Tag: history
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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…
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The Priory Gatehouse: Overshadowed but Not Forgotten
I had reason to visit Guisborough today and took the chance to walk around the old priory. I have posted before of its great east wall—impressive as it is, it remains only a fragment of what must once have been a formidable complex. The priory met its end in 1540 with the Dissolution. Ten years…
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The Battle for the Barrows
In a tide of encroaching bracken, a few exposed stones on a low rise suggest something hidden just beneath the heather. I am standing on a Round Barrow—one of four, perhaps five—in what was once a Bronze Age cemetery. These circular burial mounds, called barrows or cairns when built of stone, are the most common…
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A Hidden Hollow-Way on Coleson Bank
This morning’s constitutional threw up a surprise. I have used the so-called ‘Green Lane’ on Coleson Bank before, climbing out of Battersby, and even posted about it. You can just make out a glimpse of it in the photo. But I do not go that way often. The narrow gulley attracts off-road motorbikes, which makes…
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Where the Sheep Went Swimming
Sheepwash, ever the draw for Teesside’s day-trippers, earned its name in the most literal way. It was once a place where sheep were hauled into the cold beck and scrubbed clean before shearing. Until the early twentieth century, many farmers still followed the old habit. The idea was to coax new wool to rise from…
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A Lost Boundary Stone of Easby
Out on the moors, boundary stones are everywhere. In the Vale of Cleveland, though, they are relatively rare. I had driven past this one for nearly fifty years before noticing it properly. That only happened last year, when two men were working beside it. I assumed they were putting up a rustic farm sign and…