Filey, watering-place, par., and township with ry. sta., on Filey Bay, partly in North-Riding but chiefly in East-Riding Yorkshire, 9 miles SE. of Scarborough and 237 miles N. of London--par., 3312 ac. and 367 foreshore, pop. 2697; township, 833 ac., pop. 2337; P.O., T.O., 1 Bank, 1 newspaper; is situated in a picturesque position on the cliffs, and has a splendid beach of hard sand. Filey has important fisheries. The bay is considered to be well adapted for a harbour of refuge. Filey Brigg (formerly called the "File"), the N. boundary of the bay, is a ridge of rocks extending nearly ½ mile into the sea; it contains several caves.

(John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887))