Withernsea

Withernsea is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, and forms the focal point for a wider community of small villages in Holderness. Its most famous landmark is the white inland lighthouse, rising around 127ft above Hull Road. The lighthouse – no longer active – now houses a museum to 1950s actress Kay Kendall, who was born in the town.The Prime Meridian crosses the coast to the north-west of Withernsea.According to the 2011 UK census, Withernsea parish had a population of 6,159, an increase on the 2001 UK census figure of 5,980.HistoryLike many seaside resorts, Withernsea has a wide promenade which reaches north and south from Pier Towers, the historic entrance to the pier, built in 1877 at a cost of £12,000. The pier was originally 399 yards (365 metres) long, but was gradually reduced in length through several impacts by local ships, starting with the Saffron in 1880 before the collision by an unnamed ship in 1888, again by a Grimsby fishing boat and again by the Henry Parr in 1893, leaving the once grand pier with a mere 50 feet (15 metres) of damaged wood and steel, which was removed in 1903. The Pier Towers have been refurbished.During the mid-19th century the Hull and Holderness Railway was constructed, connecting the nearby city of Hull with Withernsea (via Keyingham and Patrington) and making possible cheap and convenient holidays for Victorian workers and their families, as well as boosting Withernsea's economy. It closed in 1964 and all that remains of it is an overgrown footpath where the track used to be.