Home of the Vikings

At the end of the 8th century history tells us that Flamborough was invaded by the Vikings - handsome sea-borne warriors - who sailed their beautiful, longships, for hundreds of miles, across the rough waters of the North Sea from countries as far afield as; Norway, Sweden and Denmark to invade northern England. They must have been a sight to behold with their flaming red, bright blond and dark black hair flowing magnificently in the wind as they navigated their way towards the seashore of Flamborough! Just imagine hearing the sound of their long, loud, bellowing horns coming ever closer. Think how petrifying it must have been to see these tall, strong, magnificent looking invaders wielding long, silver coloured, swords and axes, gleaming brightly in the sun, as they came ever closer to the shore in their quest to conquer the cliffs of Flamborough - a perfect stronghold for the taking! I am sure that any local inhabitants living on the headland at that time must have fled for their lives... especially if they knew of the Viking tradition of piracy, raiding and pillaging!

From around AD 800 onwards it is likely that the Vikings lived quite peacefully in Flamborough spending their time fishing, trapping and collecting. Flamborough has long had the Viking history of being self-sufficient through their skills of boat building, fishing and farming. They may also have had other skills such as the making of jewellery, tools and other useful equipment. To this day the Yorkshire fishing coble, of which Flamborough has such a long heritage and tradition, is designed on the Viking longship! The Flamborough coble is as seaworthy today as any Viking longship ever was, with its famous clinker built frame designed to withstand the rough northern seas.

In the mid 9th century the Vikings decided, once again, to turn to conquest and captured York in 866 and founded a separate kingdom of Yorkshire. The Danish, Viking kingdom of Yorkshire lasted until 954 when it was captured by the English. In 1066 Harald Hardrada, the King of Norway, sailed his longships up the River Humber and the River Ouse but was defeated by the Anglo Saxons at the battle of Stamford Bridge on the 25th September 1066 and, subsequently, returned to the Orkneys. So, as you can see, Flamborough played a big part in the history of the Vikings with many of the local villagers taking their dialect and family heritage from the wonderful Viking invaders from across the seas!

The village looks forward to, once again, celebrating their Viking heritage at the Flamborough Fire Festival on New Year's Eve and welcoming you to Flamborough - The Home of the Vikings!