The Changing Face of Easington

There follows a series of articles on the changing face of the village of Easington.

Showing some of the visual changes in buildings identified with maps, with some historical notes and a few local tales thrown in for interest.

Over the years there have been a number of archaeological digs, and these have revealed a rich history, with evidence of occupations from the Neolithic Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age, then Romano-British and Roman period.

Inclosure map of 1771
The old Inclosure coloured green

The village around 1771

The village around 2001

Easington is first mentioned in the Doomsday survey in 1086, known as Esintone (Esa’s farm) it had two open fields East Field and West Field, a common meadow named Waters and a common pasture called Firthholme.

The church of All Saint’s was built and consecrated in 1190, built on an earlier building that existed there and is thought to have been of Saxon origin.

The area has mostly predominantly been agricultural and fishing back ground with arable farming being most prevalent. As with nearly all villages there were also many trades that kept a village alive and thriving, records show the list of trades including brick layers, carpenters, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, cobblers, milliners, tailors, millers,(There is mention of a windmill in 1260) butchers, shop keepers, inn-keepers and at one time a taxidermist!

Moving through time to the present day, there have been many modern developments in and around the village, with the discovery of North Sea gas in 1966, first natural gas in the country coming ashore in 1967. There are now three main gas terminals here, with the original BP terminal now almost totally dismantled. Seven wind powered turbines based on shore and two large off shore wind farms, now starting a new development of carbon capture, Easington is an integral part of the energy coast and a major contributor of the nation’s energy.

In addition the local caravan sites of Long Beach and Sandy Beaches at Kilnsea, they have played an important part in the growing development of the area with tourism and ornithology.

Compiled by
Mike Welton.
2023

The Changing Face of Easington - Baulk End

When approaching the village of Easington, on what is now referred to as Hull Road, it was in the past called Skeffling Road, as this was the next village along from Easington, but with the advent of many more people travelling for both jobs and leisure, it shows how the boundaries of people’s worlds have expanded over the years.

On the original Enclosure map of Easington 1771, this only shows landowners, and no buildings or dwellings are visible. Only four buildings are shown at Baulk End.

Enclosure map 1771

In a later map of 1888 Baulk End Cottages can be seen and very little else appears along that road, until you get to the farm house on the corner.

Enclosure map 1888

Postcard 1905

A post card from 1905 clearly shows the open road out of the village
with no other buildings in sight, and the farm house on the corner.

Baulk End view

A further view of the farm house on the corner
after a barn had been turned in to a dwelling.

Many years ago the first dwelling of any sort that you first met would be building called High House, this was on the right hand side of the road in the first field down Westfield Lane, no trace of it appears now, neither has any photo come to light.

First recorded house

First recorded dwelling - High House.

The first house after that, although built some time later, was The White House. The entrance also being down Westfield Lane. The late Mr John Quinton built this; he manufactured a mould to make concrete building blocks then built the house himself.

The White House.

Continuing along the road was the vicarage, (built 1922) and the bungalow Windy Ridge as can be seen along Hull Road viewed from the church tower.

The Vicarage 1922.

A modern picture of the road leading out of Easington with all the modern buildings and expansion of the village that has occurred over the years, with Dimlington Bungalows, Wheatcroft, Newland, Mountain Ash House, Westfield Close, Banks Close, The Haven, The Paddock, Merrilea, Homeleigh, Sunnyside, Tara, The Gables, Sandalwood, Westholme, Stiancot, Two Hoots, Tringa Cottage, Briony, Dingley Dell, Candida, all dwellings that are all relatively new additions.

Hull Road - present day.

As there is a slight rise in the road when coming nearer to the village, the first sight that appeared were the red pan tile roofs of Baulk End cottages (sometimes spelt Balk End)

There were two blocks of cottages; on the left was a block of three that were always painted white, alongside another block of six, these were of cobble stone construction. A resident of Easington an old gentleman called Mr George Failey who was in his nineties, lived in the first cottage on the left, he struck quite a sight sat in his chair outside his house, with a long flowing white beard, usually reading a news paper. The house did not have electricity and sole means of lighting were oil lamps, he usually retired to bed as soon as darkness set in and arose with the morning sunrise.

Also approaching Baulk End, there was at one time a St. John Ambulance hut on the right hand side of the road.(You can just see the window of one of the cottages in the background).

St John Ambulance group.

St. John Ambulance volunteers.

Baulk End cottages.

A view of Baulk End looking towards Blacksmith’s Corner.

Baulk End cottages.

Another view of Baulk End looking towards Blacksmith’s Corner.

Baulk End cottages.

A later view of Baulk End looking towards Blacksmiths Corner.

Notice the grass triangle at the junction of the road and the house on the right East Mount, there is also a small brick building alongside, this was a cobblers shop. Next to East Mount is a bungalow West Field.

St John Ambulance group.

2 views of Baulk End Cottages one taken in 1955 and one in 1965.
There is very little change.

Photo showing halfway through the demolition of the cottages, around 1970s.

Briary Cottages built on the site of the old Baulk End cottages.

A later picture of Baulk End Cottages with the workshop now used as a garage.

Baulk End cottages.

An even later photo of Baulk End, with the end building having been rendered.

Baulk End cottages.

Cottage on the corner named as Blacksmiths Cottage when a guest house.

The Changing Face of Easington - Blacksmith's Corner

In times past, virtually every village had a Blacksmith; he was an essential part of the village community, particularly in farming areas, when equipment and horses were a part of everyday life. Easington was no exception; there have been a number of Blacksmiths who have lived in the village over the years, recorded in the Parish records, here are some of them.

Burial of Richard Webster.

Burial of Richard Webster, Blacksmith buried Sept 24th 1732

Baptism of Jane.

Baptism of Jane, daug. of Hugh Foster, Blacksmith June 23rd 1735

Burial Roger Bride

Burial of Roger Bride, Blacksmith Nov 24th 1739

Burial of Robert Wright.

Burial of Robert Wright, Blacksmith April 19th 1813

In Easington, Blacksmith’s corner is self explanatory; the man who owned and ran the smithy was Mr George Brown the local blacksmith. This is the man who made the original arch over the path in the churchyard; this was replaced in 2015 and made by another local man Bill Keyworth.

George Brown, Blacksmith	Arch in the churchyard
Bill Keyworth	New arch in the churchyard

The Blacksmith's shop and an adjoining barn at Blacksmiths Corner Easington

Inside blacksmith's shop.

A view inside the blacksmiths shop, with L - R,
Reg Clubley, Len Clubley, George Brown (Blacksmith) John Drewery (Apprentice)

George Brown.

George Brown pictured here aged 77 years old,
he claimed he had never been to a see a doctor his whole life.

Blacksmith's shop and pond.

The blacksmiths shop, with the pond on the right

The pond was used for cooling the rims when shrinking them on to cartwheels, always know as Blacksmith's Pond (obviously!).

The open doors on the left of the picture below, mid-way along the block, belonged to a joiners shop. So the story goes, the owner, whose father had been buried in the old Kilnsea churchyard, when the church and churchyard fell into the sea in 1831, he retrieved his father’s remains from the crumbling cliff, the bones were kept for many years in a box in the workshop, when the local vicar eventually heard of this story he tried to persuade the man to re-inter his remains in the churchyard, but the man refused, saying that ‘He was not paying twice to have the same man buried!’ George Brown and dog.

George Brown pictured with his dog (1931),
in the background the joiners shop doors are visible

War Memorial.

The pond was filled in during the 1970s and is now the site of the Easington War Memorial,
and the mill stone from the Dimlington windmill (below)

Mill Wheel.

The house opposite on the corner was originally a farm house with a small holding attached, barns and a cowshed, sometime later one of the barns was knocked down and the other one turned into a dwelling.

The farm house on the corner.

The farm house on the corner

War Memorial.

The main house became a holiday home, later it became the Corner Cottage Guest house, then changed its name to Blacksmith’s Cottage.
then changed its name to Blacksmith’s Cottage

Just around the corner is the entrance to the Corner Cottage guest house, then a house that has been spilt in to two dwellings, Blacksmith Cottage and Anvil Cottage.

Baulk End approaching Blacksmith’s corner

Where the black doors are in the photo, these were removed and converted to a dwelling called Rose Cottage.

A later view with the cottage rendered

The building seen on the left was a cow shed, but has since been converted into a dwelling, named The Barn. So overall what was once a single farmhouse with outbuildings on the corner now consists of 7 dwellings.

SKEALS

Spurn Kilnsea and Easington Area Local Studies

The Changing Face of Easington