Tag: Early medieval
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Beyond the Mist — The Battle of Stokesley
This morning, the air on Great Ayton Moor was crystal clear, but away in the south-west, a low mist crept up the Vale of Cleveland, making the wind turbines at Seamer look like they’re levitating. That white house yonder caught my eye. Turns out, it’s Howe Hill. Now, I can therefore take a brief detour…
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Easby Moor from Roseberry Topping
The names Easby and Roseberry both derive from Old Scandinavian, but what did the Deiri tribe, nestled snugly between the Humber and the Tees rivers, call these places? Picture Deira as the precursor to Yorkshire, holding court in York. But Deira wasn’t a territorial area. It seems more like a robust dynasty. The exact genesis…
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Lilla Cross – A Tale of Loyalty and Bravery
On a day that turned out so dreich that even a duck would not be happy, a tramp across Fylingdales Moor to Lilla Cross might have seemed a good idea when we set off. No wind whistled across the heather, but instead there were faint echoes of woeful cries that must have reverberated through the…
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Aireyholme Lane — A trade route of the past?
Descending Aireyholme Lane to the farm was like being part of a time-honoured ritual, with the sheep gracefully separating like the biblical Moses parting the Red Sea. The scene held an air of timelessness, as if this track had been used since the dawn of time. But one couldn’t help but wonder, when exactly was…
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Odin’s necklace
Deep shadows from the winter sunshine emphasise the contour features on the northern face of Roseberry. There are three lines of pits. One follows the 200m contour above Cockle Scar, I’ve posted about these before. Their origins remain unclear, from a supposed British settlement by Victorian antiquarians to military, defensive or ritual. Next up, at…
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Boundary stone on Stanghow Moor
Exploring hob country, the area of moorland south-east of Guisborough. This early 19th-century boundary stone marks an old parish boundary between Guisborough and Stanghow. It is about half way between Hob on the Hill and Hob Cross, which names denote a connection with those mischievious sprites that are supposedly the descendants of prehistoric inhabitants. The…
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Commondale from Sand Hill
Said to be named after Colmán, Bishop of Lindisfarne. So what was the venerable prelate doing in this remote dale that resulted in it taking his name? It is known he was present at the Synod of Whitby in 664 A.D., having been was appointed bishop 3 years earlier. Colmán led a delegation of monks representing…