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Quiz about Flamborough Head and the Village of Flamborough
Quiz about Flamborough Head and the Village of Flamborough

Flamborough Head and the Village of Flamborough Quiz


This is all about a promontory on the coast of England where I spent my formative years. I hope you enjoy the quiz and learn something new.

A multiple-choice quiz by Quiz_Beagle. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
Quiz_Beagle
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
307,963
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
345
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: rossian (6/10), Guest 92 (10/10), Guest 118 (7/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Back in the ninth century, Yorkshire was originally divided into three Ridings. In which Riding was Flamborough until 1974? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Flamborough is a village in Yorkshire, and this county was originally divided into Ridings, from a Viking word meaning third. Given that there are four points of the compass, which direction was never a Riding? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Being a peninsula, Flamborough Head is surrounded on three sides by sea. Which of these is not a beach/landing within five miles of Flamborough/Flamborough Head? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Flamborough is a promontory, but in the Iron Age there was a determined attempt to make it an island. What is the name of the south end of the resulting ravine? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. In 1978, the author Clive Cussler (of 'Raise the Titanic' fame) turned up in the nearby town of Bridlington in search for another famous ship, lost off Flamborough Head in 1779. This ship, the 'USS Bonhomme Richard', had been the flagship of which 'Father of the American Navy'? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. In the middle of Flamborough village there is a memorial to six people lost in a coble disaster in 1909. What is a coble? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Robin Lythe's hole is a cave, in which a semi-mythical character was reputed to operate. Re-popularised by R. D. Blackmore (author of 'Lorna Doone') in the book 'Mary Anerley' in the 1880s, what sort of ne'er-do-well was Robin Lythe? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. At the turn of the last century, gangs could make a lot of money climming. These gangs were licensed by the farmers whose land adjoined the cliffs at Flamborough and Bempton (just along the coast and one of the best seabird areas in the UK). What was climming? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. What bay is directly south of Flamborough Head? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. I was inspired to write this quiz by learning in March 2009 that my old home village had been invaded by a plague of what? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 19 2024 : rossian: 6/10
Feb 24 2024 : Guest 92: 10/10
Feb 13 2024 : Guest 118: 7/10
Feb 11 2024 : sarahpplayer: 7/10
Feb 05 2024 : garydart: 4/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Back in the ninth century, Yorkshire was originally divided into three Ridings. In which Riding was Flamborough until 1974?

Answer: East

The word 'Riding' comes from the Vikings, and is derived from Threthingr, meaning a third (as in fraction, not ordinal). In 1974 the government, for some completely unfathomable reason, wiped out over 1,000 years of history and abolished the Ridings. Flamborough was then apparently in 'Humberside', a meaningless bureaucratic invention that meant nothing to anyone. Thankfully, in 1996, the East Riding of Yorkshire became a Unitary Authority (whatever one of those is) and Flamborough 'returned' to East Yorkshire again. (Don't tell the government, but most of the inhabitants never, ever called it Humberside...)
2. Flamborough is a village in Yorkshire, and this county was originally divided into Ridings, from a Viking word meaning third. Given that there are four points of the compass, which direction was never a Riding?

Answer: South

The three Ridings were North (Scarborough and, unsurprisingly, the North York moors are in the North Riding), East (e.g. Bridlington, Kingston upon Hull), and West (e.g. Leeds and Holmfirth, where "Last of the Summer Wine" was filmed). If you are *certain* that you have heard of South Riding, you are correct. It is the title of a novel by Winifred Holtby.
3. Being a peninsula, Flamborough Head is surrounded on three sides by sea. Which of these is not a beach/landing within five miles of Flamborough/Flamborough Head?

Answer: Spurn Point

Spurn Point, on the north bank of the Humber, is approximately 50 miles from Flamborough. Besides Thornwick Bay, North and South Landings, you can also get to the beach at the Lighthouse (Selwicks Bay).
4. Flamborough is a promontory, but in the Iron Age there was a determined attempt to make it an island. What is the name of the south end of the resulting ravine?

Answer: Dane's Dyke

Always a very popular spot for playing on the beach (which is made up of big chalk stones, not sands, and is great for finding fossils) or making swings and dens in the woods, Dane's Dyke has nothing to do with the Danes. In fact, it was designed to cut about five square miles of peninsula off from the mainland.

In the south and from the air, it is very visible (check out Google Earth!), but in the north it is hardly noticeable. In 2002, Dane's Dyke was declared a local nature reserve.
5. In 1978, the author Clive Cussler (of 'Raise the Titanic' fame) turned up in the nearby town of Bridlington in search for another famous ship, lost off Flamborough Head in 1779. This ship, the 'USS Bonhomme Richard', had been the flagship of which 'Father of the American Navy'?

Answer: John Paul Jones

The Bonhomme Richard was named in honour of Benjamin Franklin, who had written 'Poor Richard's Almanac', published in France as 'Les Maximes du Bonhomme Richard'. After an extremely bloody battle off Flamborough Head, John Paul Jones captured HMS Serapis, but lost his own ship.

All the wrong answers are also famous American sailors.
6. In the middle of Flamborough village there is a memorial to six people lost in a coble disaster in 1909. What is a coble?

Answer: A clinker-built fishing boat

In 1909 six people were drowned in a fierce storm within sight of North Landing. The three-man crew of the 'Two Brothers' perished trying to save the three-man crew of 'The Gleaner', which had been capsized by a huge wave. The Cross family lost three family members.

A coble is the traditional fishing boat of Flamborough. Clinker-built means that the planks overlap, and the cobles are normally very stable in the unpredictable North Sea.
7. Robin Lythe's hole is a cave, in which a semi-mythical character was reputed to operate. Re-popularised by R. D. Blackmore (author of 'Lorna Doone') in the book 'Mary Anerley' in the 1880s, what sort of ne'er-do-well was Robin Lythe?

Answer: A smuggler

Robin Lythe's cave is at North Landing, and I have been in it many times. The opening on the land side is easily walkable at low tide, and the seaward side gives you a great view out to sea. It is about 50 feet high with a domed roof. Some of the legends of Robin Lythe have him clinging to a rock in the cave after a shipwreck, and others have him storing contraband there. Apparently it is haunted by a ghostly figure unloading goods from a small boat...
8. At the turn of the last century, gangs could make a lot of money climming. These gangs were licensed by the farmers whose land adjoined the cliffs at Flamborough and Bempton (just along the coast and one of the best seabird areas in the UK). What was climming?

Answer: Collecting birds' eggs

With no modern climbing equipment, and sheer cliffs of up to 400 feet, it must have been a job for the fittest. The rewards, however, were great, with a dozen eggs from seabirds, like gulls, puffins, guillemots, and razorbills, fetching a shilling (just over £4 today) and them being able to collect up to 400 eggs at a time. Climming has, of course, become illegal since then.
9. What bay is directly south of Flamborough Head?

Answer: Bridlington

From the cliffs of Flamborough, as you go south the rocks become softer, so Bridlington Bay has been formed. In rough weather, especially with winds from the north, many ships can be seen sheltering in Bridlington Bay in the lee of Flamborough cliffs. All the incorrect answers are north of Flamborough.
10. I was inspired to write this quiz by learning in March 2009 that my old home village had been invaded by a plague of what?

Answer: Rats

Apparently the village suffered a rat infestation, because of the cold wet winter and farmers consequently being unable to get rid of their stubble. The plague made all the national newspapers. The village has pleaded for this not to put tourists off (tourism is one of Flamborough's main sources of income). Of the wrong answers: there is an abundance of crabs and lobsters in Flamborough's seas; and, gribbles are tiny marine isopods, from the family Limnoriidae, that eat wood and seemed to infest the fishing boats every summer that I lived at home.
Source: Author Quiz_Beagle

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Pagiedamon before going online.
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