The 12th century parish church dedicated to St Oswald, on Church Hill in the north of the town, is a Grade I listed building. It is the oldest building in Filey and Nicholas Pevsner wrote "This is easily the finest church in the NE corner of the East Riding". St Oswald's has nearly 1,500 pieces of well-preserved medieval graffiti on the roof of the tower, ranging from initials up to complicated images of fully rigged sailing vessels, including one known as a Whitby Cat. The graffiti covers around 400 years of Filey's history, and maps out identifiable people, their occupations, changes in literacy and coastal shipping, the start of tourism in the area, and even a possible record of 17th century plague. The graffiti was recorded and analysed by Historic England in 2016. Filey was a small village until the 18th century when visitors from Scarborough arrived seeking the peace and quiet that Filey then offered. In 1835 a Birminghamsolicitor called John Wilkes Unett bought of land and built the Crescent, later known as the Royal Crescent, which was opened in the 1850s. Fishing at Filey has been tradition, going on for a multitude of centuries, with most of those undertaking it coming from a long line of fishermen and women in their families. The fishing boats at Filey are cobles, like most of the others along the Yorkshire and North East coasts, and the catch is mostly sea trout. Limitations have been placed upon how and where they use their nets which also trap salmon; some fear this may lead to the end of the fishing industry in Filey. In 1804, a lifeboat was procured for the town and it became a Royal National Lifeboat Institution asset in 1852. Filey Lifeboat Station is still in existence and has an inshore and an all-weather boat on station. English composer Frederick Delius stayed as a boy on the Crescent with his family at Miss Hurd's boarding house in 1876 and 1877, and then at Mrs Colley's in 1897. In 1931 the spire of a church was damaged by the Dogger Bank earthquake. For more than 40 years Butlin'sFiley Holiday Camp was a major factor in Filey's economy. Building began in 1939 and continued during the Second World War when it became an air force station known as RAF Hunmanby Moor. In 1945 it became a popular holiday resort with its own railway station and by the late 1950s could cater for 10,000 holiday makers. It closed in 1984, causing a decrease in the holiday makers visiting Filey. Filey was historically split between the North Riding of Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire, with the boundary running along Filey Beck. When County Councils were formed by the Local Government Act 1888, the whole of Filey was placed in the East Riding. Filey also boasts the Grade II listed Langford Villa on The Crescent which was often chosen by the famous chocolatier Sir Joseph Terry as his place to "summer"; it is situated next door but one to The White Lodge Hotel. In 2018, the town was featured in the Tour de Yorkshirefor the first time.
Coast and Country Housing Limited
plan to build 300 houses in Filey. Scarborough council has approved plans for the £45 million housing project off Muston Road by Coast & Country. Independent councillor Sam Cross, who represents Filey on the borough council, said: "The infrastructure of the town can't cope with it." Coast and Country replied to the concerns by stating that the houses are being built to meet a pent-up latent demand for affordable housing and other housing within the town.
Parliamentary representation
Filey was in the Ryedale constituency until the 2010 general election when it became part of the newly formed Thirsk and Malton constituency. Proposed boundary changes to the constituencies, would see Filey be moved from Thirsk and Malton into the Scarborough and Whitby constituency.
Media
Filey receives a daily news service from local commercial radio station, Yorkshire Coast Radio.
