Out & About …

… on the North York Moors, or wherever I happen to be.

The Pepperpot, Bridestones

Of the fascinating sandstone columns and rock outcrops that are known as the Bridestones, the Pepperpot is perhaps the most photographed. The Bridestones are the last remnants of a Jurassic sedimentary rock layer deposited some 150 million years ago that have been eroded over the millennia by wind, frost and rain.

The name is not uncommon. I know of other Bridestones near Grosmont and in Tripsdale on the North York Moors and one on the Pennines of West Yorkshire. It could originate from briddes, the Old English word for birds and I suppose from some angles a particular stone may have resembled a bird. The name could also come from the Old Norse for brink or edge stones. A third theory is that the name is derived from the Old English personal name Beorhtel, the origin of the name for the Yorkshire coastal town of Bridlington. But no mention of brides or weddings.


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