Out & About …

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

Tag: cross

  • Siss Cross

    Siss Cross

    A beautiful January but marred by the smell of burning heather. And on a Sunday too. It seems like we’re just spitting in the face of the Australians. And all to maximise the grouse bag. There are some rules: heather should not be burnt where the smoke is likely to damage health or cause a…

  • Job Cross

    Job Cross

    On Moorsholm Moor. Perhaps one of the North York Moors most elusive crosses. Job Cross stands 30 metres or so north of the modern track designated as a Public Right of Way open to all traffic but once found it becomes obvious from quite a way off. The modern route must have been diverted slightly…

  • Siss Cross

    Siss Cross

    Typical of the many crosses that are a feature of the North York Moors. Originally erected by the Saxons or Danes after their conversion to Christianity but most replaced over the years. Their purpose has been speculated as a waymarker, territorial boundary or a memorial but may have been re-used for all of these. Siss…

  • Jenny Bradley Stone

    Jenny Bradley Stone

    Let’s be clear I talking about the smaller stone, somewhat apt by having a feminine cognomen and is overshadowed by the more masculine 19th-century estate marker. This medieval wayside marker stands beside the Cleveland Way which follows at this point the old packhorse way from Baysdale Abbey southwards to Ryedale. Like a lot of medieval…

  • Young Ralph

    Young Ralph

    Walked into Bransdale Mill yesterday with a Duke of Edinburgh training group in what turned out to be a glorious day. The journey out today turned interesting. The cross known as Young Ralph is probably medieval and to me always looks better in wintry conditions. It is perhaps best known as the logo of the…

  • Stump Cross

    Stump Cross

    Winter on the high moors are mostly bleak, a brown heather carpet covered by a grey quilt but when the sun does shine it can be exhilarating. Not the place where medieval travellers would have ventured unnecessarily. However, even today to cycle from Danby following the River Esk to its mouth at Whitby, the obvious…

  • Cringley End

    Cringley End

    The modern Ordnance Survey map names the nab at the northern tip of the western end of Kirby Bank as Cringle End but I much prefer the Victorian name Cringley End. I notice too that Kirby Bank is referred to as Kirkby just like the village. I think I favour that too. Just to the…

  • Hob Cross, Stanghow Moor

    Hob Cross, Stanghow Moor

    Yellow warnings issued for rain and high winds, and for once the Met Office was not overly pessimistic. Followed the Quakers Causeway, an ancient route from Guisborough Priory to Whitby Abbey. Higher on Stanghow Moor the stone trods still mark the way, worn smooth by countless feet, but approaching Hob Cross any stones must have…

  • Market Cross, Guisborough

    Market Cross, Guisborough

    Recognise this? I am sure this is passed by hundreds of people every day but I suspect few actually look up. And who needs a sundial when we all have mobile phones. What struck me was that the gnomon on one of the sundials is ‘T’ shaped instead of the more usual triangular. In fact,…

  • White Cross

    White Cross

    You might be forgiven for thinking that White Cross is so named because it is white but the whitewashing has been carried out by all the boundary stones of the Dawnay Estate. The stone post is actually 19th century sandstone but the limestone base is much older probably medieval. The original Christian cross now resides in…