliation by being fastened into them and pelted with rubbish by the onlookers. The use of the stocks was abolished in England in 1837 and replicas of the stocks and pillory are
now in place in front of the Pack Horse Inn.DotWaypointsWP55 The Avenue.
This fine building is now a block of luxury apartments but has had a very chequered past. Built in 1714 (see fall pipe) by John Grimston, an Attorney. It was sold to Marmaduke Prickett in 1774. The house remained in the ownership of the Prickett family for nearly two centuries. There are several references in the Priory Church to the Bridlington branch of the family. In the late 1920s,
there is record of the house being used as a boarding house for Bridlington School, and in 1931 it was turned into Bridlington’s maternity hospital and in use until the 1980s. In the early 1990s the then derelict building was rescued and transformed into what we see today.DotWaypointsWP66 The Black Lion.
This public house had stabling for 40 horses. In the 1790s it was kept by Henry Cook. In the early 20th century and probably long before that it was the location of a weekly corn exchange. The shop front of No. 87 has a milestone below the window. This was in place before the building was erected. Walk on past The Globe and The Queens Hotel, both establishments that would have served the public and traders over the years.DotWaypointsWP77 The Chemist’s Shop.
This was once the chemist shop and it almost stood still in time until the chemist moved to its new location in 2008. In 1878 Robert Gatenby and his wife took over the shop. Mrs Gatenby was well
known for her medicinal remedies. The shop was fitted out with labelled drawers and shelves lined with blue topped jars. The heating in the shop is of some interest coming through carved grills under the counter. The original old balance scales were still used until the
use of the shop changed in 2008. Below ground the cellars are still lined with stone believed to be from the Priory.DotWaypointsWP88 67 High Street.
This property boasts its original Georgian shop frontage with brass rails to hold the glass in place. Generations of the Dale family ran successful businesses for over 150 years from here. In 1857 Edward and Matthew Dale are recorded to have used the property as ironmongers, tin plate workers, braziers, gasfitters, zinc workers and whitesmiths.DotWaypointsWP99 22 High Street.
This is the largest house in High Street, and may have originally been two properties dating from the 1700s. Most of its features, including the Tuscan doorway, are alterations which were made in 1825. It became a convent around 1930. Close by is No. 16 Craven
House. Dr Francis Johnson CBE (Architect) lived and worked here. The date of the original building is not known but there is evidence of a late 17th century house.DotWaypointsWP1010 The Bull & Sun.
This building was built for the Baron family in 1840 before becoming a public house, it was a haberdashery and the many upper rooms were for the live-in staff. The stairway leading to the upper rooms is notorious for the sightings of a Victorian ghost, sliding down the stair
banister.DotWaypointsWP1111 The Bayle.
The Bayle was built as the gateway to the Priory, after a licence to crenallate was granted in 1388. It survived destruction during the reformation in 1537 because it was being used as a courthouse to the Manor.
Its other subsequent uses include a Prison, School, Garrison, Town Hall and meeting room for the Lords Feoffees and Assistants of the Manor of Bridlington.
Today the Bayle houses a museum of local history, owned and maintained by the Lords Feoffees, which incorporates many interactive displays and focuses
on important characters from Bridlington’s history.
There are seven rooms and they are themed by subject to include prison, agriculture room, military room, collections room, court room, Bayle room and Victorian kitchen.DotWaypointsWP1212 Applegarth Baptist Chapel.
Down Applegarth Lane on the right is a small Baptist burial ground. Buried here is Robert Prudon, who founded the first Baptist congregation on 16th September 1698. He is commemorated on a headstone which is to the right of a gate.
Further down Applegarth Lane, to the left of the burial ground is a small and ancient Baptist Chapel, some believe it may be the original chapel built in 1699.DotWaypointsWP1313 Church Green.
Church Green is in front of the Priory Church is where cattle markets and twice yearly fairs were held, dealing in a variety of goods including horned cattle, linen, woollen cloth and toys. Now displayed on the green are prehistoric glacier boulders brought from as far as Cumbria, and later used as boundary stones. Read the plaque describing them.DotWaypointsWP1414 The Priory.
The Priory was once the largest and wealthiest in Yorkshire, and Kings and Queens came to visit. It was founded by the Lord of the Manor Gilbert de Gant in 1113 for Augustinian Canons with an adjoining Convent. Consequently the town expanded around it. The Prior John de Thweng (Thwing), who died in 1379,
was later canonised as St. John of Bridlington and because of this the Priory rapidly grew as a centre of pilgrimage.
Henry V came to pray at the shrine of St. John in 1415.
The nave is all that is left standing of the original monastery after the dissolution of the monasteries in 1537, it remained because it had always been used for
parochial purposes.
The main road from the Priory to York started at Kirkgate and ran through High Street and Westgate.
This present ‘scenic route’ to York still exists.DotWaypoints