The re-
New farmhouses, cottages, a pub, and a small church began to appear on the western side of Kilnsea from the late 1840s. The practical villagers of Kilnsea dismantled their houses and cottages before they fell over the cliffs. Building materials were precious, and were saved from the sea where possible. Soon after the enclosure award had been signed in 1843 the new village of Kilnsea began to appear, mainly built on the Humber side of the parish, as far away from the sea as possible. The houses may have been new, but they utilised some of the material from the old houses, whilst the names of many of the families preserved the continuity of the old village. Farming and fishing were the main occupations of the people of Kilnsea, and like Easington to the north certain families have dominated the area: the Clubley family, the Tennyson (alternatively Tennison) family, the Medforth family, and the Hodgson family, were the most prominent in the nineteenth century. It was said that had it not been for sailors getting marooned in the village when their ships got into trouble the people of Kilnsea would be very inbred indeed, for they could not be bothered to get over Long Bank (the parish boundary) to go and look for partners!
Before the loss of the village, Kilnsea had several alehouses, shops, and even a school. After the new village was created it never got larger than about 30 houses, though it did manage to retain two public houses, the Blue Bell and the Crown and Anchor.
The former closed in the 1950s, but the latter still flourishes. However there was no rush to build a new church. After the church went over the cliff, services continued to be held at Kilnsea, though for weddings, baptisms and burials the people of Kilnsea had to go to Easington. As a temporary measure, a room in a farmhouse was rented, and the rescued church bell was hung in the stackyard, being struck with a stone to call people to worship. Eventually the bell cracked from such harsh treatment, which rather quashes romantic fables about Kilnsea’s bells ringing under the sea!
John Ombler, of Westmere House, who became the Board of Trade superintendent of the
Spurn beach and sea-
Sadly in the 1990s falling congregations meant that the church had to be closed. It has now been deconsecrated and is being converted to a dwelling.
For a time Kilnsea also had a Primitive Methodist Chapel. Henry Hodge, a Hull industrialist,
had been born in Kilnsea, and he became a prominent Primitive Methodist. Finding
that the village of his birth was without a Methodist place of worship he bought
land near the Humber and in 1885 built a chapel, constructed of corrugated iron there.
This so-
In December 2013, as a result of the North Sea surge, the western side of Kilnsea was badly flooded. Thanks to the efforts of many local people the Environment Agency agreed that a flood bank should be constructed, and it was completed in April 2015. Nevertheless the area will always be vulnerable, being almost entirely surrounded by water.
The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust want to put a new Visitor Centre and coach and car park in Kilnsea. Many people oppose this. See Keep Spurn Wild.