What to do on a Sunday …

David Mennear – Land of Iron Administration Assistant

This coming Sunday the Moors National Park Centre at Danby (YO21 2NB) is hosting a family friendly fun day to celebrate the brand new immersive experience on offer. With funding from the National Lottery’s Heritage Fund and the David Ross Foundation, the Land of Iron Landscape Partnership Scheme has been helping to reinvigorate the interpretation resources at the Visitor Centre over the last few months.

Escape to the Moors is taking place on Sunday 21 July from 11 am until 4 pm. The event will celebrate the people and the natural and historical heritage of the North York Moors through workshops, family attractions and children activities all taking place in the grounds of the Moors Centre; whilst the Centre itself will be open for everyone to have a look at the new interpretation.

The new interpretation features the beauty and significance of the North York Moors, alongside the ironstone mining heritage of the area. The ironstone mining period was an era of rapid industrial growth in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries that saw the workings of the railways, mines, and huge calcining kilns in the heart of the North York Moors itself. For years the mined ironstone was refined and transported away to be used in construction projects across the world, helping to cement the industrial growth of Britain during this recent period of history.

Using the latest digital technologies and archaeological and ecological techniques, through our innovative interpretation we are helping to present the historical and natural heritage of the North York Moors for a new audience. You might be surprised to see how fast built heritage can quickly disappear back into nature once again, just leaving traces to be discovered.

This is what’s coming up on the day:

• The trailblazing Land of Iron tells the story of ironstone and railways in the North York Moors – build an ironstone foam bridge, excavate at a mini-dig, learn about industrious Victorians and handle artefacts, tackle the 3D jigsaw puzzle and lots more.
• Whilst the Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum in Skinningrove is closed for refurbishment the team will be bringing their incredible pop up museum to the Moors Centre. Celebrate the history of a long lost industry and the stories of the everyday people involved as you travel down a make shift mine tunnel.
• Our Moors and Valleys Young Archaeologists’ Club officer will be there to let you know about the exciting activities the Club gets up to.
• Through the Rosedale History Society learn all about how the small and sleepy medieval village of Rosedale Abbey drastically changed as it thundered into life during the industrial revolution as ironstone mines and calcining kilns appeared around the Rosedale hills and dale. Now known for its bucolic countryside beauty and isolation, Rosedale was once a beating heart of British industry on the international stage.
• Experience history with the wonderful living history and reenactment group Rosa Mundi – there’ll be medieval spear practice and military drills as well as trying out candle-dipping and other traditional crafts along with games and cooking demonstrations.
• Be digitally dazzled as Adrian Glasser presents his amazing Time Sliders where historic photographs blend into the modern landscape – learn all about 3D modelling with an introduction to photogrammetry and how this incredible technique is capturing key Land of Iron monuments for the future.
• Cleveland Fibre Arts will be demonstrating how ironstone helps to give wood and felt-making distinctive colours and patterns. Join in and help make your own!
• Join the Whitby Company of Archers to have-a-go at archery and discover your inner Robin Hood (charges apply).
• The Teesoutdoors Climbing Tower will be on site and as well as climbing the tower under the expert guidance of the qualified instructors, you can pick up climbing tips and find out the best places to climb in the North York Moors (charges apply).
• Ride the Grosmont Velocipede around the Moors Centre grounds – have you ever tried a velocipede before? why not give it a whirl on a 100ft of rail track as members of the team push you around! It might just be the oddest thing you do that Sunday.

Further information
The event is accessible by wheelchair, with toilet facilities and a café on-site.
If you are travelling into Danby from further afield please think about using the local Moorsbus and other public transport options such as the Esk Valley Railway which stops at at Danby Station and has links to Middlesbrough and Whitby.

Have a look at the National Park website for further information and updates.

For information on the Land of Iron please see our website or telephone the Land of Iron team on 01439 772700 for exciting volunteer opportunities and to find out what we are up to.

 

A to Z: a collection of Cs

C

CANON ATKINSON – a literary celebrity

John Christopher Atkinson (1814–1900) was an author and antiquarian. He was born in Essex, and ordained a priest in 1842. Progressing from a curacy in Scarborough, he first became domestic chaplain to the 7^th Viscount Downe in 1847 before in the same year being made Vicar of Danby. So Atkinson  relocated to this isolated Parish in the Cleveland Hills.

Danby Parish and the surrounding area offered a new panorama to a gentleman antiquarian. Atkinson explored the history and natural history of his parish and acquired a unique knowledge of local legends and contemporary customs using primary sources i.e. his parishioners and the landscape around him. He produced studies on local dialects and, in 1872 he published the first volume of ‘The History of Cleveland, Ancient and Modern’. He went on to write and edit a number of books and was recognised in his lifetime with an honorary degree from the University of Durham. By far his best-known work was a collection of local legends, traditions and reflections on modern rural life which he published in 1891, with the title ‘Forty Years in a Moorland Parish: reminiscences and researches in Danby in Cleveland’.

Atkinson died at the Vicarage in Danby, on 31 March 1900, and is buried at St Hilda’s Church in Danby Dale. He was married three times and fathered thirteen children, in between his writing.

CLAPPER BRIDGES

Clapper bridges are rare in the North York Moors and where they do survive they are often hard to find due to their simple functional appearance which is often hidden by a modern highway road obscuring their unique construction.

They are one of the earliest known bridge designs – the design is found across the world. Clapper bridges were built with long, thin slabs of stone to make a beam-type deck and with large rocks or piles of stones for piers. Some clapper bridges were wide enough to accommodate a cart, while others were designed for pedestrians or horse riders only, with carts crossing at a ford alongside the bridge. The word “clapper” could derive from an Anglo-Saxon word – cleaca – meaning “bridging the stepping stones”, but it is also suggested that the word derives from the Medieval Latin – claperius – meaning “a pile of stones”.

Clapper bridges would have once have been common in Britain but over time these bridges began to fall into disuse as more substantial methods of bridge construction were needed and, undoubtedly, many clapper bridges were destroyed to make room for newer bridges.

Clapper bridges are most commonly found on upland areas in Britain. Elsewhere the importance of these bridges is recognised and protected through designation but as yet there are no listed clapper bridges in the North York Moors. We’re keen to make sure that all surviving bridges in the North York Moors are at least recorded; please let us know if you come across one. Graham, our Senior Archaeological Conservation Officer, found this one near Castleton while out walking. An application has been made to Historic England to help secure its survival.

CLEVELAND PRACTICE

The Cleveland Practice of blast-furnace technology for iron-making relates to a move away from large stone furnace structures towards larger, less enduring iron-clad construction. The zenith of this practice was reached in the Cleveland area from the mid-1860s, when for about 10 years the region took a world lead in blast-furnace practice. By 1875, the Cleveland area was producing 32% of the national output making it the greatest single iron-making district in the world.

The Cleveland Practice was distinctive, with the ironstone always first roasted in a calcining kiln, close to the blast-furnaces, to which it would be transferred whilst still hot. The blast-furnaces took the form of tall cylinders, rising to a height of 80 feet, with an average capacity of 30,000 cubic feet. Furnaces were worked with closed top systems to avoid heat loss, with multiple hot-blast blowing engines used at higher speed / pressure and with powerful machinery to move supplies to the kiln tops more efficiently. This technique was developed specifically to smelt large quantities of relatively low grade ironstone as cheaply as possible and, to achieve this, reliance was placed on improving energy efficiency – the height of the furnace stack was increased in order to utilize the heat generated at the base of the furnace to heat the materials being charged in at the top. The disadvantage of poor quality Cleveland ironstone (generally with a purity of only 26-33%) was offset by the huge quantities that were available locally and the high quality coke from the Durham coalfields to smelt it.

The transition from the old style blast furnaces to the new ‘Cleveland Practice’ style can be seen between the sites of the Beckhole and the Grosmont Ironworks in the North York Moors. The low quality ironstone from the Moors was contributing to the total at this stage but our most important period was pre-1850; once the Eston Mines came on-stream in the 1850s they were producing enormous quantities of (relatively poor-grade) ironstone which invigorated the rise of Teesside at the end of the 19^th century.

COMMUNITIES…in general

Unlike in many other National Parks across the world, National Parks in the UK have human populations. People continue to shape the landscape, conserve their cultural heritage and maintain their natural environment. The nature of the North York Moors landscape means we have a pattern of dispersed settlements and individual farmsteads making up the communities in our National Park. The majority of communities are small fairly isolated settlements with a limited range of services and facilities. Given the chance however communities work hard to make the most out of what is practical and to provide essential services as well as retaining and promoting a strong proactive sense of community and identity. The National Park Authority’s planning policies within our Local Development Framework allow for some limited development opportunities including the creation of new facilities, housing and employment.  We have a long track record of working with communities whether that’s information exchange through regular Parish Forum meetings or the provision of funding support for community ideas through our Community Grant and the recent North York Moors, Coast and Hills LEADER Programme.  See also below.

COASTAL COMMUNITIES…in particular

The North York Moors National Park has 26-miles of coastline with towering cliffs and rocky shores, steep wooded valleys, sheltered bays and sandy beaches. To showcase this fantastic coastline and the natural, fishing, artistic and culinary heritage of the coastal villages such as Robin Hood’s Bay, Staithes and Runswick Bay, we’ve secured £455,000 from the Coastal Communities Fund (CCF) to deliver the ‘Sea Life, See Life’ initiative from now until the end of December 2016. The Fund aims to encourage the economic development of UK coastal communities, and through this project we’re looking to attract new visitors who want to do something different, and to encourage visitors to stay longer and spend more.

It’s a partnership project, with the National Park Authority working with local businesses and communities to define what really makes this area special and different. Workshops and skills training will set up local businesses and communities to be ready to guide visitors to the high quality experiences available and encourage them to support local supply chains to strengthen and sustain the North York Moors’ economy. The project includes small-scale infrastructure projects such as interpretation, heritage restoration works, village improvements, and new public artwork to be delivered alongside a strong public relations and social-media led campaign. There’s also support for new events, festivals and activities, including an interactive trail in Staithes to capitalise on CBeebies’ Old Jack’s Boat, which is filmed in the village.

COMMON COTTON GRASS Eriophorum angustifolium

Patches of cotton grass – featherlike white smidgens of fluff – flutter in the early summer across the wetter areas of moorland .

Cotton grass is a sedge, not actually a grass. A sedge is a grass/rush like plant with triangular solid stems and unassuming flowers which usually grow on wet ground.

CONNECTIVITY

We do go on a bit about Habitat Connectivity on our Blog. That’s because it’s the fundamental concept articulated by Sir John Lawton in his Making Space for Nature review in 2010 which is guiding natural environment conservation efforts across the country. In the North York Moors we’re putting connectivity principles into practice working at a local scale.

BETTER ecologically valuable habitat sites through improving condition

BIGGER ecologically valuable habitat sites through expansion and buffering

MORE ecologically valuable habitat sites through creation and enhancement

BETTER CONNECTED ecologically valuable habitats through creation/enhancement of corridors and stepping stones

The result is a connected landscape making it easier for species to move through

CROSSES

The remains of stone crosses can be found across the moorland area of the North York Moors. They are such a particular feature of the area that the North York Moors National Park took Young Ralph’s Cross to be its emblem.

The survival of original moorland crosses is very variable – some only comprise the base or socket stones, whilst others appear more complete, although the latter may be due to modern repairs or replacement – such as Ainhowe Cross on Spaunton Moor which was replaced in the 19^th century. There are different styles of cross-heads – such as wheelheads (White Cross and Steeple Cross) and the simple upright cross shafts with projecting arms (such as Young and Old Ralph, Mauley and Malo crosses) – the latter make up the majority of the surviving examples.

In the North York Moors the most relevant reasons for the original crosses seems to be as way-markers, boundary markers and memorials – potentially all three at once. For a Christian traveller coming across a symbol and reminder of Christianity whilst crossing the desolate moorland must have given hope and succour. Crosses may also have been erected by landowners to mark boundaries and as a good deed, or pre-existing crosses used as a local landmark to help define a boundary. The most famous memorial cross on the Moors is also meant to be the earliest – Lilla’s Cross – which is said to mark the burial site of the servant who sacrificed his own life to save that of his King, Edwin of Northumbria, in the 7^th century AD. Although the surviving roughly cut maltese cross is actually dated approximately to the 10^th century AD.

After the Protestant Reformation in England, the cross came to be seen by some as a symbol of superstition and this led to the slighting and destruction of individual moorland crosses. This may help to explain – in addition to weathering and deterioration over hundreds of years – why so many crosses today are missing their upper shafts and cross arms.

A new stone cross was erected in Rosedale in 2000 to mark the Millennium, continuing a cultural tradition of the local area.

Previously on the North York Moors A to Z … A, B

Local grants: past and future – part 1

Clair Shields – Small Scale Enhancements Scheme Co-ordinator

As we’re entering the final year of the LEADER funded Small Scale Enhancements (SSE) Scheme in the North York Moors I thought it would be good to highlight some of the great projects the Scheme has supported.

The habitats and wildlife of the National Park are one of its most valuable aspects, and consequently projects which look to enhance areas for the benefit of birds, bees and insects can only be a good thing. The Honeybee Conservation project involved the purchase of 30 nucleus hives providing new beekeepers with the equipment needed to set-up new hives to help increase our local bee population. Local bees have a high tolerance to the Varroa Virus, derived from 15 years of hard work by our local Beekeepers’ Associations.

The SSE has also funded a monitoring programme to continually assess the health of the River Esk. Known as the River Esk Monitoring Initiative, twelve local anglers have been trained to assess the biological health of the river which will feed into the data collected by the Environment Agency who can then take action should the water quality drop below expected levels. The River Esk is home to a number of protected species, including the nationally important Fresh Water Pearl Mussel.

Other environmental projects supported include the Rosedale Church Conservation Area project which is enhancing a “wild” area of the churchyard using wildflower seed gathered from a local farmer’s hay meadow; and St Matthew’s Church Habitat Improvements linking children with their local wildlife havens and sustaining the wildlife populations in area by making bird and bat boxes and bug hotels. The SSE has also supported projects to encourage local communities to start up small growing initiatives, re-connecting communities to their environment. An example is the Doorways Project which involved young people (not working or in education) constructing 20 wooden containers, which were then placed within the public realm and are used by the local residents of Easington and Charlton in the far north of the National Park to grow their own vegetables.

Local history and cultural heritage has been the most popular of the SSE’s themes and I can only mention a few of the projects facilitated. The North York Moors Association‘s History Tree at Danby Moors Centre was one of the first projects supported – a metal plate was fitted to the stump of the iconic copper beech tree (which had to be felled in 2007) displaying a timeline of historical events which occurred during the lifespan of the tree (c. 200 years), and now forms a popular teaching tool for the education team at the Centre. The conservation and promotion of our history and cultural heritage is important to give a grounding for people, which is why those involved with the Egton Mortuary Chapel wanted to erect a plaque to raise awareness and appreciation of the Chapel’s history. Sited in a secluded location outside Egton village, many locals and visitors to the area will have been unaware of the listed Chapel’s story; however the plaque will now illuminate those passing by. Similarly the new Beggar’s Bridge Interpretation Board tells the tale of the local legend behind the building of the bridge involving an endurance swim and a happy ending. It doesn’t matter if it is true or false, it adds an interesting layer to its history, so visit the site to see what you think!

The final theme has been improvements to community buildings, not only village halls but cricket pavilions, football clubs, recreation fields, churches… Conserving a sustainable functioning community of people is as valuable to the North York Moors as populations of wildlife. The SSE assisted Danby Village Hall with their A Warm and Welcoming Village Hall Project, funding loft and cavity wall insulation. The cost savings made from these works will feed into the Danby Village Hall and Esk Valley Community Energy websites to help share useful information with other communities.

Quite often it is the hidden benefits which are the most worthwhile, as with the Fylingthorpe Methodist Chapel. The funding simply provided a new cooker for the Chapel, and one of the resulting benefits was it allowed the community to set up a ‘luncheon club’ for the elderly residents of Fylingthorpe.

Overall there has been some great projects (too many to mention in this post) and it is hoped that this enthusiasm and interest can be carried forward using future grant schemes.