Exhibition displays changing face of coastal communities

Coastal Communities, put together by volunteers at the East Riding Rural Life project, features old photographs alongside contemporary pictures of one of the fastest eroding coastlines in Europe.

East Coast towns including Bridlington and Withernsea and the dramatic peninsula of Spurn Point are featured - as well as communities that have since disappeared beneath the sea.

Volunteer Jean Ross said: “It shows how the coast has changed. Some places that were far inland are now on the cliff edge. It also shows how Bridlington has developed – it was busier with far more large hotels and the harbour was more developed. It’s more based on tourism now whereas there used to be more trade with shipbuilding and fishing.”

One of the communities that has been lost is Ravenser, which went under the waves at the end of the 14th century. Residents in Kilnsea, however, ensured it survived by moving the entire village inland, including moving bodies from the cemetery to be re-interred at a new graveyard.

The exhibition runs until the end of November.

Mrs Ross added: “We thought it would be interesting for families to come and look at it before having a day at the coast.”