A pastoral scene with a foreground of rough open land with tall grasses and a shallow re-entrant. In the distance, a rounded hill with a rocky outcrop is dotted with trees and there is a small farmstead. The sky is a brilliant blue.

Bold Venture Gill

The public footpaths through Highcliffe Farm have been diverted. Fascinating. I am sure there is an entirely compelling reason for depriving the public of paths they have used for decades. Perhaps the landowner fancied some peace and quiet, or maybe there was a pressing need to shift things about for reasons too profound for us mere mortals to understand.

The new diversion, though longer, does offer this view of Bold Venture Gill and Highcliffe Farm, with Potters Ridge and Highcliff Nab in the background. How generous.

The farm, once known as Codhill Farm, has a history that is quite interesting. The farmhouse and an outhouse both date back to the early 18th century, though some speculate the land itself was mentioned as far back as 1602 in a survey.1century2North York Moors National Park. (2012). HER Map: North York Moors National Park. HER No: 16553. [online] Available at:https://www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/Historic-Environment-and-cultural-heritage/historic-environment-record [Accessed 7 Dec. 2021].2Dixon, Grace. “Two Ancient Townships – Studies of Pinchinthorpe and Hutton Lowcross”. Page 67. ISBN 0 9507827 2 6 1991. Back then, it belonged to the Chaloner estate, graciously handed over by Queen Mary to Sir Thomas Chaloner after her father had dissolved Gisborough Priory.

By 1806, Robert Chaloner had sold Codhill Farm to his agent, Joseph Hickson, who promptly passed it on to a Ralph Potter—who, it seems, left his mark by lending his name to Potter’s Ridge. The farm then changed hands three more times by 1820. Clearly, it was a picture of stability and prosperity.

During this period, someone decided to erect the dry-stone wall abutting the moor and “develop” some fields on what was known as Peat Carr Hill, which was rebranded as Bold Venture. These fields soon reverted to the wilderness they had been before, and another attempt at improvement was made later. The name Bold Venture stuck, despite the clear lack of success.

In the mid-19th century, the farm became Henry Thomas’s problem. He promptly leased it, along with its lucrative mining rights, to Joseph Whitwell Pease, who must have been full of optimism. Pease began to lose interest in mining Codhill by the 1860s, shifting his focus to his Upleatham mine, thereby reducing the royalties for Thomas’s widow after his death in 1866. Pease, ever the opportunist, offered to buy the farm outright in 1869. She initially resisted but eventually sold it to him three years later. One can only imagine her relief.


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4 responses to “Bold Venture Gill”

  1. John Clark avatar
    John Clark

    Your best one yet from my perspective.
    I’ve ran and walked past the place hundreds of times without a clue about the history or ownership.

    I hope the diversion is a dry one.

  2. Martin Smith avatar

    The date of the farm is 1642! I have this info from Judith who has the farm – we took it over in 1945 – Humphrey’s – on my mother’s side…My Uncle George bought the farm in the late 70’s…The pond at the rear is catalogued – was done so in the mid 1980’s when I worked for Country Endeavour…pity you never write up corrections…The Pease’s were very friendly and Vincent often visited the farm.

    1. Fhithich avatar
      Fhithich

      Thank you for sharing that information, Martin. I always appreciate hearing different perspectives. If there are any inaccuracies in the post, I would be more than happy to address them. Could you please clarify what specifically you believe is incorrect?

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