Coastal change

Settlements lost to the sea

The Holderness coast has retreated significantly since the Roman period. A number of settlements recorded in medieval and early modern sources no longer exist, their sites now lying offshore.

• Ravenser Odd: a medieval port town at the mouth of the Humber, lost to the sea in the 14th century.
• Owthorne: a village near Withernsea, lost through the 18th and 19th centuries. Its church was demolished in 1816 as the cliff edge approached.
• Sunthorpe: recorded in early surveys of the Holderness coast, no longer extant.
• Auburn: a village near Skipsea, lost during the 19th century.
• Hyde: recorded near Auburn, lost to erosion.
• Hartburn: recorded near Aldbrough, lost to erosion.
• Hornsea Burton: recorded near Hornsea, lost to erosion.
• Northorpe: recorded near Owthorne, lost to erosion.

This list is reviewed annually.