PROCEEDINGS 
OF THE 
MAY TO DECEMBER, 1870. 
GENERAL. 
VIII. 
A few Notes on the Natural History of Filey and the 
Neighbourhood. 
By T. Graham Ponton, F.Z.S. 
Bead at the General Meeting, October 6th, 1870. 
[Abstract.] 
Filey, the ancient Porta Felix of the Romans, some few years ago a 
mere Yorkshire fishing village, has of late risen into a seaside place of 
resort, a good deal frequented by those who prefer to enjoy the beauties 
of nature in peace and quietness to being compelled to admire them under 
the numerous disadvantages of a fashionable watering-place. Apart from 
the beauty of its coast-line, Filey affords many attractions to the 
naturalist, the antiquarian, and the pleasure-seeker. To the first, its 
waters, teeming with varied forms of animal and vegetable life, its valleys, 
where luxuriantly flourish many a rare fern and flower, and above all, its 
rocks, where lie entombed the relics of the fauna and flora of a past 
creation, afford an endless source of delight. To the lover of things 
ancient, its remains of former greatness, when it was a British camp and 
an important Roman station, its ancient though despoiled and dilapidated 
church, and the numerous remains of mediaeval art in the neighbourhood, 
must give pleasure. 
To the mere seeker for health and relaxation, it provides enjoyment by 
its long stretch of sea-beach, though perhaps a shade of sadness may come 
over him as he sits on the Cardinal Seats, and thinks of those who once 
sat there, and whose place knoweth them no more. 
