Winifred ran it from her marriage in 1949 until her death, and it became one of the resort's leading hotels.

Born in Horsforth, Leeds, she with her parents and brothers and sisters spent many happy holidays in Bridlington before the war and she went to school at the Methodist boarding school Hunmanby Hall.

Having first worked for the Halifax Building Society, with the onset of war she took up nursing and worked in Grimsby, Warwick and St James's Hospital, Leeds, after which she qualified as a midwife and worked at the Avenue Hospital in Bridlington until her marriage.

Winifred met her husband-to-be, Arthur Seymour, from County Durham, in 1947 while taking a holiday with friends at a Methodist holiday home on the west coast of Scotland. They married in 1949 and found a house near Consett.

The seller wanted them to sign there and then, but Mr and Mrs Seymour would not agree to the sale, being on a Sunday, and consequently the deal fell through.
Shortly afterwards, the couple received a long letter from Winifred's father saying that he needed help in both the building business and at the Expanse, and inviting them to join him.

Winifred and Arthur agreed to this and after their honeymoon started work at the hotel.

A long period of being occupied by the military during the war meant that a great deal of hard work had to be done to get the accommodation fit for the business, especially in a time of rationing and austerity. Gone forever was working 9am to 5pm or having weekends off.

Together they oversaw the substantial expansion of the Expanse over the years, including adding a fourth floor to the hotel and the building of the popular Marine Bar and the Seymours function suite. Winifred was always very proud of the hotel. In 1978 Winifred and Arthur were joined in the management of the Expanse by their eldest daughter, Irene, and her husband Neil, making a third generation of the family to work at the Expanse. Winifred was an active and enthusiastic member of the Inner Wheel Club of Bridlington for many years until her recent illness and was president of the club in 1965-6.

Winifred Seymour was a naturally shy person who nonetheless overcame this and worked tirelessly in the hotel industry for 60 years. Always smartly dressed – even when shortening curtains – and always busy, Winifred will be remembered for her friendly ways and her devotion to her family, friends and the Expanse.

Although she ceased actively to manage the hotel some years ago, she remained involved and interested until her recent illness. Always very "hands-on" and active in her work at the Expanse, she was never too proud to turn her hands to anything and never looked forward to retirement.

Winifred Seymour leaves her husband Arthur, their three daughters Irene Wilks, Jennifer Hall and Hazel Kenney and eight grandchildren. That all eight attended university was a cause of considerable pride to their grandmother.