Tag: 18th-century
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The Hand Stone of Ingleby Moor
On the desolate expanse of Ingleby Moor stands a weathered stone guidepost, rising tall beyond a metre. Its west face bears the inscription “TO INGLEBY AND STOXLEY,” while the east face proudly displays “TO GUISBORO,” and on the south face, the words “TO KIRBY AND HELMSLEY 1757” are inscribed. But what sets this landmark apart…
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18th-Century stables and cartshed at Bransdale Mill
If you’ve ever been to Bransdale Mill, you will have seen the old barn propped up for years by scaffolding to prevent collapse. This has been necessary since the Public Footpath passes directly below the north end gable. Now the barn is stable at last, its scaffolding gone. And a fine sight it is. One…
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William Parkinson and the gibbet on Turkey Nab
I reckon Turkey Nab must be one of the steepest hill climbs in Cleveland. It’s one of those routes where vehicles can be driven without tarmac, which makes it popular with 4WD enthusiasts. But for cyclists, it’s a different story altogether. That loose gravel turns it into a proper challenge. This high moorland route has…
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Joseph Foord: The man who brought water to Fadmoor and Gillamoor
This is Sleighthome Dale, which is drained by Hodge Beck. Bransdale is upstream and Kirkdale is downstream, but it’s unclear where one dale ends and the other begins. Across the dale, there’s a limestone plateau called Boon Hill, with the twin villages of Fadmoor and Gillamoor. In the 18th century, both villages had no easy…
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The Rise and Fall of Alum Production in Great Ayton
As I descend from Capt. Cook’s Monument, approaching Gribdale Terrace, the former whinstone quarrymen’s cottages gleam white, with Cliff Rigg rising behind them. Before me, in the centre of the photo is a range of sandstone buildings mapped as Bank House Farm on the 1853 OS Six-inch map, but an auction advertisement in the Yorkshire…
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The Ionic Temple, Rievaulx Terrace
They say that things often come in threes, and that certainly seems to be the case for me this week, as I have encountered the Duncombe family for the third time. In 1687, a nouveau riche banker named Sir Charles Duncombe purchased the Rievaulx and Helmsley estates for the staggering sum of £90,000. He was…
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Coal Mining in Baysdale: success or failure?
The North York Moors might not be the first place you think of when it comes to coal mining, but it was actually a thriving industry at the end of the 18th century. Most of the mining areas were located along the high watershed to the south of the Esk valley, like Rudland Rigg and…
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The old road to Westerdale
The moors are filled with standing stones that span across different periods in history. You can find prehistoric monoliths, medieval structures, and even contemporary edifices scattered throughout the vast terrain. According to the 1853 6″ O.S. map, there is a boundary stone labelled Stockesley Cross located near the ruins of a supposed smugglers’ hideout called…
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In Baysdale Beck
Two stoops or gateposts mark a long-lost crossing of Baysdale Beck about 275 metres upstream of the modern-day ford at Hob Hole. The width between the post suggests a passage on foot and for pack horses only. “Ploughman“, writing in 1908, observed that “the supports of an ancient bridge is still preserved, by the interweaving…
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18th-Century Valentines
I noticed new trees have been planted on Busby Moor, that stretch of Cleveland Hills below Cringle Moor and Green Bank. And so to St. Valentine’s day, isn’t this year flying by? Francis Grose’s ‘A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue‘, written in 1785, defines a ‘valentine‘ as ‘the first woman seen by a man,…