Tag: history
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Freebrough Hill — Where Arthur Waits
This hill has loomed over the Guisborough to Whitby road for generations, a constant, brooding shape on the horizon. Its symmetry is so precise, its position so solitary, that people have long refused to believe it is natural. Clearly the work of men. Or gods. Or giants. One giant in particular: Wade, whose name is…
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“HORRID MURDER AT ESKDALE NEAR WHITBY”
So screamed the headline of the Yorkshire Gazette on 18 September 1841. The grim report told of the brutal killing of 61-year-old Mrs Robinson, murdered alone in her home at Eskdaleside, near Sleights. Her husband, William Robinson, a yeoman farmer of decent standing, had gone to Egton Fair that day. His servants were out in…
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In Search of Pannierman Pots, Here is Long Stone Instead
I have long been interested in ancient transport routes across the moors, so I was pleased to come across some recent research on routeways in the North York Moors. These are vast landscape features, part of a tangled network linking places across great distances. Yet they are also intimate spaces, shaped by footfall, hooves, wheels,…
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Bombweed, a Hall Built of Basalt and German POWs
The vivid pinks of Rosebay Willowherb blaze across summer landscapes, yet most pass them by. Known as Fireweed, it is often the first plant to reclaim burnt ground. That was not always the case. The Georgians treated it as a rarity, grown in gardens rather than spotted in the wild. Even in 1853, the Reverend…
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Goathland: A Nice Little Earner
A misty start and a downpour overdue from June left little chance for photography this morning. So here is another one from yesterday: the tourist-magnet village of Goathland. Avoiding the coachloads is nearly impossible. The village spreads around a broad common where sheep graze as if unaware they are in a postcard. A posh sign,…
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Crossing the Murk Esk and the Dream for a Canal
I have passed through Grosmont many times before, yet somehow missed this ford across the River Murk Esk. It sits quietly at the foot of Lease Rigg, one of a pair of crossings of the river that seem to defy both logic and geology. The cliff rising on the eastern side makes it clear why…
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The Slow Decay of Belmont Mine
It is disheartening to see the old mine buildings at Belmont Ironstone Mine partially collapsed. Built around 1909, they may not be the grandest examples of industrial architecture, but they are likely the most intact surface remains of any ironstone mine in the Cleveland area. Remarkably, some sections are still used as stables. In the…
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From Helmsley to the Moors: Where Exactly Is Blackamoor?
Blackamoor is the old name for both the wider moors and the northern end of the Hambleton Hills—though modern maps prefer this as the more polite “Black Hambleton.” For most of the year, the name “black” suits the moors. Barring a brief burst of ling bloom or a winter’s snow, the moors always have a…
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Operation Starfish: A Decoy on the Moor
It is widely known around here that this brick structure on Percy Rigg was once a World War Two control bunker, part of a secret Air Ministry plan to protect British towns from German bombing raids. The scheme relied on decoys—an unusual mix of science and theatre designed to mislead the Luftwaffe. Wikipedia devotes a…
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Obelisks and Obfuscation: Rethinking Cook’s Monument
Three heavily-laden walkers trudge away from Captain Cook’s Monument towards Gribdale. One of them had, moments earlier, stood on the railings and appeared to kiss the obelisk. Quite what prompted this act of reverence is unclear, but it brought to mind an article I once read claiming the monument is less about Cook and more…