Tag: 17th-century
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The Execution of King Charles I and the Chaloner Connection
On this day, 30 January, 1649, at Whitehall, Oliver Cromwell oversaw the executioner Richard Brandon chopping off the head of the King of England, Charles I. Thomas and James Chaloner, sons of the courtier Sir Thomas Chaloner (1559-1615) from Guisborough, were among the 135 commissioners at the King’s trial. Thomas, (born 1595) bolder than his…
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Vandalised Legacy: The Tale of Beggar’s Bridge
A stroll down to Beggar’s Bridge to take a gander at the scene of recent vandalism that had struck the 17th-century packhorse bridge. News of the damage, likely inflicted by a sneaky hand wielding a Stihl saw, has cast doubt over the bridge’s future. The old structure, standing for 400 years, now bears the scars…
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Strome Castle
One of the must-see destinations on an early 20th-century grand tour of Scotland was Strome Castle, the fortress that once stood imposing, overseeing the crossing of Loch Carron. But, as the main roads were upgraded, and the ferry service to Strome axed in the 1970s, the castle found itself nestled in a tranquil cul-de-sac, its…
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Coire na Creiche
This north-west facing corrie of the Cullin hills is known as ‘the hollow of the spoil’ in Gaelic: Coire na Creiche. It earned this name due to its reputation as a preferred hideout for those seeking refuge after successful raids. However, our exploration yielded no valuable spoils; instead, we stumbled upon a trashed tent flysheet…
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Glen Vale and John Knox’s Pulpit
Another range of hills I’ve passed by many times before on journeys to the Highlands — the Lomond Hills. The main photo is Glen Vale, the Convenanters’ glen — a “ravine of rugged grandeur” — on account of the Presbyterian conventicles held during the ‘Killing Time‘ in the late 17th Century when such Convenanters as…
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The Wicked Squire of Basedale
A photo of Baysdale to accompany this story I came across by Richard Blakeborough in the Northern Weekly Gazette from 1912 It’s a cracking story, which I fear would be diminshed if I attempted to trim it down. I am therefore repeating it in full which makes this my longest post ever (which I’ve split…
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A longing look at a sea fret
Stanghow Moor, looking back towards Low Moor, amputated by the A170. A distant bank of cloud suggests a sea fret. But first, Live Moor, east of Birk Brow, a sad patch of heather moorland, scarred by generations of motorcyclists, and, in the 17th-century, by poor Jenny Frisk when she was ducked in a witch trial.…
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‘A Yorkshire Tragedy’
I don’t usually do this view — on a sunny day it would be into the sun — but, a bit cloudy today, and with a surprising chilly wind. From Great Ayton Moor. On this day (23rd April) in 1605, Walter Calverley of Calverley Hall murdered his two sons, and seriously wounded his wife, and…