The Sheep of Clough

A heap of moss-covered sandstone, once a farmstead, now a sheep stronghold. This is Clough, where the path from Bilsdale Moor West meets another from Staindale to Raisdale Mill. In 1781, William Hunton lived here, followed in 1826 by John Garbutt, who managed thirty-five acres¹Bilsdale Survey, 1781. ‘Local History Articles’, Bilsdale.org.uk <https://www.bilsdale.org.uk/history/article/28/> [accessed 22 March 2024]. Today, the only residents are the sheep, who seem perfectly content and reluctant to give way.

“Clough” is Old English for a steep valley, which is convenient, as there is one nearby: Clough Gill²Burns, Tom Scott. “The Walker’s Guide to the Cleveland Hills”. ISBN 1-85825-009-9 1993.. The beck gurgles over sandstone before vanishing into a dense, dark plantation of conifers. The steep slopes above the farmstead are lined with gnarled birch and oak, streaked with grey lichen. The sheep, more agile than one might expect, hop across the craggy cliffs and shale screes, while dark ling creeps downward over the rubble.

In a moment of linguistic overindulgence, Clough Gill manages to say the same thing twice, since “gill” also means ravine, this time courtesy of Old Norse—tautology or pleonasm, if you want to take your pick of the posh words for this type of oddity³Brockett, J.T., “A Glossary of North Country Words in Use; with their Etymology, and Affinity to other Languages; and Occasional Notices of Local Customs and Popular Superstitions”, E. Charnley, 1829, https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6-cQAAAAYAAJ.

A few mossy stones mark where Clough once stood. It takes little imagination to overlook its past as a farm and home. A single outbuilding still stands, its roof covered in corrugated sheeting, while the rest of the stone was put to good use in Chop Gate village hall⁴Farmstead at Clough NYMNPA HER No: 10625.

John Garbutt was still here in 1841, according to the census. Aged 45, he lived with his wife, Hannah, and her two sons, Thomas Bell, 7, and Garbutt Bell, 14. Also on the farm was Maria Souter, a 15-year-old agricultural labourer⁵“Bilsdale Population Census PDF Free Download.” Docplayer.net, 2014, docplayer.net/53383947-Bilsdale-population-census-1841.html. Accessed 3 Apr. 2021..

An old webpage, now lost to the digital void, once claimed that a Sarah Bell was born at Clough in 1816 and lived there until her marriage at 23. The details are now as unreachable as the farm itself⁶“THOMAS WOOD – SARAH BELL.” Ecwood.co.uk, 2021, www.ecwood.co.uk/LatestBK/f25.html. Accessed 3 Apr. 2021. Site no longer live..

By 1851, Clough—or “Cloorf,” as the census enumerator recorded it—had a new occupant: Robert Worthy, along with his wife Mary and son William⁷Lost Farms Bygone Bilsdale Review. [n.d.]. <https://www.bilsdale.org.uk/assets/files/lostfarms_sources.pdf> [accessed 22 March 2024].

When exactly Clough was abandoned is unclear, but by 1907, it was described as “picturesque ruins well sheltered in a glade of trees.”⁸“A Ramble in Raisdale”. Northern Weekly Gazette – 19 October 1907 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003075/19071019/168/0025?noTouch=true In the 1950s, the fields were finally “improved,” though Clough was hardly unique in its decline. Many upland farms had been left to rot since the late 1800s. Some fields were still in use, but the higher ones were more trouble than they were worth. Then came World War II, and the government decided that even marginal land could be made useful. Neglected pastures like Clough were ploughed and reclaimed, not for grand ambitions, but simply to squeeze a little more from what was already there⁹Farra, Margaret, “A STUDY OF THE LAND-USE CHANGES OF THE NORTH YORK MOORS”. ProQuest Number 10097250.  ProQuest LLC(2016) Page 256.

• 1
  Bilsdale Survey, 1781. ‘Local History Articles’, Bilsdale.org.uk <https://www.bilsdale.org.uk/history/article/28/> [accessed 22 March 2024]
• 2
  Burns, Tom Scott. “The Walker’s Guide to the Cleveland Hills”. ISBN 1-85825-009-9 1993.
• 3
  Brockett, J.T., “A Glossary of North Country Words in Use; with their Etymology, and Affinity to other Languages; and Occasional Notices of Local Customs and Popular Superstitions”, E. Charnley, 1829, https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6-cQAAAAYAAJ
• 4
  Farmstead at Clough NYMNPA HER No: 10625
• 5
  “Bilsdale Population Census PDF Free Download.” Docplayer.net, 2014, docplayer.net/53383947-Bilsdale-population-census-1841.html. Accessed 3 Apr. 2021.
• 6
  “THOMAS WOOD – SARAH BELL.” Ecwood.co.uk, 2021, www.ecwood.co.uk/LatestBK/f25.html. Accessed 3 Apr. 2021. Site no longer live.
• 7
  Lost Farms Bygone Bilsdale Review. [n.d.]. <https://www.bilsdale.org.uk/assets/files/lostfarms_sources.pdf> [accessed 22 March 2024]
• 8
  “A Ramble in Raisdale”. Northern Weekly Gazette – 19 October 1907 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003075/19071019/168/0025?noTouch=true
• 9
  Farra, Margaret, “A STUDY OF THE LAND-USE CHANGES OF THE NORTH YORK MOORS”. ProQuest Number 10097250.  ProQuest LLC(2016) Page 256