Tunstall, East Riding of Yorkshire

Tunstall is a village in the civil parish of Roos, in Holderness, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, close to the North Sea coast. It is situated approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north-west of the town of Withernsea, and less than 0.6 miles (1 km) from the North Sea coast, at a height of 10 to 15 m (33 to 49 ft) above sea level, and close to the Prime Meridian at its northernmost point on land anywhere in the world.[1]

Tunstall
Tunstall Village : All Saints' Church, Manor Farm, and Manor Farm barn outbuilding
Tunstall is located in East Riding of Yorkshire
Tunstall
Tunstall
Location within the East Riding of Yorkshire
OS grid referenceTA305319
• London155 mi (249 km) S
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHULL
Postcode districtHU12
Dialling code01964
PoliceHumberside
FireHumberside
AmbulanceYorkshire
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
53°46′04″N 0°01′15″W / 53.767678°N 0.020961°W / 53.767678; -0.020961

Geography

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Cliffs and beach at Tunstall beach

The coast at Tunstall is eroding at an average rate of 1.1 to 2 m (3 ft 7 in to 6 ft 7 in) a year.[2]

To the south-east of Tunstall is a 126-acre (51 ha), 550 pitch caravan holiday park, Sand le Mere Holiday Village.[3][4]

History

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Tunstall was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Tunestal", within the manor of Withernsea.[5] The church of All Saints was originally of Norman construction, with many later alterations in the 13th and 14th centuries, primarily of beach cobble with stone dressings; a tower was added in the 15th century.[6]

Tunstall in Holderness (Yorkshire, East Riding) Inclosure Act 1777
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn Act for dividing and enclosing the Open Fields, Meadows, Pastures, and other un-enclosed Grounds, within the Township of Tunstall, in Holderness, in the East Riding of the County of York.
Citation17 Geo. 3. c. 30
Dates
Royal assent27 March 1777

A number of buildings in the village date to the early 18th century, including the cobble-built Town Farmhouse, Manor Farmhouse and nearby barn. The brick-built Hall Farmhouse was constructed in the later 18th century,[7] An inclosure act for the land around the village was passed in 1777, the Tunstall in Holderness (Yorkshire, East Riding) Inclosure Act 1777 (17 Geo. 3. c. 30).[8] The Kings Arms public house dates back to at least the 1850s.[9]

In 1823 inhabitants in the village numbered 163. Occupations included eight farmers, two shopkeepers, a tailor, a corn factor, and the landlady of the Cock public house. A carrier operated between the village and Hull on Tuesdays. Tunstall was close to the coastal Sand le Mar, an area frequented by neighbouring village inhabitants collecting sand and pebbles for the repair of roads.[10]

During the anti-invasion preparations of the Second World War a number of fortifications were constructed near Tunstall, including: a minefield north of the village, a weapons pit, several coastal pillboxes,[11] and tank traps.[12]

After the end of the Second World War, one of the pillbox structures was re-used as a nuclear explosion monitoring post (Royal Observer Corps Monitoring Post) during the Cold War period.[13]

In 2016, a 'Golf-Ball' style weather station was installed near the village to monitor weather conditions around the Westermost Rough Wind Farm. The inhabitants of Tunstall would like to see its removal as they believe its radar has been the cause of a number of rare cancers in the villagers. A report by East Riding County Council determined the radar extended a 60° beam outwards across the sea and the nearest homes were outside the field of this beam. Ørsted, the Westermost Rough wind farm operating company, have stated that the radar is within international guidelines and applied to extend the life of the station to 2019.[14]

Greenwich meridian

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The Trig Point in 2002

At a point on Tunstall beach, near Sand-le-Mere, the Greenwich Meridian makes its first landfall at 0° longitude as it runs from the North Pole to the South Pole through the Royal Greenwich Observatory, London separating the Western hemisphere from the Eastern hemisphere.[15][16]

The Greenwich meridian was not marked at the site until 1999, when it was decided to mark it in deference to the upcoming new millennium.[17] A trig point that was about to fall into the sea further along the coast was rescued and repurposed as a meridian marker at Tunstall.[17] Less than five years later, in 2003, the trig point fell from the cliff and broke up on the beach as a result of coastal erosion.[18][17] It has never been formally replaced.[17] As of February 2021, the meridian was marked by a traffic cone lined up with a breeze block on the beach.[15]

To coincide with the 125th anniversary of the Greenwich Meridian in 2009, a Greenwich Meridian Trail walking route was inaugurated by amateur walkers Hilda and Graham Heap which links the point at which the meridian makes landfall at Tunstall with the point at which it exits mainland Britain at the Meridian Monument in Peacehaven, East Sussex.[17][19]

Governance

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Tunstall forms part of the civil parish of Roos and is represented locally by Roos Parish Council[20] while at county level is in the South East Holderness ward of the East Riding of Yorkshire Council.[21] At a parliamentary level it is part of the Beverley and Holderness constituency which is currently represented (as of 2023) by Graham Stuart of the Conservative Party. Before Britain's exit from the EU Tunstall was in the Yorkshire and the Humber constituency. In 1931 the parish had a population of 102.[22] On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Roos.[23]

References

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  1. ^ Winn, Christopher (2010). I never knew that about Yorkshire. London: Ebury. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-09-193313-5.
  2. ^ "Erosion & Flooding in the Parish of Roos". www.hull.ac.uk. East Riding of Yorkshire Council data sets, posts 71–79. Retrieved 2 February 2013.. Figures from 1950 to early 2000s.
  3. ^ "We'll tow our caravan park to the top!: New owners have plans for seaside site". This is Hull and East Riding. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  4. ^ "About Sand le Mere Holiday Village, East Yorkshire". www.sand-le-mere.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  5. ^ Tunstall in the Domesday Book. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  6. ^ Historic England. "Church of All Saints (1216255)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  7. ^ There is a barn to the rear of a bus shelter, which is 17th century or early 18th in date.
  8. ^ "Tunstall Enclosure Bill". Journals of the House of Lords. 35: 89, 17 Geo. III. 17 March 1777.
  9. ^ Historic England. "The Kings Arms (1545854)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  10. ^ Baines, Edward (1823). History, Directory & Gazetteer of the County of York. p. 396. ISBN 1230139141.
  11. ^
  12. ^ Stacey, Andrew. "Holderness : Tunstall". Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  13. ^ Historic England. "Monument No. 932200". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 13 January 2013. Built on top of a Second World War lozenge shaped pillbox, see Historic England. "Monument No. 917371". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  14. ^ Mitchinson, James, ed. (12 December 2017). "Village fears weather station causes cancer". The Yorkshire Post. p. 7. ISSN 0963-1496.
  15. ^ a b "East Yorkshire coastal erosion: Tunstall / Sand le Mere". urbanrim.org.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  16. ^ Wood, Alexandra (1 July 2020). "The spot near Withernsea where you can straddle two hemispheres". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  17. ^ a b c d e Grubb, Penny (16 September 2021). "Why Is One End Of The Meridian Trail A Poor Relation To The Other?". Medium.com. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  18. ^ Dolan, Graham. "The Greenwich Meridian : Tunstal". www.thegreenwichmeridian.org. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  19. ^ "Greenwich Meridian Trail". greenwichmeridiantrail.co.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  20. ^ "Parish Description". Roos Parish Council. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  21. ^ Gazetteer — A–Z of Towns Villages and Hamlets. East Riding of Yorkshire Council. 2006. p. 11.
  22. ^ "Population statistics Tunstall AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  23. ^ "Relationships and changes Tunstall AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 26 November 2023.

Sources

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  • Gazetteer – A–Z of Towns Villages and Hamlets. East Riding of Yorkshire Council. 2006. p. 11.
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  Media related to Tunstall at Wikimedia Commons