Tag: history
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Cliff Rigg Scallywags Hideout
A year ago, I wrote about the Great Ayton Scallywags Patrol, a secretive Auxiliary Unit stationed in the area during the Second World War. Unlike the familiar, shambolic image of âDadâs Army,â these men were part of a covert Home Guard unit. If the Germans had invaded, they could expect to last about a weekâhardly…
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Saltburn Pier: A Stubborn Relic of Victorian Opportunism
With the weather forecast putting an end to our morning plans and since we did not particularly want to be battered about on the high moors, we decided instead to be battered about on the beach. Hence, our impromptu visit to Saltburn-by-the-Sea. Despite the slight breeze, nature insists that spring is on its way. Frogs…
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ColmĂĄnâs Legacy: From Lindisfarne to Inishbofin (Possibly via Commondale?)
Today marks the anniversary of the death of ColmĂĄn of Lindisfarne in the year 675. A fine excuse, I thought, to wander over to Commondale, a place supposedly named after the saint. At least, that is what Tom Scott Burns claimed in The Walkerâs Guide to the Cleveland Hills. But, as with most things, it…
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Rievaulx Bridge: Monks, Floods, and Tanks
In 1826, William Turner stood on this bridge to paint his famous view of Rievaulx Abbey. Anyone hoping to recreate his masterpiece today would be sorely disappointed, thanks to the abundance of trees along the river and the endless stream of traffic rattling across the bridge. This three-arched, hump-backed structure, built from limestone ashlar, replaced…
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A Short History of the Ormesby Ironstone Mine and Its Surroundings
After many years, I finally returned to Flatts Lane Country Park and was astonished to find it looking clean and free of litter. This was undoubtedly the work of the Friends of Flatts Lane Country Park, who evidently have more patience than I do. The same could not be said for the approach via Flatts…
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Percy Rigg Farm: The Struggles of a Tenant Farmer
Standing above Percy Rigg Farm in a biting wind is a fine way to appreciate just how bleak and precarious farming here must be. The farm, once known as View Hill or Viewley Hill Farm, and before that, with little charm, as Piggery Farm, likely came into existence thanks to the Enclosure Act of 1775.…
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High Lingrow: From Wartime Deception to Agricultural Use
At Port Mulgrave today, where the weather could not make up its mind, shifting between sunshine and snow flurries. Lingrow Cliffs is just that little headland across the bay, not really anything special, especially at low tide. But near its highest pointânamed, with great imagination, High Lingrowâthere was once a Second World War bombing decoy…
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An Overlooked Wartime Relic of Sherwood Forest
A pit stop at the Sherwood Forest visitor centre for some exercise. Instead of yet another photograph of the Major Oak â that 1,000-year-old tree allegedly used by Robin Hood, of which the internet is already saturated â I have chosen something more original: a pair of ditches. These ditches, grandly named âMilitary Bunker Pitsâ…
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12 February 1933: Hitlerâs Message to Britain
On 12 February 1933, Great Ayton would have been its usual quiet self on that Sunday morning. Most of the villagers would have been dutifully attending church, the weather was dreary, and the temperature was barely above freezing. A drizzle added to the general cheerlessness. After church, families would have eaten their Sunday dinners, perhaps…
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Harker Gates
A picturesque Grade II listed cottage in Ardenside, meticulously maintained yet somehow exuding the melancholy air of a neglected relic. One suspects it is a holiday let rather than a cherished family home. Sir Ralph Tancred acquired the old Arden Priory estate in 1574, and it remained in the familyâs grasp until the early 20th…