A bit of a wet morning. This was the best of the dozen or so photos I took.

It’s rare to find Osmotherley, or ‘Ossy’ as the village is commonly known, deserted and free of visitors and cars.

The name derives from Asmundr, a Scandinavian who settled in a ‘leah‘ here, the Old English word for a clearing¹Morris, R.W. “Yorkshire through Place Names”. Page 118. David & Charles. 1982. ISBN 0-7153-8230-6.. Forget the old myth that Prince Oswy was buried here next to his grieving mother — Oswy-by-his-mother-lay. That has no credance.

In the Domesday book, the village is recorded as ‘waste’, the results of the harrying by William the Conqueror²Burns, Tom Scott. “The Walker’s Guide to the Cleveland Hills”. Page 106. 1993. Smith Settle. ISBN 1-85825-009-9..

Until 1823, Osmotherley boasted a market, held each Saturday. There was also two annual fairs for the sale of horned cattle and sheep³Ibid..

The building in the right distance, in front of the church tower, is the Queen Catherine Inn, named after Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife, who founded the nearby Lady Chapel in 1515⁴Ibid.⁵Mead, Harry. “A Prospect of the North York Moors”. Page 18. The Hutton Press Ltd., 2000. ISBN 1 902709 10 1..

• 1
  Morris, R.W. “Yorkshire through Place Names”. Page 118. David & Charles. 1982. ISBN 0-7153-8230-6.
• 2
  Burns, Tom Scott. “The Walker’s Guide to the Cleveland Hills”. Page 106. 1993. Smith Settle. ISBN 1-85825-009-9.
• 3
  Ibid.
• 4
  Ibid.
• 5
  Mead, Harry. “A Prospect of the North York Moors”. Page 18. The Hutton Press Ltd., 2000. ISBN 1 902709 10 1.