Category: Danby Dale
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Danby Dale
In the distance, just right of centre and past the patchwork fields, lies Botton Village, mostly hidden by trees. It’s a community that has never made a fuss. In September 1955, a small group moved into Botton Hall at the head of the dale. The hall had belonged to the Macmillans, relatives of Harold Macmillan.…
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Danby Dale on the Equinox
I got soaked to the skin this morning, but the sky paid me back with a full rainbow over Danby Dale. Autumn showers, it seems, come with small mercies. I took the photograph at 10.28 precisely. A rainbow always sits opposite the sun, so anyone with a sense of direction can work out which way…
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The Tofts and the Wandels: Echoes of the Deserted Medieval Village of Danby
One of the most striking features of Danby Dale is its parish church, standing rather alone about three kilometres from the present village. Castleton and Ainthorpe sit a little closer, yet the church remains a solitary figure in the landscape. In the photograph, it can be seen just to the right of centre, north of…
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When Castleton Fed a Queen
From Castleton Rigg above Danby Dale, the eye follows the curve of the valley. To the right stands The Howe, and to the left, on the lower ridge lies Castleton, a village whose name carries the echo of a medieval stronghold. The castle itself rose on Castle Hill around 1089, and with it came cottages…
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Revd. J C Atkinson’s ‘Forty Years in a Moorland Parish’
I have often referred to the Reverend John Christopher Atkinson’s book, ‘Forty Years in a Moorland Parish,’ published in 1891. It offers a detailed account of life in and around the village of Danby, and is a much thumbed addition to my bookshelf. This morning I ventured into Danby Dale, Atkinson’s former parish. Atkinson was…
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Danby Botton
Danby Dale’s middle section is termed ‘Danby Botton’, where Botton comes from an Old Scandinavian word ‘Botn’ for a hollow. The farm nearest is Stormy Hall which is the centre of a tradition dating from the time that Danby Castle was in the possession of the Latimers. Apparently, the hall takes its name from the fact…
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Mark’s-e’en watch
A warm, beautiful morning but very hazy, not conducive at all for distant landscape photographs. All the colours end up being washed out. It must be all this Sarahan sand. Tomorrow, April 25, is the feast day of St. Mark the Evangelist which makes today St Mark’s Eve when it was the custom to sit…
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Hanging Stone, Danby Dale
When the Reverend J.C.Atkinson became the vicar of the parish of Danby in 1847 there was no village of Danby and as far as he could ascertain there had never been one. There was a Danby Dale, a Danby Rigg and a Danby Castle. There were several hamlets: Dale End, Little Fryup and Ainthorpe, and…
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Danby Dale and Castleton
As the sun passes over the equator and the hours of daylight and darkness are the same, we are reminded that winter is fast approaching. So an equinoctial cycle ride, to Great Fryup for breakfast at the Yorkshire Cycle Hub, what better way of spending a Sunday morning. Unfortunately, at Rosedale Head, I got quite…