Bridlington (previously known as Burlington) is a
seaside town
A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...
and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...
, England. It is on the
Holderness
Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the north-east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. Topographically, Holderness has more in common wit ...
part (
Flamborough Head
Flamborough Head () is a promontory, long on the Yorkshire coast of England, between the Filey and Bridlington bays of the North Sea. It is a chalk headland, with sheer white cliffs. The cliff top has two standing lighthouse towers, the olde ...
to the
Humber
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...
estuary) of the
Yorkshire Coast
The Yorkshire Coast runs from the River Tees, Tees estuary to the Humber estuary, on the east coast of England. The cliffs at Boulby are the highest on the east coast of England, rising to above the sea level.
The North York Moors, North York ...
by the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
. The town is about north of
Hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft
* Submarine hull
Ma ...
and east of
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
. The stream called
Gypsey Race
The Gypsey Race is a Winterbourne (stream), winterbourne stream that rises to the east of Wharram-le-Street and flows through the villages of Duggleby, Kirby Grindalythe, West Lutton, East Lutton, Helperthorpe, Weaverthorpe, Butterwick, Foxhole ...
flows through the town and enters the North Sea at the harbour.
The Priory Church of St Mary and associated Bayle (or gate) are Grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
s on the site of an
Augustinian Priory
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...
. As a sea-fishing port, the town is known for
shellfish
Shellfish, in colloquial and fisheries usage, are exoskeleton-bearing Aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrates used as Human food, food, including various species of Mollusca, molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish ...
, and is the largest lobster port in Europe, with over 300 tonnes of the crustaceans landed there each year. It has been termed the "Lobster Capital of Europe". Alongside manufacturing, retail and service firms, its main trade is summer tourism. It holds one of the
UK's coastal weather stations.
History
Ancient history
Archaeological evidence shows habitation of the area around the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
and
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410.
Julius Caes ...
era. The date of earliest habitation at Bridlington is unknown, but the man-made
Danes Dyke at nearby
Flamborough Head
Flamborough Head () is a promontory, long on the Yorkshire coast of England, between the Filey and Bridlington bays of the North Sea. It is a chalk headland, with sheer white cliffs. The cliff top has two standing lighthouse towers, the olde ...
goes back to the Bronze Age.
A
Roman road
Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...
from
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, now
Woldgate
Woldgate is a minor road in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, which follows the line of a Roman road. It runs for a distance of from a junction with the A165 road, A165 on the western edge of Bridlington, through the village of Kilham, E ...
, can be traced across the Yorkshire Wolds into the town. Roman coins have been found: two hoards in the harbour area, along with two
Greek coins from the second century BC — suggesting the port was in use long before the
Roman conquest of Britain
The Roman conquest of Britain was the Roman Empire's conquest of most of the island of Great Britain, Britain, which was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the ...
.
In the fourth century AD,
Count Theodosius
Count Theodosius (; died 376), Flavius Theodosius or Theodosius the Elder (), was a senior military officer serving Valentinian I () and the Western Roman Empire during Late Antiquity. Under his command the Roman army defeated numerous threats, ...
set up signal stations on the North Yorkshire coast to warn of Saxon raids. It has been suggested that the current town was built near the site of a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
maritime station called .
In the early second-century,
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
described what was possibly Bridlington Bay in his ''
Geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
'' as "Gabrantwikone bay suitable for a harbour". No sheltered ancient harbour has been found, coastal erosion will have destroyed traces of any Roman installation near the harbour.
Another station at Flamborough Head is also believed to have had one – probably on Beacon Hill (now a gravel quarry) from where
Filey
Filey () is a seaside town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is located between Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Scarborough and Bridlington on Filey Bay. Although it was a fishing village, it has a large ...
,
Scarborough Castle
Scarborough Castle is a former Medieval Period, medieval royal fortress situated on a rocky promontory overlooking the North Sea and Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. The site of the castle, encompassing the Ir ...
and the
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy.
From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...
promontory can be seen. Another suggestion has been a line of signal stations stretching south round Bridlington Bay. A fort at Bridlington would have made a centre of operations for these. This counterpart to the northern chain would have guarded a huge accessible anchorage from barbarian piracy.
Manor of Bretlinton
Near Dukes Park are two
bowl barrow
A bowl barrow is a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from its resemblance to an upturned bowl. Related terms include ''cairn circle'', ''cairn ring'', ''howe'', ''ker ...
s known as Butt Hills, designated ancient monuments in the
National Heritage List for England
The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...
of
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
. Nearby are remains of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery on a farm outside
Sewerby.
The several suggested origins all trace the name to the
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
custom of matching a personal name with a settlement type. Here the personal names advanced include Bretel, Bridla and Berhtel, attached to , an Old English term for a small farming community. In 1072 the area was given to Gilbert de Gant, uncle of the later king
King Stephen;
it was inherited by his son Walter and thereafter appears to follow the normal descent of that family.
The 1086
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
contains the earliest known reference to Bridlington being record as ''Bretlinton'': the settlement has since been called ''Berlington'', ''Brellington'' and ''Britlington'' before gaining its present name in the 19th century. The
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
records that was the Hunthow Wapentake's meeting point (the
wapentake
A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and in Cumberland County in the British Colony of ...
later merged with neighbouring wapentakes to form the
Dickering Wapentake
Dickering was a wapentake (which is an administrative division) of the historic East Riding of Yorkshire in England, consisting of the north-east part of that county, including the towns of Bridlington and Filey; its territory is now partly in t ...
). The wapentake was held by
Earl Morcar; it later passed to
William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
by
forfeiture.
It also records the effect of the
Harrying of the North
The Harrying of the North was a series of military campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate Northern England, where the presence of the last House of Wessex, Wessex claimant, Edgar Ætheling, had encour ...
: the annual value of the land had fallen from £32 in the time of
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex.
Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
to eight
shilling
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...
s (£0.40) at the time of the survey, comprising two
villeins
A villein is a class of serf tied to the land under the feudal system. As part of the contract with the lord of the manor, they were expected to spend some of their time working on the lord's fields in return for land. Villeins existed under a ...
and one
socman with one and a half of a
carucate
The carucate or carrucate ( or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms of tax assessment.
...
, the rest being waste.
Priory, port and town charter
Walter de Gant founded an
Augustinian priory on the land in 1133, confirmed by
Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to:
:''In chronological order''
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry ...
in a charter. Several succeeding kings confirmed and extended Walter de Gant's gift: King Stephen granted an additional right to have a port,
King John in 1200 gave permission for a weekly market and an annual fair, and
Henry VI allowed three annual fairs, on the
Nativity of Mary
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Mary, Marymas or the Birth of the Virgin Mary, refers to a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus.
The modern Biblical canon does not record Mary's birth. The ...
and the Deposition and Translation of
St John of Bridlington in 1446.
In 1415
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...
visited the Priory to give thanks for victory at the
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt ( ; ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected victory of the vastly outnumbered English troops agains ...
.
After the
Dissolution of the Monasteries, the manor of Bridlington remained with the Crown until 1624, when
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
passed it to Sir John Ramsey, who had recently been created Earl of Holderness.
In 1633, Sir George Ramsey sold the manor to 13 inhabitants of the town, on behalf of all the manor tenants. In May 1636, a deed was drawn up empowering the 13 men as
Lords Feoffees
The charitable trust known as The Lords Feoffees and Assistants of the Manor of Bridlington, based in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, was created in 1636.
The Manor of Bridlington had been confiscated by Henry VIII from the mo ...
or trust holders of the Manor of Bridlington.
Corn, breweries and wars
The town began to grow in importance and size around the site of the dispersed priory.
In 1643 Queen
Henrietta Maria of France
Henrietta Maria of France ( French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until his execution on 30 January 1649. She was ...
landed there with troops to support the Royalist cause in the
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, before moving on to
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, which became her headquarters.
The town was originally two settlements: the Old Town about inland and the Quay area where the modern harbour lies. In 1837, an Act of Parliament enabled the wooden piers to be replaced with two stone piers to the north and south.
Apart from landing fish, the port was used to transport corn: the 1826 Corn Exchange can still be seen in Market Place. There used to be mills in the town for grinding it, which led to some breweries starting up locally.
In the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Bridlington suffered several air raids that caused deaths and much bomb damage. The
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
had training schools in the town collectively known as
RAF Bridlington, with one unit, No. 1104 Marine Craft Unit, continuing until 1980. Like most industry, these had petered out by the late 20th century.
The decline in the popularity of British seaside tourism in the 1960s reduced the number of
pleasure steamers working from the harbour. By the end of the decade, just three were operating.
Governance

Bridlington is within the unitary authority of the East Riding of Yorkshire. Its three wards are Bridlington North, Bridlington South and Bridlington Old Town and Central, returning eight councillors out of 67. The civil parish consists of the town of Bridlington and the villages of
Bessingby and
Sewerby. It is run by a town council of twelve councillors, of which the three wards each return four.
The Town Council coat of arms is described as:
''Per Sable and Argent three Gothic Capital letters B counterchanged on a Chief embattled of the second two Barrulets wavy Azure and for the Crest Issuant from a Coronet composed of eight Roses set upon a rim of a Sun rising Gules.''
with the motto:
''Signum Salutis Semper''
meaning ''Always the bringer of good health''.
Bridlington lies in the large
Bridlington and The Wolds parliamentary constituency that covers the mostly rural, northern part of the county, including the towns of
Driffield
Driffield, also known as Great Driffield (neighbouring Little Driffield), is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The civil parish is formed by the town of Driffield and the village of Little Driffield. By ...
,
Market Weighton
Market Weighton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is one of the main towns in the East Yorkshire Wolds and lies midway between Kingston upon Hull, Hull and York, about from e ...
and
Pocklington
Pocklington () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, its population was 10,123. It lies east of York, and ...
. Its size and shape correspond to the East Yorkshire/North Wolds District under the earlier county of Humberside.
The town has been subject to several changes in parliamentary representation. From 1290 to 1831 it was part of the large
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
constituency, sending two members until 1826, when it gained an additional two. Thereafter it was part of the
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...
constituency until 1885, returning two members. Further reform reduced the boundaries again, to a single-member
Buckrose seat until 1950. From 1950 to 1997,
Bridlington
Bridlington (previously known as Burlington) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is on the Holderness part (Flamborough Head to the Humber estuary) of the Yorkshire Coast by the North Sea. The town is ...
had its own MP, until reform extended the boundary to include more countryside, as the single-seat East Yorkshire constituency.
Bridlington was designated a municipal
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
...
in 1899. Local government reorganisation in 1974 included it in the new county of
Humberside
Humberside () was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber, created from portions of the East Riding of Yorkshire, West Riding of ...
, which caused resentment among residents against being excluded from Yorkshire. The town became the administrative centre of a local government district, initially called the Borough of
North Wolds but later changed to the Borough of
East Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to the south-west ...
. The district disappeared when the county of Humberside was abolished in the 1990s, the new
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...
unitary authority absorbing it and the neighbouring county districts, and Bridlington no longer having any formal local-government administrative status above town-council level.
Geography
Bridlington lies north-north-east of
Beverley
Beverley is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Hull city centre. At the 2021 census the built-up area of the town had a population of 30,930, and the smaller civil parish had ...
, south-east of
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...
, north-east of
Driffield
Driffield, also known as Great Driffield (neighbouring Little Driffield), is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The civil parish is formed by the town of Driffield and the village of Little Driffield. By ...
and north of
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...
, the principal city in the county. It is north of
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. The height above sea level ranges from the beaches to on Bempton Lane on the outskirts. The
Gypsey Race
The Gypsey Race is a Winterbourne (stream), winterbourne stream that rises to the east of Wharram-le-Street and flows through the villages of Duggleby, Kirby Grindalythe, West Lutton, East Lutton, Helperthorpe, Weaverthorpe, Butterwick, Foxhole ...
river flows through the town, the last being below ground from the Quay Road Car Park. The solid geology of the area is mainly from the
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
period, consisting of
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...
overlain by Quaternary
Boulder clay
Boulder clay is an unsorted agglomeration of clastic sediment that is unstratified and structureless and contains gravel of various sizes, shapes, and compositions distributed at random in a fine-grained matrix. The fine-grained matrix consists o ...
. The chalk is exposed as the land rises to the north of the town, where a cliff, probably formed in the last
interglacial
An interglacial period (or alternatively interglacial, interglaciation) is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene i ...
, extends inland at right angles to the present sea cliff, and forms the promontory of Flamborough Head.
Bridlington is in an area said to have the highest
coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...
rate in Europe.
Southwards the coast becomes low, but northwards it is steep and very fine, where the great spur of
Flamborough Head
Flamborough Head () is a promontory, long on the Yorkshire coast of England, between the Filey and Bridlington bays of the North Sea. It is a chalk headland, with sheer white cliffs. The cliff top has two standing lighthouse towers, the olde ...
projects eastwards. The sea front is guarded by a sea wall and a wide beach with wooden
groyne
A groyne (in the U.S. groin) is a rigid aquatic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, concrete ...
s to trap the sand.
Offshore, the Smithic Sands
sandbank stretches out into the bay, as an important habitat for many marine species.
Bridlington north and south beaches have won EU environmental quality awards over the years.
Areas of the town
Climate
The climate is temperate with warm summers and cool, wet winters. The hottest months are from June to September, with temperatures reaching an average high of and falling to at night. The average daytime temperatures in winter are in the day and at night.
Demography
2001 census
The 2001 UK census showed a population 47.4 per cent male and 52.6 per cent female. The religious affiliations were 77 per cent Christian, 0.14 per cent Buddhist, 0.03 per cent Jewish, 0.196 per cent Hindu, 0.04 per cent Sikh, 0.22 per cent other, and the rest, over 22 per cent stating no religion or not declaring one. The ethnic make-up was 98.7 per cent White, 0.43 per cent Mixed, 0.08 per cent Black/Black British, 0.19 per cent Chinese/Other Ethnic and 0.49 per cent Asian/British Asian. There were 16,237 dwellings.
2011 census
The 2011 UK census showed that a population split of 48.2 per cent male to 51.8 per cent female. The religious breakdown was 66.2 per cent Christian, 0.2 per cent Buddhist, 0.1 per cent Muslim, 0.1 per cent Hindu, 0.1 per cent Sikh, 0.0 per cent Other, and the remaining 33.3 per cent stating no religion or not declaring one. The ethnic make-up was 98.5 per cent White British, 0.7 per cent Mixed Ethnic, 0.2 per cent Black British, 0.5 per cent Chinese/Other Ethnic and 0.6 per cent British Asian. There were 17,827 dwellings.
Economy
From the early history of Bridlington, a small fishing port grew up near the coast, later known as Bridlington Quay. After the discovery of a
chalybeate
Chalybeate () waters, also known as Iron oxide, ferruginous waters, are mineral spring waters containing salts of iron.
Name
The word ''chalybeate'' is derived from the Latin word for steel, , which follows from the Ancient Greek, Greek word ...
spring, the Quay developed in the 19th century into a seaside resort.
Bridlington's first hotel was opened in 1805 and it soon became a popular resort with industrial workers from the
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...
. A new railway station opened on 6 October 1846 between the Quay and the historic town. The area round it was developed and the two areas of the town were combined.

Bridlington's popularity declined along with the industrial parts of the north and the rising popularity of cheap foreign holidays. Although the fishing fleet also declined, the port remains popular with
sea anglers for trips along the coast or further out to local
shipwreck
A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...
s. Bridlington has lucrative shellfish exports to France, Spain and Italy, said to be worth several million pounds a year.
Culture and community
The town is served by the Bridlington-based monthly Bridlington Echo newspaper, Scarborough-based weekly ''
Bridlington Free Press'' and the ''
East Riding Mail'' in Hull.
Local radio stations are
BBC Radio Humberside
BBC Radio Humberside is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the former county of Humberside which includes the unitary authorities of England, unitary authorities of East Riding of Yorkshire, Kingston upon Hull, North Lincolns ...
,
Hits Radio East Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire,
Nation Radio East Yorkshire,
Capital Yorkshire
Capital Yorkshire was a regional radio station owned by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcast to South Yorkshire & North Derbyshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire.
Capi ...
,
Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire Coast,
This is The Coast and
Bridlington Gold Radio, a community based station.
Local news and television programmes are provided by
BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, sometimes abbreviated to BBC Yorks & Lincs, is the name for the BBC's twelfth English Region, based in Kingston upon Hull and created from the division of the former BBC North region, based in Leeds (now known ...
and
ITV Yorkshire
ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
. Television signals are received from the
Belmont TV transmitter.
Jake Thackray
John Philip "Jake" Thackray (27 February 1938 – 24 December 2002) was an English singer-songwriter, poet, humourist and journalist. Best known in the late 1960s and early 1970s for his topical comedy songs performed on British television, hi ...
's song "The Hair of the Widow of Bridlington" mocks Bridlington for the ostensible small-mindedness of its inhabitants.

There are three main parks. Queen's Park is a small open area at the junction of the B1254 and Queensgate. Westgate Park is a mostly wooded area between Westgate and the A165 on the outskirts of the town. The largest open area is Duke's Park, between Queensgate and the railway line. It hosts Bridlington Sports and Community Club, a skate park and Bridlington Town Football Club. In addition, there is a Sports Centre on the outskirts, in Gypsey Road, with a general-purpose sports hall, a gymnasium and squash courts. In January 2014, Bridlington Leisure World on the Promenade, with its swimming facilities, gymnasium and indoor bowling rinks, closed for redevelopment. A temporary Olympic legacy pool was opened by
Jo Jackson in January 2014 at the Bridlington Sports Centre on Gypsey Road, while Leisure World was rebuilt. The new centre opened on 23 May 2016, with an official opening on 1 July 2016 by
Rebecca Adlington
Rebecca Adlington (born 17 February 1989) is an English former competitive swimmer who specialised in freestyle events in international competition. She won two gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 400-metre freestyle and 800-metr ...
,
Gail Emms
Gail Elizabeth Emms MBE (born 23 July 1977) is a retired English badminton player who has achieved international success in doubles tournaments. A badminton player since the age of four, Emms was first chosen to represent England in 1995 and r ...
and
Dean Windass
Dean Windass (born 1 April 1969) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), striker. He played spells at Bradford City A.F.C., Bradford City and contributed to his hometown ...
.
The town has a public library in King Street. Within the triangle of Station Avenue, Station Road and Quay Road are the
Town Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
, Magistrates Court and several other government buildings. On South Marine Drive there is an
RNLI
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways.
Founded in 1824 ...
Life Boat Station. There has been a life boat since 1805, manned wholly by volunteers. It received a new Shannon-class lifeboat in 2018, with some redevelopment to accommodate it.
Close to the A165/A614 junction is
Bridlington Hospital and the Ambulance Station. On the opposite side, closer to the town centre, is the fire station, established in 1960, with a mix of full-time and on-call crew. There is a post office and depot not far from the level crossing in Quay Road.
Town crier
David Hinde, who lived in the nearby village of
Bempton and was a member of the Ancient and Honourable Guild of Town Criers and the Loyal Company of Town Criers, was appointed in the
Queen's Diamond Jubilee Year of 2012 by Bridlington Town Council. He was the first
town crier
A town crier, also called a bellman, is an officer of a royal court or public authority who makes public pronouncements as required.
Duties and functions
The town crier was used to make public announcements in the streets. Criers often dre ...
in Bridlington since 1901. On 23 July 2013 Hinde gave a special proclamation outside Bridlington Priory, before a visit from
Prince Charles
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.
Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
and
Camilla Parker-Bowles
Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III.
Camilla was raised in East ...
as part of the special "Priory 900" celebrations.
On 17 August 2013, at the town's Sewerby Park, Hinde's cry was recorded at 114.8
decibel
The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a Power, root-power, and field quantities, power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whos ...
s. He appeared as the
Walmington-on-Sea
Walmington-on-Sea is a fictional seaside resort that is the setting of ''Dad's Army'' during the Second World War, including the BBC Television sitcom (1968-1977), the BBC Radio 4 series and two feature films (1971 and 2016).
Walmington-on-Sea i ...
town crier in the 2016 film ''
Dad's Army
''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...
''.
Landmarks
Bridlington Priory
Priory Church of St Mary, Bridlington, , commonly known as Bridlington Priory Church is a parish church in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in the Diocese of York. It is on the site of an Augustinians, Augustinian priory founded i ...
, also known as the Priory Church of St Mary, is a Grade I listed building named after the Augustinian Priory on which it was built. It was once fortified; the Bayle (gate) nearby is what remains of that fortification and also a Grade I listed building. It has a ring of eight bells (tenor c. 24 cwt, 05 t) with a long draft. It also has a large four-manual organ that boasts the widest "scaled" 32-foot reed (contra tuba) in the United Kingdom. Bridlington's war memorial is located in a triangular patch of garden at the junction of Prospect Street and Wellington Road. It was unveiled on 10 July 1921 by Captain S. H. Radcliffe, C. M. G., R. N.
Bridlington Cemetery in Sewerby Road dates from the 19th century and includes 73
Commonwealth War Graves. The Grade II listed Gothic cemetery chapels, gatehouse and lodge were built in 1869 by the architect Alfred Smith of Nottingham.
Bridlington Spa
Bridlington Spa is a dance hall, Theater (structure), theatre and Convention center, conference centre in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Refurbished between 2006 and 2008 and further updated with a new branding in 2016, the ven ...
opened in 1896, when Bridlington in its heyday was a leading entertainment resort and a nationally famous dance venue, where many well-known entertainers appeared, including
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
and
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...
. By 2005 the condition of the building had deteriorated to a point where
East Riding of Yorkshire Council
East Riding of Yorkshire Council is the local authority for the East Riding of Yorkshire, a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area within the larger ceremonial county of the same name. The council has been under no overall cont ...
had to undertake a thorough refurbishment in 2006–2008. It has since begun to attract well-known names again: in 2013
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
bands the
Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who originally formed in 1996 as Runston Parva, before reforming as Parva in 2000, and releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their cur ...
and
Kasabian
Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and second vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karloff ...
, Irish band
The Script
The Script are an Irish Soft rock, soft-rock band formed in 2001 in Dublin. The band currently consists of Danny O'Donoghue (lead vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards), Glen Power (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Benjamin Seargent (bass, backin ...
and
Joe McElderry
Joseph McElderry (; born 16 June 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. He won the The X Factor (British series 6), sixth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor'' in 2009. His first single "The Climb (Joe McElderry song), ...
all performed there.
In 2014 blue plaques went up for
Herman Darewski
Herman Darewski (17 April 1883 – 2 June 1947) was a British composer and conductor of theatrical music. His most successful work was perhaps ''The Better 'Ole'', which ran for over 800 performances in its original London production in 1917. S ...
, composer and conductor of light music,
and
Wallace Hartley, leader of the orchestra playing as the
Titanic
RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...
sank.
Hartley had led an orchestra in the town in 1902.
Darewski was musical director for the town in 1924–1926 and 1933–1939.
Bridlington has several notable public artworks along the seafront. 'Promenade' by
Bruce McLean
Bruce McLean (born 1944) is a Scottish sculptor, performance artist and painter.
McLean was born in Glasgow and studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1961 to 1963, and at Saint Martin's School of Art, London, from 1963 to 1966. At Saint Martin ...
and Mel Gooding with architects Bauman Lyon runs the length of the South Foreshore and encompasses beach huts, a metal sculpture and public showers as well as a nautical mile of text that references aspects of the locale. It was completed in 1998 and won the RIBA 'Building of the Year'.
Transport

Bridlington is served by
a railway station on the
Yorkshire Coast Line
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
between Hull and Scarborough. It opened on 6 October 1846 between the Quay and the Old Town.
East Yorkshire Motor Services
East Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire, England. Prior to acquisition by the Go-Ahead Group in June 2018, the company was known as East Yorkshire Motor Services.
History
...
has a depot, running nine local and six out-of-town bus routes, including York, Scarborough, Driffield, Beverley and Hull. The company operates a summer
Beachcomber open-top bus service in Bridlington.
Yorkshire Coastliner
Yorkshire Coastliner is a bus company that operates both local and regional bus services in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield.
History
The company was established in 1990, when the York-base ...
runs a service to
Filey
Filey () is a seaside town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is located between Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Scarborough and Bridlington on Filey Bay. Although it was a fishing village, it has a large ...
,
Malton,
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
,
Tadcaster
Tadcaster is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north-east of Leeds and south-west of York.
Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the lowest road crossing-point o ...
and
Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
.
The town lies at the junction of two trunk roads: the A165 road, A165 between Hull and Scarborough and the A614 road, A614 between Bridlington and Nottingham. The A614 was extended in 1996 to include the length previously known as the A166 road, A166 to York.
Four Trackless train, land trains run in Bridlington: the Yorkshire Rose, Yorkshire Lass and Yorkshire Lad and the Spalight Express. Two run on the North Promenade between Leisure World and Sewerby Hall and Gardens linking Bridlington town centre with the summer car parks. One runs on the South Promenade linking Bridlington town centre to the park and ride and South Cliff Caravan Park. In the 1970s and 1980s there were two other trains — the Burlington Bertie and Bridlington Belle.
Education
Primary
Bridlington Civil Parish has seven primary schools, counting Burlington Infant and Junior together. All are mixed gender, for pupils between three or four and eleven years of age.
Bay Primary School in St Alban Road had 335 pupils in 2013. Burlington Infant School in Marton Road had 239. Burlington Junior School, also in Marton Road, had 320 pupils. Hilderthorpe Primary School in Shaftesbury Road had 328 pupils. Martongate Primary School in Martongate had 424 pupils. Quay Academy in Oxford Street had 390 pupils. Our Lady and Saint Peter RC Primary academy, built in 1977 (formerly St Mary's R.C. Primary School) is located in George Street and had 210 pupils. New Pasture Lane Primary School in Burstall Hill had 177 pupils.
Secondary
Bridlington School is a mixed-gender specialist Sports and Design and Technology College for 11–18-year-olds. Located in Bessingby Road on the outskirts of the town, it had a 2013 capacity of 1,244 pupils. There have been many Bridlington School#Notable former pupils, notable past pupils.
Headlands School in Sewerby Road caters for mixed-gender eleven to 18-year-olds. It partners the town's other secondary school and had a 2013 capacity of 1,485 pupils.
Further and higher education
East Riding College provides tertiary education for students from 16. Located in St Mary's Walk, it is close to Bay Primary School. Courses cover both academic and vocational subjects.
Health service
All six GP practices closed their lists to new patients in 2016 due to problems with premises and staff shortages. The town has an elderly population, which adds to demand. In May 2018 they were obliged by NHS England to reopen their lists, but there was no funding for a proposed Health and Wellbeing Centre, which was to have housed five surgeries. In October 2022 it was announced that three of the five practices would be closed because of challenges recruiting and retaining staff. Two larger practices, Humber Primary Care and Practice Three will take over and each serve around 19,000 patients.
Religious sites
The main Anglicanism, Anglican place of worship is the Priory Church of St Mary in Church Green. Christ Church in Quay Road, next to the war memorial, was built in 1841 by George Gilbert Scott, Gilbert Scott. Originally a chapel of ease, it became a parish church in 1871 and is now a Grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. Emmanuel Church in Cardigan Road is a modern red-brick building, also part of the Church of England.
The Harbourside Evangelicalism, Evangelical Church stands in a side road off Bridge Street. The Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses is in Station Avenue. The Cornerstone Church, once known as ''The Chapel Hall'', is an Evangelical Church in St John's Walk. There has been a Baptist church in the town since 1698, the current place of worship being on the corner of Quay Road and Portland Place. On the corner of St John Street and Brett Street is the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, Free Presbyterian Church. The independent Evangelical Church in Ferndale Terrace is called Calvary Chapel by the Sea.
The strong Methodism, Methodist Church presence in the town since 1770 is covered in various locations. St John's Burlington Methodist Church in St John's Street remains. The chapel in the Promenade lasted from 1852 until 1957 as part of the United Methodist Free Church. The Primitive Methodist Church, Primitive Methodists established a chapel in St John Street in 1833, but moved to a nearby location in 1849. This in turn was rebuilt in 1877 and lasted until 1970. The Primitive Methodists also had a chapel known as the Central Methodist Church on the Quay in 1833. It moved to Chapel Street in 1870 and built itself larger premises there in 1878. In 1969 it joined with the Chapel Street Methodist Church, which was in existence in 1810 in what was originally Back Street. This was rebuilt in 1873 and lasted until 1999, when it became the final Methodist congregation to unite with the present church.
The Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Our Lady and St Peter's Church, Bridlington, Church of Our Lady and St Peter stands in Victoria Road. The Catholics had long lacked a permanent mission in the town. A previous 1886 building in Wellington Road had not provided sufficient space when a mission was eventually granted. Modern premises were built in 1893–1894 by Arthur Lowther. The church hall adjacent was added in 1963. The connection to the sea is evident on the dedication to Our Lady, also known as the ''Star of the Sea'', and to St Peter, ''Patron Saint of Fishermen''. The convent in the High Street is associated with the church and though now run by the Sisters of Mercy, was originally Dominican.
Sport
The town has a semi-professional Bridlington Town A.F.C., founded in 1918, refounded in 1994, and now playing in the Northern Counties East Football League, Northern Counties East League Premier Division (NCEL). Its home ground is a stadium in Queensgate. The team's honours include the FA Vase in 1993, three NCEL Premier Division titles and 15 East Riding Senior Cup's. The town also has a junior football club, Bridlington Rangers, with teams playing in various age groups of the Hull Boys Sunday Football League. Bridlington Sports Club plays in the Humber Premier League. Bridlington Rovers F.C. formed in 1903, is the oldest club in the town & run a number of teams.
A now defunct club, Bridlington Trinity F.C., Bridlington Trinity, enjoyed league success in the Yorkshire Football League, Yorkshire League and Midland League (1889), Midland League respectively.
Bridlington Cricket Club play in the
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
and District Senior League Division 1, and also run three Saturday league teams and junior teams.
Bridlington Rugby Union Football Club are neighbours of Bridlington Town AFC, at Dukes Park, fielding two senior men's teams, a women's team and numerous junior sections. The men's 1st XV played in Yorkshire 1 for the 2019 season, after spending three years in North East 1. They reached the final of the RFU Intermediate Cup at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham on 4 May 2013, losing 22–30 to Brighton Blues.
Bridlington Hockey Club has existed for over a century. It currently plays home matches at Bridlington Astro Centre in Bessingby Road, and also field two ladies' sides and a junior development section for girls and boys. An annual hockey festival is held, with both men's and women's tournaments. A new format added to the festival for 2014 gave chances for men and women to play together.
Other sports played around Bridlington include tennis, pétanque, fencing and archery.
Bridlington hosted the first Tour de Yorkshire in 2015 Tour de Yorkshire, 2015, the start of the first stage in 2017 Tour de Yorkshire, 2017 and the start of the third stage in 2019 Tour de Yorkshire, 2019.
Bridlington Spa
Bridlington Spa is a dance hall, Theater (structure), theatre and Convention center, conference centre in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Refurbished between 2006 and 2008 and further updated with a new branding in 2016, the ven ...
is host to the popular, British Open (darts), British Open darts championships.
Notable people
Natives
*William of Newburgh, a 12th-century English chronicler and historian, was born in Bridlington.
*William Kent (1686–1748), architect, landscape architect and furniture designer, was born in the town.
*Sir John Major, 1st Baronet of Worthlingworth Hall was born in Bridlington in 1698. The merchant and member of Parliament died in 1781.
*Benjamin Fawcett, a Woodblock printing, woodblock colour printer and ornithologist, was born in the town in 1808.
*Henry Freeman (1835–1904), Henry Freeman was a
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy.
From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...
fisherman and Lifeboat (rescue), lifeboatman born in the town.
*A. E. Matthews, stage and film actor, was born in Bridlington in 1869. He featured in the 1956 version of ''Around the World in 80 Days (1956 film), Around the World in 80 days'', ''Doctor at Large (film), Doctor at Large'' and ''Carry On Admiral''.
*Thomas Fenby, a Liberal politician and blacksmith, was born in the town in 1875. He acted as Mayor of Bridlington and represented the town as MP. He died at his Bridlington home in 1956.
*Cecil Burton (1887–1971), cricketer and former Yorkshire County Cricket Club captain, was born in the town, as was his younger brother Claude Burton (cricketer), Claude Burton (1891–1971), who also played for Yorkshire.
*Francis Johnson (architect), Francis Johnson (1911–1995), born in Bridlington, was a renowned church architect.
*Gordon Lakes, former Deputy Director General of the Prison Service, was born in the town in 1928. He is credited with helping to achieve improved working conditions among UK prisons.
*Bob Wallis (1934–1991), jazz musician, was born in Bridlington. He had some success in the British charts in the late 1950s and early 60s. His father was harbourmaster in the town.
*David Pinkney, businessman and auto racing driver competing in the British Touring Car Championships, was born in the town on 5 July 1952.
*Andrew Dismore, the Labour politician and lawyer was born in the town on 2 September 1954. He was educated at Bridlington School.
*Mark Herman, film director and screenwriter, was born in the town in 1954. Among his best-known works are ''Brassed Off'', ''Little Voice (film), Little Voice'' and ''The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (film), The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas''.
*Angela Eagle and her twin sister Maria Eagle, both Labour Party (UK), Labour politicians, were born in the town on 17 February 1961.
*Craig Short, professional footballer and manager, born in Bridlington on 25 June 1968, has played at top levels in both the English and Turkish league systems, including Derby County, Everton, and Blackburn.
*Richard Cresswell, professional football player, was born in Bridlington on 20 September 1977. He started with York City F.C., before playing in higher divisions of the league system.
*Adam Khan, racing driver, was born in the town on 24 May 1985.
*Charlie Heaton, actor and musician, is known for playing Jonathan Byers in the Netflix supernatural drama series ''Stranger Things''.
*Stephen W. Parsons, musician, composer, songwriter and music producer
*Rosie Jones (comedian), Rosie Jones, comedian and writer
Residents
*John Twenge (St John of Bridlington), a 14th-century English saint, was a Canon of Bridlington Priory. He was born less than from the town in Thwing, East Riding of Yorkshire, Thwing.
*David Hockney used to own a house in Bridlington, at which an assistant drank a cleaning product and died in March 2013.
*Malcolm McDowell, actor, lived in Bridlington as a child, where McDowell's father was stationed at the nearby RAF Carnaby.
Twin towns – sister cities

Bridlington is sister city, twinned with:
* Bad Salzuflen, Germany
* Millau, France
The town's entrance sign shows the twin town names to motorists.
See also
*Burlington, Ontario was named after Bridlington by John Graves Simcoe.
*Burlington, New Jersey was named after Bridlington.
*Burlington County, New Jersey was named after Bridlington.
References
{{Navboxes , list1=
{{Bridlington
{{East Yorkshire, state=collapsed
{{Coastal settlements
, place = the East Riding of Yorkshire
, settlement = Bridlington
, anticlockwise =
Sewerby
, clockwise = Wilsthorpe, East Riding of Yorkshire, Wilsthorpe
{{Portalbar, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
{{authority control
Bridlington,
Seaside resorts in England
Beaches of the East Riding of Yorkshire
Towns in the East Riding of Yorkshire
Civil parishes in the East Riding of Yorkshire
Populated coastal places in the East Riding of Yorkshire
Fishing communities in England
Ports and harbours of Yorkshire