From Helmsley to the Moors: Where Exactly Is Blackamoor?

Blackamoor is the old name for both the wider moors and the northern end of the Hambleton Hills—though modern maps prefer this as the more polite “Black Hambleton.” For most of the year, the name “black” suits the moors. Barring a brief burst of ling bloom or a winter’s snow, the moors always have a dark, dull, and desolate look about them. Even on clear, blue-sky mornings such as this, when thin cirrus clouds scatter and a few hints of purple Bell heather try their best, the moorland refuses to be anything but colourless.

No one has ever quite agreed on where Blackamoor begins or ends. Not even Bill Cowley—Potto farmer and founder of the Lyke Wake Walk—could pin it down. He noted the name shifted across time: “Blackaumor” from John of Hexham, “Blakmore” from Leland, “Blackimore” from Drayton¹On Blackamoor — History, Nature, Memory. Martyn Hudson. 2020.. John Walker Ord, that go-to Victorian chronicler of Cleveland, dredged up several 17th-century texts using “Blackamoore” and “Blakemoor.” At the time of the Dissolution, “Eton in Blakemore” was noted among lands owned by the priory of Gisborough. Where was Eton? Take your pick between Eston and Aton; both were also listed. Not I hope in Berkshire²Ord, John Walker, History and Antiquities of Cleveland. Page 204. 1846.³Ibid. Page 432. Footnote 2.⁴Ibid. Page 184. Footnote 1..

Early cartographers, surprisingly, made things worse. They liked “Blakmore,” possibly to tie the moor to Blakey Moor. Saxton’s 1577 map used “Blakay Moor” to mean the whole expanse. Speed’s map, cramped by its design, tried to restrict it to Blakey rigg and Blakey Topping. Jeffrey’s 1796 map went one better, linking Helmsley to Blackmore⁵On Blackamoor — History, Nature, Memory. Martyn Hudson. 2020.. And indeed, not so long ago, older folk still called the town Helmsley Blackamoor. Perhaps they saw it as the main gateway to the moors from York and points south⁶Holiday Jaunts and Jumbles. | Northern Weekly Gazette | Saturday 26 June 1920 | British Newspaper Archive. [online] Available at: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003075/19200626/080/0010 [Accessed 31 Mar. 2022].⁷Banks, W.S. Walks in Yorkshire by Banks. Page 43. 1866..

All of this suggests a long and muddled naming history, shaped by guesswork, shifting usage, and regional habit.

One final aside. The word “blackamoor” also appears in parish and legal records of the Tudor period as a term for people of African descent. There may be no link to the moorland name—but both forms did seem to enter the language at roughly the same time. Make of that what you will.

• 1
  On Blackamoor — History, Nature, Memory. Martyn Hudson. 2020.
• 2
  Ord, John Walker, History and Antiquities of Cleveland. Page 204. 1846.
• 3
  Ibid. Page 432. Footnote 2.
• 4
  Ibid. Page 184. Footnote 1.
• 5
  On Blackamoor — History, Nature, Memory. Martyn Hudson. 2020.
• 6
  Holiday Jaunts and Jumbles. | Northern Weekly Gazette | Saturday 26 June 1920 | British Newspaper Archive. [online] Available at: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003075/19200626/080/0010 [Accessed 31 Mar. 2022].
• 7
  Banks, W.S. Walks in Yorkshire by Banks. Page 43. 1866.