A Report on our meeting held on 26th January 2026

Archaeologist Ed Dennison engaged members with the medieval story of Flamborough Castle and explained what the ruined chalk tower and the surrounding humps and bumps can tell us about the lives of the Constable dynasty.

Using the enclosure map of 1766, Ed showed how the castle sat between two separated hamlets which have now merged into the Flamborough we know today. In medieval times the harbour at South Landing was as important as those at Bridlington and Whitby.

Ed interpreted the results of a major study of the site in 2017 which was aided by drone and ground penetrating surveys.  The tower, now conserved, had been extensively robbed over time.  Even so, Ed was able to discern that there was a doorway at first floor level, probably accessed with wooden stairs.

The grounds reveal the footprints of several buildings, as expected from an itemised list of buildings written in 1537. There was also a large garden to the east. Ed surmised that it could have been here where Sir Marmaduke Constable died in in 1518 after allegedly swallowing a frog that jumped into his glass.

The vote of thanks was given by Bro Frederick Robson.