Belemnites: A Window to Yorkshire’s Past?

Ailsa Roper – Post Graduate Researcher, University of Leeds

I am pleased to be working for the next three years with the School of Earth and the Environment at the University of Leeds as a Post Graduate Researcher funded by the North York Moors National Park Authority through their planning agreement with Sirius Minerals. The agreement provides funding for a range of initiatives and projects to help offset the impacts of the Woodsmith Mine development on the National Park, including its exceptional coastal geology. Construction of the mine provides an opportunity to access new geological materials and through my research project I intend to study changes in ocean chemistry across the Early Jurassic period which have been preserved in these and in the rocks of the North York Moors coastal area.

The cliffs of the North York Moors coast at Kettleness, showing the very top of the Cleveland Ironstone Formation (deposited around 183 million years ago) with the Grey Shales, Mulgrave Shales and Alum Shales overlying it.

The early Jurassic was a turbulent period in the Earth’s history. At the start of the period the supercontinent Pangea was just beginning to split up to form two continents, Gondwana in the South and Laurasia to the North, with a shallow ocean between them. The climate was also changing with the arid Triassic giving way to the warmer, wetter Jurassic. The changes over this timeframe put stress on the animals and plants of the period, causing several extinction events.

The Toarcian (the last geological period of the early Jurassic), which contains one such extinction event, is the first section of the early Jurassic I plan to study. This event (called the Early Toarcian Mass Extinction) was a second order extinction, meaning it wasn’t one of ‘The Big 5 Extinctions’ of the last 500 million years, but it was still a significant crisis for biodiversity at the time. During this event it is estimated 26% of genera died out, particularly affecting marine groups such as bivalves, gastropods and brachiopods living on the seafloor and squid-like belemnites and ammonites in the water column.

Pavement of fossilised ammonite (Tiltoniceras) from the top of the Grey Shales.

Researchers now think that this extinction event was caused by increasing volcanic activity in the southern hemisphere during the early Toarcian, which triggered an increase in greenhouse gases, such as methane and carbon dioxide. This increase in greenhouse gas concentration warmed the climate, possibly causing further release of greenhouse gases from methane in the shallow oceans and permafrost. This feedback cycle would have further raised the global temperature and affected the hydrological cycle, creating a hotter, wetter environment in the early Toarcian time period

More rainfall increased the amount of sediment washed into the ocean from the continents, potentially flooding the ocean with high concentrations of nutrients such as nitrates and phosphate. This high level of nutrients may have caused a spike in primary producers in the sea, such as algae. When these organisms died, they were likely broken down by microorganisms which removed a lot of oxygen from the water, causing a shortage of oxygen, known as dysoxia. This dysoxia and the increasing global temperatures are believed to be the key drivers behind the Early Toarcian Mass Extinction.

Understanding the changes in the ocean nutrient cycling is thus vital to understanding the impact on the organisms living there. Phosphate is a particularly interesting nutrient to study as phosphorus is an essential element in all organisms; on a geological timescale phosphate has even been shown to be the limiting nutrient required for the formation of life.

The initial phase of my PhD project looks at identifying changes in dissolved phosphorus in the ocean over the Toarcian time period. To do this I will examine changes in the phosphorus content of belemnite fossils. Belemnites are extinct squid-like cephalopods. Belemnites are the ideal candidates for this work as they lived in the water column, rather than at the ocean floor, and they are common and often well-preserved. Some pilot work appears to show an increase in phosphorus concentration of belemnites over the Toarcian anoxic event, though this is rough data with large associated uncertainties. Currently it’s unclear if there is a real change in belemnite phosphorus content, and if it represents changes in water column phosphorous concentration.

Fossilised belemnite in sediment, taken from a sediment core from Mochras, North Wales.

My first step is to develop a method which is effective in determining the phosphorus concentration in the belemnites. Once I have the method in place, I will apply it to belemnites from different sections across Europe to try to identify a coherent trend in phosphorus concentration. I will also analyse belemnites of different species and sizes of the same age to identify any variability between them.

Some work has already been done to study phosphate concentration on the ocean floor over the Toarcian period by analysing sediment. Though my work is attempting to identify changes in phosphorous in the water column, I intend to complete this sediment analysis for sediment surrounding the belemnites as well. This analysis could help determine if the phosphorus in the belemnite originated from the water column during the belemnites life, or if it originated in the sediment after its death.

I am excited to see what my analyses will show, and I hope my research will contribute to the understanding of the process behind some mass extinctions. If my technique is successful, I could spend the remainder of my project applying it to other sites around the world or to other extinction events.

Fishing 4 Litter

Ana Cowie – Marine Pollution Officer, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

Marine pollution is one of the biggest threats to our oceans’ health; plastic is found almost everywhere, causing ingestion by or entanglement of marine wildlife. 20,000 tonnes of plastic are dumped in the North Sea every year and only 15% of that is washed ashore – the rest is still out at sea. Studies have shown that 98% of fulmars (grey and white seabirds related to the albatross) in the North Sea had plastics in their stomach, averaging a shocking 34 pieces per bird.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is tackling the problem of plastic pollution through a variety of projects. This includes Fishing 4 Litter, which is a voluntary scheme that involves the direct removal of litter from the sea, and raises awareness of the problem inside the fishing industry at the same time. Studies have shown that marine litter costs the fishing industry an average of £10,000 per boat, per year – through contamination of catches, broken gear and fouled propellers. In addition, it’s calculated that it takes approximately 41 hours each year to remove marine debris from just one boat’s nets. It is therefore essential that continued action can be taken to reduce what is currently a significant marine pollution problem.

Fishing 4 Litter has two aims; to maintain a network of harbours around the country so that participating boats can land the marine litter they have caught in their nets, and to change working practices within the fishing industry – hopefully preventing litter from reaching the marine environment in the first place.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust place (and regularly empty) dedicated rubbish bins for marine litter, or discarded fishing gear, at various ports and harbours in the region. This project has been successfully running for five years now and has been extended to encompass North Yorkshire due to its popularity with the industry. There are currently eight bins along the East and North coast of Yorkshire, from Withernsea all the way up to Staithes. In 2018, it’s estimated that 25 tonnes of litter will have been removed from these bins through the Fishing 4 Litter scheme. That’s 25 tonnes that will not be entering our sea!

I do this job because I believe that through education and awareness, our marine wildlife can recover from past decline if we all do our bit now. My job is to inspire people about our marine wildlife and teach them why we should value the sea, from the air we breathe to being peoples livelihood. We all have a duty to protect this vital resource and we are at a risk of losing it right now! There is often a disconnect when it comes to the marine environment (out of sight out of mind) so this is one of my biggest challenges. If people knew what marine pollution is doing to the environment on a daily basis I believe that everyone would think twice about dropping litter.

Summer afternoons

This gallery contains 40 photos.

Summer afternoon – summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. Henry James

What’s for dinner?

When the funding behind projects comes to an end sometimes the drive and actions generated can inadvertently fizzle out too. The hardest thing to achieve is making the drive and actions self-sustaining so that without the initial funding and without particular individuals those things become habitual, more likely to continue and grow than not.

One such initiative hoping to achieve sustainability is Signature Seafood Yorkshire with its emphasis on locally sourced, seasonally available fish. Not only does this initiative support sustainable fishing* it also aims to be a self-sustaining concept built out of encouraging culinary knowledge, and creating and maintaining local demand in the longer term. Like other successful concepts it includes aspects of the past e.g. the continuing traditions of fishing, and varieties like Whiting and Mackerel, with a modern twist e.g. à la mode recipes, outlets on social media.

Have a look here to find out more – like where to get your Yorkshire seafood and also to access a collection of recipes using seafood sustainably caught off the Yorkshire Coast.

*Sustainable fishing isn’t difficult to imagine, it’s where the amount of fish caught leaves a viable population and where the fishing methods used don’t irreversibly damage the biodiversity and habitats that support the fish population. There are a number of conservation designations – Special Protection Area, Special Area of Conservation, Site of Special Scientific Interest, Marine Protection Area, Marine Conservation Zone – along the north and east Yorkshire coast because of the importance of the habitats here.

Magnificent sea views: another what might have been

At the very end of the 19^th century a number of gentlemen including MPs and a Fellow of the Royal Society formed a company (Ravenscar Estate Limited sometimes called Peak Estate Limited) which purchased the 800 acre Raven Hill Estate on the North Yorkshire coast between Whitby and Scarborough. Their purpose was to transform their renamed property, Ravenscar, into a first class seaside watering place.

The location had a number of attractions – ‘between sea and moor’, ‘romantic situation’, ‘bracing air’, ‘elevated position’, ‘magnificent sea views’, ‘splendid cliffs’; all of which Ravenscar Estate Limited were keen to promote. The site had an existing railway station to bring people in, and also included the old Hall which was soon sold off and turned into a Hotel. The plan was to develop the resort at the same time as selling plots and parcels of plots to other gentlemen to invest in. The plots would be built on adding up to shops, marine villas and lodging houses ‘for which there is a great demand on this favourite and fashionable coast’. Over the next few years these plots were sold on gradually through auctions (often with a free luncheon and sometimes even with a special train laid on) so as not to deflate the price by offering too many at one time. By showing that other gentlemen had confidence in the scheme, the intention was to entice others to get involved too and make sure they didn’t miss out.

‘A NEW WATERING-PLACE FOR YORKSHIRE. Important Property Sale. (BY OUR OWN REPORTER)
The first practical steps towards the creation of a -new watering-place on the Yorkshire coast, near Robin Hood’s Bay, were taken yesterday, when an estate known as Ravenscar was offered for sale in building lots, at the Raven Hill Hotel about half a mile from Peak Station. The site is a picturesque one, and access to it is obtained by the Scarborough and Whitby Railway, which brings the visitor to within a couple of hundred yards from the summit of the cliffs. Standing on the pretty castellated garden terraces in front of Raven Hall, one obtains a charming view. .. Immediately beneath the terraces at Ravenscar, and extending away south as far as Hayburn Wyke, are gigantic cliffs, the highest, with one exception, on the Yorkshire coast. To the geologist many an interesting problem is presented by the dislocation, of the strata, especially on the line of the great fault, where there is a three of fully four hundred feet. The undercliff extends for several miles along the coast, and gives to it an unusual appearance of rugged grandeur. About these cliffs hundreds of sea-gulls have their homes, and foxes and rabbits by scores have also chosen to make their burrows here. Ravenscar, which now consists of little save pastoral land, has a history of its own. The commanding situation of the Peak Hill was seized upon by the Romans for a military outlook camp in the days of Constantine, and later it was occupied by the Danes. Indeed, the names Raven Hall and Ravenscar have been chosen from the fact that the Danes here set up their standard, the national emblem of the Danes being a raven. It was a happy conception that led a number of public-spirited and enterprising gentlemen to form a company for the purpose of conversing this charming spot into a watering-place, and, judging from the keen competition there was amongst the bidders yesterday, their opinion that the place was capable of development was evidently shared by others. A visage standing high up on the cliffs, with the sea on the one side and hemmed in on the other by an extensive tract of moor- land, ought to be a healthy spot. Indeed, few places can boast the combined luxury of refreshing winds from the sea and exhilarating breezes scented from the moors…When their scheme is completed, there will be an esplanade running along the summit of the cliffs, and abutting upon this will be thirty or forty villas. Other houses will also be erected upon roads to be constructed in the proposed village. At present a few long piles of sods, which have been cut out to mark the roads, and a number of staked-out lots for building sites, are the only visible signs of the great transformation about to take place…’
Leeds Mercury, 8 July 1896

There is a lot of mention of Scarborough and the idea of creating a rival or complimentary resort nearby, and also how resorts have been created successfully on the south coast of England. There is much talk of ‘inland’ residents especially in growing towns wanting to access the coast and its special qualities, and an expectations that this demand will grow.

It’s clear from the regional newspapers of the time that gentlemen with money to invest from industrious West Yorkshire were one of the a target audiences for the company. By 1899 the roads were laid out, reservoirs were built to provide a water supply from moorland springs, a drainage scheme was drawn up, and exclusive on site brick making rights had been sold to Whitaker Bros from Leeds. There was hope in the development, so much so that a Curate was appointed to the existing isolated Church with the expectation of growing congregations. However early on the company had to lower expectations of a quick investment win.

‘A good start is sadly needed. It is exactly three years ago this week since the first sale at Ravenscar took place. The estate during that time has been well laid out in streets, and paths have been made. A few houses have been built, but still things have hung fire. Speaking on Friday the estate auctioneer, Mr Stansfield, of Bradford, said he had seen it stated in some quarters that the sales had been bogus, but he assured the company present on his professional honour that such was not the case, and that he had personally sold upwards of £10,000 worth of land since he had been appointed auctioneer. At the commencement of anything progress and development was necessarily slow, but in the future of the estate the company have the firmest confidence, and they were determined to do all in their power to open up its resources and give to Yorkshire another watering-place which in its health-giving qualities, its picturesqueness, and its popularity, would view with the best of those the county already possessed.’
York Herald 11 July 1899

Auctions continued.

‘LAND SALE. Messrs W G. Stansfield & Co., auctioneers, Bradford, held a sale yesterday at Ravenscar, the new watering place in the process of making on the cliffs between Scarborough and Whitby. This was the first sale of the season, and there was large attendance of bidders from Bradford, Leeds and other places. Ideal weather prevailed, and the visitors were privileged to see the place in its most charming aspect. The hot sunshine was tempered by a cooling breeze, and there was scarcely more than on the broad expanse the North Sea. Mr W Stansfield, after luncheon proposed the health of the King, and the sale then commenced. Mr Stansfield, in his prefatory remarks, pointed out that already £49,000 worth of land on the estate had been sold. The Ravenscar Estate Company had, he said, developed the undertaking wonderfully. Every element needed for success was to be found on the spot. Messrs. B Whitaker & Sons Limited, of Horsforth, had put down an expensive brick making plant, and would be able give a quotation for bricks in June; there was good sand and stone on the estate. There was also a good supply of pure water, the company having themselves provided two reservoirs; and there could be no difficulty with regard to sewage at Ravenscar, where they were close to the sea and 600 ft. above it. In short there was no reason why this should not be unique seaside place.’
Bradford Observer, 21 May 1901

As sales continued so did the optimism, despite the slow pace.

‘Ten years have passed since the auctioneer first flourished his hammer in the Assembly Rooms of the Ravenscar Estate, Limited. People came from all parts the country to buy “eligible building sites” and the transactions were so numerous that it was thought this City of the Peak, six hundred feet above beach, with magnificent outlook over sea and moor, was going to put Scarborough in the shade. Ravenscar, however, is still unspoilt. The old hall, whose carriage on the Roman Road, is flanked with pillars bearing effigies the Danish raven, or the Roman eagle, has been extended or converted into a modern hotel and year by year many holiday makers climb the hill enjoy the beauty and tranquillity of the scene. It is an ideal spot for people who would escape from the distractions of the modern seaside town, and as well worth visiting at any time, if only for a peep at the terraces and gardens that have been formed and planted on the face of the precipitous cliffs. Within the last few years shelters have been erected here and there, fenced, of course, to keep the cattle off; and zig-zag paths have been made from the summit to the beach, making the journey much easier that it used to be for ladies and children…People familiar with this lovely district have a good deal of faith in its future. One gentlemen, who is able to speak with some authority, believes that the builder will be busy here within the next few years, for the demand for country and seaside residences in such situations is likely to increase among people of means who feel that they are crowded out of so-called popular resort.’
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 27 August 1907

Then in 1909 the short lived Ravenscar Estate Limited Company went into receivership, leaving Ravenscar behind.

‘Why not try Ravenscar? I remember when this of city of the Yorkshire “Peak” was planned and boomed as likely to jostle Scarborough out of favour as the Queen of the North. But the builders have not made much progress during the last ten years, and, as for the pegged out claims, it takes a mighty fine eye to spy out the pegs, while the claims are still undistinguished by boundary of hedge or wall…somewhere about 1897 the parcels of land were first offered for sale on easy terms. In the course of a couple of years about 700 building plots were knocked down at public auction, and by August 1899, no fewer than twenty one sales had been held on the estate, each sale being largely attended by people chiefly from London and the West Riding. Some plots in “choice positions” were sold in August, 1899, at the rate of £1,100 [approx. £140,000 today] per acre, the sale realising a total (as it appeared in the newspapers) of £2,252 10s, and it was then announced that £34,000 [approx. £4.3 million today] worth of building plots had been disposed of. But the tranquillity of the place is undisturbed. When I saw it a few days ago men were making hay on the building sites between the Crescent, the Esplanade and other roads and avenues, whose names are painted on little wooden posts…The wonder is that the spot was not covered with houses and hotels years ago…All the accommodation at present consists of one hotel, a boarding-house or two, and a few cottages scrambling on the hillsides.’
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 10 August 1909 

A few years on and Ravenscar makes an impression, and at last gets compared with Scarborough although not in a good way.

‘The UNBUILT COAST TOWN OF RAVENSCAR – Roads that Wait for Houses. By a Peripatetic.
…”Yon road I enter upon and look around, I be-
lieve you are not all that is here,
I believe that much unseen is also here”
Those lines of Walt. Whitman sprang to my lip as I walked along. Yes, there must more in this trim road than meets the eye. This road that leads – where? Other neatly-made roads branch off – roads which frankly admit that they lead to nowhere in particular. The place spreads out before one like a huge draught or chess board, but without the pieces. Here a town has been planned and left unbuilt. One could imagine that was intended to be sort of smug Suburbia-by-the-Sea…It was almost uncanny to stand there alone on the cliff and survey the land that waits for the town that yet to built.’

This article then turns to describing the limited amenities the anonymous writer found in 1913 Ravenscar including a lack of any available food, a savage sounding farm dog, an abandoned ship, a locked Bar, and a wild wet wind. The writer also suggests he met one of the owners of a plot, although this might be artistic license  – ‘I helped to pay for this road. Why? Because I one lunched not wisely but too well. I saw visions of stately mansions standing there…Would you, he added wistfully, like to buy a bit of land? You can have it at your own price”.’ The somewhat louche writer concludes ‘I will not roam o’er Ravenscar again until they have erected winter gardens which extend a mile or so. Gardens where lamps ape the sun, and where the soft, sweet music of a string band soothes one, and where pretty girls sit alone in cosy corners playing “wallflowers”. Then, and only then, will I take a second glance at Ravenscar, the romantic’.
Yorkshire Evening Post, 14 August 1913

A week later there is a robust reply to the anonymous critic, exalting in the delights of Ravenscar and its environs.

‘THE UNBUILT TOWN OF RAVENSCAR.
Sir, l surprised at your correspondent’s account re Ravenscar. First of all, he arrived on a rainy day. Why did he not remain one night, and would have beheld the very next day glorious with sunshine, pure air, and a magnificent view, and, above all, unlike Scarborough, room to live. He complains that he could get nothing to eat. Why did he not come on to the hotel, where could have had an excellent dinner. He complains of the dullness of Ravenscar. No pretty girls! No string bands! says your blind correspondent. There are many pretty girls in the hotel, both from your home country and America, but even pretty girls like a rest and holiday from admiration and dress occasionally!. And we hope you will keep your string and brass bands to Scarborough, and leave in peace and solitude, from “that madding crowd,” to enjoy the magnificence of Ravenscar…But the less I say of Ravenscar the better, as I want to keep it as it is. We do not want your Scarborough crowds. It seems the only spot left on the East Coast free from commotion…by Ravenscar Visitor’
Yorkshire Evening Post, 18 August 1913. The Editor agreed diplomatically that the fashionable resort e.g. Scarborough and quiet Ravenscar each serves a purpose.

Indeed a glance over local papers around that time reveal that Ravenscar had all sorts of things going on: illustrated lantern slides, Yorkshire folk dancing, on-foot fox hunting foxes on the cliff sides, classes at the Vicarage, archaeological discoveries, recitations, shipwrecks, tennis, sailplane flying, sea water bathing, billiards, wild fires, whist drives, disappearances from the beach, house breaking, patriotic songs and comic duets, an air crash, bloodhound trials, golf, fan drills, snow storms, mines washing up on the beach, gliding, accident deaths by being run over by a train and being blown off the cliffs, egg production, a report of spies signalling out to sea in WW1, picnic parties, landslips, meetings of the Yorkshire Federation of the Junior Imperial and Constitutional League, the ‘Famous Terraces and Hanging Gardens’ (admission two pence), and a wager over whether someone could carry a 10 stone weight up the cliff (he could).

Ravenscar Estates Limited did feature in a number of legal cases in its early years – a failure to pay local rates and breaches of contract over the sewers development – but in the end the development just didn’t take off rather than it being the subject of fraud or conspiracy. One big problem that might have dampened enthusiasm was that the magnificent cliffs providing sea views were also a barrier to reaching the shore and the shore itself is particularly rocky – interesting and exciting to explore, but not like Scarborough. Around the time (as dissected in the Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer in August 1921) it was noted that by accepting payments by instalments a lot of plot purchases weren’t completed, leaving plots not built on. Another issue was the condition the plot holders could only build houses above a certain value e.g. marine villas, no doubt in order to maintain the ‘first class’ aspect and avoid the expanding working class holiday market, but for the small investors targeted this was a block to reaching development.

The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer in 20 August 1938 who had been so optimistic previously, now presents a different doom laden view worthy of the times.

‘The Phantom Resort. The lost town of Ravenspurn now lies beneath the waves off Flamborough Head. Something akin to it is the lost town of Ravenscar, further up the coast, which I visited this week. But Ravenscar is more of a phantom than Ravenspurn, its only existence was its own imagination. Under the grassland one can still trace macadamised roads, kerbstones, a sea front and , in fact, all the ground plan of the town, but that is all there ever has been of it. Ravenscar is the ruin of a town that never was. It is many years now since the abortive attempt to develop this breezy spot – a scheme which never got further than this making of roads and drainage. To walk there now is to feel the eerie sensation of being in a Wellsian world from “The Shape of Things to Come”. Ghosts of all the unbuilt Marine Terraces and sea views seem to hang in the air. It is a good place to brood for those extreme prophets of woe who like to think in another century or two all our towns will present the same sort of picture…’

Sources from The British Newspaper Archive

Ravenscar did not return to being Raven Hill. It is left with designed street plans you can still trace, the large Cliff House Bed and Breakfast, and the Ravenscar Hotel with its Italian terraced gardens. The village still has its many attractions which interested the developers so much over one hundred years ago.

The National Trust also have a Visitor Centre at Ravenscar. They have a leaflet for a fascinating 2 mile walk around Ravenscar: ‘the town that never was’, tracing what you can still make out of the planned resort and imagining what would have been.

 

 

Take two minutes

Alison Goodwin, Moor to Sea Project* Officer

Most of us will have seen the shocking images from David Attenborough’s Blue Planet 2 programme: oceans full of plastic and beaches filled with detritus. On our UK beaches, the Marine Conversation Society revealed in 2018 that just under 7 tonnes of litter was collected at a handful of beaches over a 3 year period.

Since then there’s been a grassroots-level movement emerge with people keen to do more. Whitby Beach Sweep is one such community organization. Running since February 2018 in association with Surfers against Sewage, they’ve been organising community litter picks along Whitby beaches. Eager to expand their focus to reach wider audiences, they’ve now linked up with the #2minutebeachclean board initiative. By promoting the scheme through social media, and by having a physical board sited on the beach, it’s hoped others will be encouraged to lend a hand.

These #2minutebeachclean boards are looked after by ‘guardians’ and provide volunteers with all the necessary equipment and instructions. This simple idea run by Beachclean.net has reduced beach litter by 61% in trials. With such good statistics, it’s clear to see why Whitby Beach Sweep thinks it’s a good investment. So we’ve helped support their vision by donating funds towards purchasing more boards.

Last week saw the unveiling of the Whitby board outside Whitby Surf School, who’ve kindly volunteered to look after it.  In the next couple of weeks, boards at Staithes and Runswick Bay will also be in situ. Don’t forget to look out for them if you’re out and about – and feel free to share the love and have a go.

*A Coastal Communities Fund funded project 

A to Z: a lump of Ls

L

LAMINARIA

Laminaria is a genus of 31 species of brown algae commonly called Kelp. Some species are also referred to as Tangle. They are characterized by long, leathery laminae (leaf blades) and their relatively large size. There are two common Laminaria that grow along the North York Moors coast.

Laminaria digitata or Oarweed is commonly found along the local coastline and grows in the transition zone between the open sea and the deeper part of the rocky shore. The plant can grow up to three and a half metres long.  The fronds of the plant are hand shaped with fingers hence its species name digitata. They are sometimes (but not always) found still attached to the stipe or stem secured by a ‘holdfast’ at the bottom of the stem to a rock or ledge. After heavy storms this Laminaria can often also be found washed up on beaches after being ripped up by the strong waves and currents.

Laminaria saccharina or Sugar Kelp is another common kelp from the same transitional zone on the foreshore. This single stemmed seaweed can grow up to four metres long. It has a long leathery blade – unbranched and without a midrib – about 15 centimetres wide. The blade is flat but wrinkly and with wavy margins. It is also known as Poor man’s weather glass as it was used to forecast the weather: if it dries up the weather will be fine; if it swells up and becomes damp, rain is on its way.

Laminaria is an economically important genus. In the 18th century seaweeds were burnt to extract potash (potassium) for use in the glass industry to make the glass stronger, and in the 19th century iodine was extracted for medical usage e.g. as a disinfectant. Seaweeds have long been used as an organic fertiliser and spread on the land, because of the minerals they contain. Seaweed is also now used for the extraction of alginic acid used in medicine; in the manufacture of toothpastes and cosmetics; and in the food industry for binding, thickening and moulding. Please not that like most plants, seaweeds can also have detrimental (poisonous) effects.

LASERS at LASTINGHAM

Lastingham Abbey was originally founded in the mid-7^th century AD by St Cedd of Lindisfarne as a Christian monastery. St Bede described the site as ‘among some High and remote hills, which seemed more suitable for the dens of robbers and haunts of wild beasts than for human habitation’. For whatever reason (Vikings have been suggested) it subsequently fell into eventual ruin. Monks from Whitby then re-established a new monastic foundation in 1087 but again it was abandoned as the monks moved on, with the work left unfinished.

What is left on the site is St Mary’s Church, now the parish church of Lastingham. The building is mainly early Norman but with Victorian transverse arches and a vaulted roof added in 1879. The subterranean crypt beneath the church building – is particularly atmospheric. The dating of the crypt (e.g. whether it dates back to an original Anglo-Saxon building) and the usages of the crypt (e.g. whether St Cedd was reinterred there, making it a shrine) have long been debated.

Archaeological debates rely on evidence and data collection. In 2008 ‘early’ laser scanning of the crypt was undertaken by the University of Siena and the Landscape Research Centre. It was one of the coldest, dampest days imaginable on the Moors – so much so that the survey team (and the kit) needed to ‘defrost’ in the warmth of the nearby Blacksmith’s Arms pub afterwards. A short film clip – here – shows the scanning being carried out – it is clear that the technology has moved on a lot since. Back in 2008 the juxtaposition of the modern and ancient seems to add to the sense of eeriness.

LAURENCE STERNE
“I take a simple view of life. It is keep your eyes open and get on with it”

Laurence Sterne was born in Ireland in 1713. He came to the village of Coxwold on the south west corner of the North York Moors to be the Anglican Rector in 1760. He had previously attempted to supplement his clerical income with farming for a while but then tried his hand at writing instead, publishing a number of sermons and a critical pamphlet which was promptly banned. His first and most successful novel was ‘The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman’. He had written the first two volumes as family members died around him and his family life collapsed. Fortunately on publication in 1759 which Sterne paid for himself, ‘Tristram Shandy’ was an immediate success.

‘Tristram Shandy’ leaves out the strictures of ordinary linear plotting, and has no great conclusion or moral – instead “it is written in a bye corner of the kingdom, and in a retired thatched house, where I live in a constant endeavour to fence against the infirmities of ill health, and other evils of life, by mirth; being firmly persuaded that every time a man smiles, – but much more so, when he laughs, it adds something to this Fragment of Life” (Sterne’s dedication of Tristram Shandy to the Right Honourable Mr Pitt).

Sterne took very well to being a celebrated author both in London and the Continent. At the same time his fame meant that in 1760 he was appointed to a good living at Coxwold for the rest of his life with the security that entailed, and he could leave most of his clerical duties to his Curates. He published nine volumes in all of ‘Tristram Shandy’, the last in 1767, as well as ‘A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy’ (a spin off). Laurence Sterne died in London in 1768. Keeping with the tragicomedy of his life and work Sterne was initially buried in London – he may then have been dug up by Resurrectionists before being partly? reburied – but a skull and femur presumed to belong to Sterne were later removed and interred in the Church at Coxwold, whether he liked it or not.

Along with the Rectorage at Coxwold came Shandy Hall. This is the house where Sterne lived and wrote, in between sojourns in London, France and Italy. It is now the home of the Laurence Sterne Trust and is open to the public during the summer.

LAWTON REPORT

Professor Sir John Lawton chaired a panel considering “Do England’s wildlife sites comprise a coherent and resilient ecological network? If not, what needs to be done?” The panel’s report – Making Space for Nature: a review of England’s wildlife sites and ecological networks – was published in 2010.

One of the starting points was that in many cases habitats for wildlife were usually small and fragmented, missing the coherent and resilient ecological habitat connections across the landscape that would enable wildlife to spread and to move in reaction to change.

The report set out three objectives:
“1. To restore species and habitats appropriate to England’s physical and geographical context to levels that are sustainable in a changing climate, and enhanced in comparison with those in 2000.
2. To restore and secure the long-term sustainability of the ecological and physical processes that underpin the way ecosystems work, thereby enhancing the capacity of our natural environment to provide ecosystem services such as clean water, climate regulation and crop pollination, as well as providing habitats for wildlife.
3. To provide accessible natural environments rich in wildlife for people to enjoy and experience.”

The answer proposed by the report were that “To make space for nature we need more, bigger, better and joined up sites to create a sustainable, resilient and more effective ecological network for England…we need to do more to: 
i) Improve the quality of current sites by better habitat management.
ii) Increase the size of current wildlife sites.
iii) Enhance connections between, or join up, sites, either through physical corridors, or through ‘stepping stones’.
iv) Create new sites.
v) Reduce the pressures on wildlife by improving the wider environment, including through buffering wildlife sites.”

For the necessary management, restoration and creation of wildlife habitats the report suggested a number of approaches – including using levels of legal protection and designation, making the most of publically owned land, paying for ecosystem services and biodiversity offsetting, providing incentives through agri-environment schemes and the tax system.

The report offered a landscape vision of nature alongside people and it presented the encouraging idea that we can do things to make the situation better. It spelled out the interconnected benefits from, and the values of, the natural environment to wildlife and to people, including the possibilities of deriving multiple benefits from land-use so that everyone gains.

“It is a long-term vision, out to 2050, and defines a direction of travel, not an end-point. This vision will only be realised if, within the overall aims, we work at local scales, in partnership with local people, local authorities, the voluntary sector, farmers, other land-managers, statutory agencies, and other stakeholders. Private landowners, land managers and farmers have a crucial role to play in delivering a more coherent and resilient wildlife network.”

The Lawton Report was well received on publication. Many environmental organisations have set out their responses to the report since and are working in line with the principles set out within it. The North York Moors National Park Authority put the principles at the heart of our Management Plan in 2012 – our current habitat connectivity initiative is aimed at achieving long term effective wildlife connections along a number of strategic corridors.

LYKE WAKE WALK

The Lyke Wake Walk is a forty mile moorland crossing over the top of the North York Moors from Osmotherley on the western edge to Ravenscar on the coast in the east. The
idea came from a local man called Bill Cowley who issued an open challenge in The Dalesman in August 1955 to cross the moors on foot from west to east within 24 hours, and its continued as a standing challenge ever since. Everyone who completes the Walk within the 24 hours is entitled to become a member of the New Lyke Wake Club. Lately the Club has been working with National Park Authority Volunteers to ensure the classic route for the Walk remains accessible and erosion problems are tackled.

A ‘Lyke’ is a corpse, and a ‘Wake’ is the watch over a corpse before burial, so the Lyke Wake Walk should therefore be an historic route for carrying the local dead to their final resting place. Except that it actually isn’t. Instead it’s an evocative name given to a recent concept to bring people together to take up a challenge and to champion the North York Moors.

Previously on the North York Moors A to Z … A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K

A ‘Gothic’ icon

Ravens (Corvus corax) are a relatively common bird in some places. In the British Isles they currently breed mainly in the west and north. But they have been moving eastwards.

Single Ravens are now and again seen over the North York Moors. Excitingly, this summer saw the first breeding Ravens in the North York Moors for a long while, at least 50 years. Three chicks fledged.

The nest was near Ravenscar on the coast. Ravenscar and other places in the North York Moors such as Raven Hill, Raven Heath, Ravensthorpe, Raven Stones, Ravens Gill and Ravensgill Beck, usually share some kind of nearby cliff edge habitat (coastal or inland) where Ravens like to nest. The occurrence of these place names indicate that Ravens were more usual in the North York Moors in the past, so the fact that they have bred again in the North York Moors suggests a return and a boost to the natural heritage of the area.

These places were named so because of the presence of Ravens; Ravens have always been culturally significant. It’s not hard to see why. Their size, colour and sound is striking, but it is also their perceived cleverness, their carrion eating habits and their interaction with human society which gives them a special place in cultural history. Ravens have been loaded with superstitions and connotations. Wariness of the apparent watching and knowing nature of the bird causes unease. They are associated with premonitions of doom; seeing or hearing a Raven has been taken as a sign of imminent death. These dark associations continue, at least in part, today.

So in celebration of this age old cultural fear and to mark Halloween, here is an example of a local Raven tale. The lesson is – never look a Raven in the eye.

Some time ago a man was walking home over the moors.

It was already dusk but he didn’t mind because he didn’t have much further to go and he had made money that day.

He knew the way because he had walked it many times before. He counted the scarce land marks as he went till he knew there were only three more boundary stones to pass before the moors would give way to a gentler landscape and then it was only a few miles to his home.

As the gloom drew in he saw the first of the three boundary stones just ahead of him. A Raven was sitting on top of the stone. As the man went passed the bird didn’t fly away, instead it looked at him, cocked its head and called out in the silence

“Craaw craaw”
“Corpse corpse”

The man turned his head. The Raven still looked at him.

“Craaw craaw”

The man hurried on. He was starting to feel tired but he could see the glow of the lights of his village in the distance just over the horizon of the darkening moors. He thought about the warmth of his fire and the taste of his dinner.

It was getting colder and the greyness around him was turning to black. There were no stars in the sky, and he couldn’t see the moon. There were odd shapes on the moors, in the gloom – ancient silent burial mounds and twisted bitter rowan trees.

Just in front he saw the outline of the second boundary stone. There was a Raven sitting on top. The man didn’t look at it – he walked straight on, looking ahead. The Raven looked at him though.

“Craaw craaw”
“Corpse corpse”
“Corpse corpse”

The man pulled his coat around him. He didn’t know why he was mishearing the bird call. He tried to hum a tune, but he couldn’t think of one.

For a moment he thought about heading off the track to avoid the last boundary stone but he knew he couldn’t because then he would be lost. He thought about the people he’d heard of that had been lost on the moors and who had never got home.

He kept walking. He felt the damp blackness pressing about him. He couldn’t see the last boundary stone. He thought he should have seen it by now. The glow on the horizon didn’t seem any closer, in fact it looked to be receding as if it were being out blotted out by the dark.

He stumbled and nearly fell. There was the last boundary stone and there was a Raven.

“Corpse corpse”
“Corpse corpse”
“Corpse corpse”

The man stopped and looked at the Raven. The Raven looked back at him, eye to eye.

The man became aware of the dead around him and knew in fact he must be dead too. He could go on walking but would never get home. So instead he sat down next to the last boundary stone and waited.

The darkness gathered in.

Ravens make a lot of different noises (listen here) – and can even learn to mimic words.

For a Halloween Raven-themed treat – both ominous and ghastly – try here.

Trail news

For Cold War intrigue at Hayburn Wyke – have a look at the new Cleveland Way post by Trail Reporter Dave Greenwood.

 

Trail news

The Cleveland Way is a National Trail which, for a large part, runs along the edges of the North York Moors showing off the landscapes and vistas of the area. It even has its own volunteer correspondent – Trail Reporter Dave Greenwood – and you can see his latest post here.