Tag: 19th-century
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Storm Babet’s Legacy: The disappointing remains of the Esk
One of my particular aversions is walking, or running, along a beach, a seemingly endless repetition, a far-off point on the horizon never drawing closer. Yet, it was deemed worthwhile to undertake this stomp in order to see the substantial remains of a wooden sailing vessel cast ashore in the aftermath of Storm Babet. The…
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Toad-under-a-harrow
At first, it’s all dreary drizzle, the kind that makes you question your decision to leave the comfort of indoors. But wait an hour, and the heavens part ways, allowing the sun to cast its golden glow upon Roseberry, turning it into a vision against the still brooding rain clouds. A rainbow always spruces up…
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Pig-Iron to Steel: Skinningrove’s Industrial History
Have you ever pondered the origins of Skinningrove, nestled in this sheltered valley leading to the North Sea? What led to its establishment there? I certainly have. Back in 1873, when the Loftus Iron Company first erected two blast furnaces on that hill overlooking the valley, the iron-smelting industry was already thriving in the Cleveland…
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Cutting the First Sod on the Codhill Branch on the Gisbro’ and Middlesbro’ Railway
Cutting the First Sod on the Codhill Branch on the Gisbro’ and Middlesbro’ Railway. — It having been generally circulated throughout the town of Gisbro’ and neighbourhood that the first sod on the Codhill branch of the Middlesbro’ and Gisbro’ railway for the working of ironstone would be removed on Monday last, a large company…
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Dipping Toes and Donning Macintoshes: A History of Sea-Side Bathing
Numerous folk were having a refreshing dip at Saltburn this morning, seizing the opportunity presented by the autumn sun’s warm rays and the surging waves. The surfers had donned their wet-suits, which bestowed upon them some protection against the chilly clutches of the North Sea. One fellow strolling back along the shore confessed that it…
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Donna Cross—from Medieval cross to a legal feud
On the col between Cold Moor and Cringle, one almost stumbles across the stump of Donna Cross hidden amidst the bracken. A boulder, rooted deep in the earth, serves as its natural base, with a socket in which a stone is wedged. This stone, however, is not believed to be a part of the original…
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Codhill Quarry—A 19th-Century Legacy
Here on Codhill, on Gisborough Moors, is one of a pair of small sandstone quarries. Probably 19th-century. It couldn’t have produced any significant amount of rock, likely used for some dry stone walling over at Sleddale Farm. Really, there is not much else to say about this feature. Now, the day started off all hot…
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The Crags of White Hill: Evidence of a 1872 Landslip
A brisk autumn morning but with a subtle nip in the roriferous air, though the temperature would soon be rising. A warm day beckoned. Meanwhile, 377,000 kilometres away, the moon hangs in the morning sky, as is often the case during its waning gibbous phase, when it transitions from full to half. Down below on…
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On this day in 1804: Jane Ewbank’s Journey to Whitby
Hardly a week goes by without news of some historical document being digitised. Recently, a diary of a lady named Jane Ewbank who lived in York during the time of the Napoleonic Wars has been published. Jane was born in 1778, and her father, George Ewbank, was a well-known druggist and banker in York. He…
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Boom and Bust: Glaisdale’s Brief Ironstone Mining Era
Back in 1831, Glaisdale was a mere township within the parish of Danby. But, by the end of the century, Glaisdale was a parish in its own right. The village, though, pretty much developed as a mining community, which began around the mid-1860s, and by the end of that decade an ironworks had been built.…