great great granddaughter of Jacob.
STORM AND COMPANY
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Illustration by Elizabeth K M.Storm great great granddaughter of Jacob. |
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The Memoirs of Jacob Storm (1837-1926),
Master Mariner
Introduction
Robin Hood's Bay is a coastal village in the parish of
Fylingdales in the North Riding of Yorkshire, between the towns
of Whitby and Scarborough. The parish is backed by high moors and
shaped like a theatre facing the sea, with the great headlands of
Peak and Ness for wings. Many writers have commented on the
magnificent scenery of the bay, and as for the village, Whellan's
directory of 1859 called it "singularly romantic". In
the middle of the bay a beach gives easy access to the lower,
cultivable land, like an invitation to emigrants or invaders from
across the North Sea.
Fylingdales Parish
The name of the chief place, Fyling, harks back to Anglo-Saxon
times. Nearby is the formerly minor Scandinavian settlement of
Fylingthorpe, attributable to later invasion. On the higher
ground around, there are numerous Scandinavian names, examples of
which are Ravenscar, Stoupe Brow, Wragby, Saxby, Hawsker and
Normanby. Remote from all, is the old church of St. Stephen, but
its proximity to Cross Keld, a spring, suggests an ancient
gathering place for early Christians from scattered settlements.
Old St Stephen's Church is uphill all the way from the village, is an unusual building on an ancient site. Here rest most of the Bay mariners who ended their time ashore together with memorials to some of the large company who were lost at sea, or died abroad.
Robin Hood's Bay, a mile away from the old church, emerges
mysteriously as a fishing settlement in the first half of the
sixteenth century. With the expanse of sea before and miles of
moorland behind, it is remote, but the people could fish, and
make use of the harbour at Whitby, a similarly isolated
place. Most aspirations on this strip of the coast backed by
relatively unproductive countryside were increasingly focused on
the carriage of the goods of others by sea. On such a foundation,
the village was to become the scene of great activity. Much that
is essential to the understanding of this somewhat enigmatic
place can be gained from the histories of the inhabitants, one of
whom, Jacob Storm, left the valuable record that follows.
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