Westerdale
Encyclopedia
Westerdale is a village, civil parish
and dale
within the Scarborough
district of North Yorkshire
, England
. The Esk Valley Walk
runs through part of the village.
According to the 2001 UK census
, Westerdale parish had a population of 175.
There's a Church - Christ Church, and a small Wesleyan Chapel (no longer used).
Close to the Church can be found the Village Hall (formerly a small schoolhouse), a postbox and a telephone box.
.
It is accessed by a narrow road running along the southwest of Castleton Rig.
Much of the moor is covered by peat
and heather
and descending into the dale, bilberry
and some bracken
can be found, with scirpus
and sphagnum
in boggy areas. Bracken is no longer widespread on Westerdale Moor, since an eradication programme by a previous landowner. There are some trees by the streams which are tributaries of the Esk - mainly Alder, Mountain Ash, Birch, Oak and Holly. Near Stockdale beck are fragments of ancient woodland on steep slopes and, as in nearby Baysdale, a few junipers can be found.
Historically some of the more fertile lower fields grew a range of arable crops particularly barley
, oats
, turnips and potato
es, but more recently most farms concentrate on grass for grazing and the production of hay and silage
as winter feed.
Dividing and stock-proofing the fields, there are many miles of dry stone walls in several styles - and built over a very long timespan. There are also some good hedges and in recent years much work has been done to safeguard and improve both walls and hedges through a National Park sponsored programme.
Westerdale Hall is a substantial stone and slate roofed building, located close to the village. It was designed by Thomas Henry Wyatt
. Built originally as a shooting lodge, mainly for grouse
shooting in the late summer and autumn.
After World War II
it became a popular youth hostel
, but is now a private residence with many of its external features remaining little changed from when it was built.
By the road towards Kildale
, but the modern road crosses the Esk by a ford nearby. This route would have been well travelled in the past, as the way to Baysdale Abbey and Gisborough Priory
.
The bridge was restored by the Duncombe family in the late 19th century (A date stone on the downstream side states 1874), but the underside of the arch retains interesting Medieval ribbed stonework.
It is thought the Knights Templar
may have been involved in the construction; it is of that period.
. Until recently, water was extracted from these streams for public supply but this is no longer the case and the old pumping station stands empty.
at an early period in the 12th century. The property was donated by Guido de Bovingcourt who owned the land, together with other holdings in nearby Baysdale (a.k.a. Basedale/Handale/ Grendale). Bovincourt was a supporter of the Cistercians and donated a number of other lands in the area to them including Battersby, Stokesley, Newby, and Baysdale itself. At Baysdale, he provided a home for a small congregation of Cistercian nuns
who lived in a small abbey there, supported by mining and smelting rights near Westerdale village.
The remains of the fortifications of the hall given to the Templars by Bovincourt was situated to the north of the present day Westerdale Hall (formerly a Youth Hostel) and was excavated by the warden's son, Paul Wheater, in 1960. He found evidence of a main chamber together with a kitchen, a brewery, animal quarters and a chapel.
In the book The Story of Danby by the late Dr Bob Robinson (1991), we are told that the Templars of Temple Newsam
, Leeds, appointed the then prominent Westerdale Preceptory in 1119 to be the head of the North Yorkshire Templars.
The Preceptory prospered for around two hundred years until 1309 when the Templars were suppressed. William de la Fenne was Westerdale's last preceptor
and it is likely that with their impending suppression, he encouraged his Templars to turn much of their valuable goods into cash. A listing of their removable possessions is surprisingly small, particularly in the light of us being told that Westerdale had been declared the 'head Preceptory of North Yorkshire
'. The granary contained only 4 bushel
s (100 kg) of rye.
The revenue from the Preceptory's extensive holdings were handed over to the Knights Hospitaller
s and included:
Livestock handed over included:
Property belonging to the Chapel were listed as
Also listed as part of the chapel holdings were a
Other property in the list is very insubstantial in nature and covers minor items such as candles, jars, tables, etc.
As to the boundaries of the Templar lands at Westerdale, there is little evidence of their limits. A number of ancient crosses and stones stand on the moorland around this area and no doubt some of them could easily be markers for Templar boundaries. The Reverend George Young in his History of Whitby and Streoneshalh Abbey (1817) says:
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
and dale
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
within the Scarborough
Scarborough (borough)
Scarborough is a non-metropolitan district and borough of North Yorkshire, England. In addition to the town of Scarborough, it covers a large stretch of the coast of Yorkshire, including Whitby and Filey....
district of North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The Esk Valley Walk
Esk Valley Walk
The Esk Valley Walk is a long distance footpath in North Yorkshire, England. The route first follows a loop on the North York Moors to the south of Castleton, reaching the source of the River Esk, and then follows its journey to the North Sea...
runs through part of the village.
According to the 2001 UK census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, Westerdale parish had a population of 175.
The Village
Westerdale village is a single street of around 25 houses, to the north east of a small stream which joins the Esk near Hunters Sty bridge.There's a Church - Christ Church, and a small Wesleyan Chapel (no longer used).
Close to the Church can be found the Village Hall (formerly a small schoolhouse), a postbox and a telephone box.
Westerdale Side
Westerdale Side is part of Westerdale, but is best approached from near the neighbouring village of CastletonCastleton, North Yorkshire
Castleton is a village on the River Esk, part of the civil parish of Danby in the county of North Yorkshire in England. It can be found about 15 miles south-east of Middlesbrough, in the North York Moors. There was once a medieval castle sited on Castle Hill....
.
It is accessed by a narrow road running along the southwest of Castleton Rig.
Westerdale Moor
Westerdale Moor is an extensive upland area surrounding the farmland in Westerdale. At its highest, Westerdale Moor rises to 429 metres in the vicinity of Ralphs Cross, and Baysdale Moor to the south-west reaches 433 metres at Stony Ridge - the second highest point of the North York Moors.Much of the moor is covered by peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
and heather
Calluna
Calluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade...
and descending into the dale, bilberry
Bilberry
Bilberry is any of several species of low-growing shrubs in the genus Vaccinium , bearing edible berries. The species most often referred to is Vaccinium myrtillus L., but there are several other closely related species....
and some bracken
Bracken
Bracken are several species of large, coarse ferns of the genus Pteridium. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells . Brackens are in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, which are noted for their large, highly...
can be found, with scirpus
Scirpus
The plant genus Scirpus consists of a large number of aquatic, grass-like species in the family Cyperaceae , many with the common names club-rush or bulrush . Other common names are deergrass or grassweed.The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, and grows in wetlands and moist soil...
and sphagnum
Sphagnum
Sphagnum is a genus of between 151 and 350 species of mosses commonly called peat moss, due to its prevalence in peat bogs and mires. A distinction is made between sphagnum moss, the live moss growing on top of a peat bog on one hand, and sphagnum peat moss or sphagnum peat on the other, the...
in boggy areas. Bracken is no longer widespread on Westerdale Moor, since an eradication programme by a previous landowner. There are some trees by the streams which are tributaries of the Esk - mainly Alder, Mountain Ash, Birch, Oak and Holly. Near Stockdale beck are fragments of ancient woodland on steep slopes and, as in nearby Baysdale, a few junipers can be found.
The Farmed Dale
Despite its rather remote upland location, Westerdale has been farmed for thousands of years. Soil types vary across the dale (and often in the same field), through strong clays to free-draining shale.Historically some of the more fertile lower fields grew a range of arable crops particularly barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, oats
OATS
OATS - Open Source Assistive Technology Software - is a source code repository or "forge" for assistive technology software. It was launched in 2006 with the goal to provide a one-stop “shop” for end users, clinicians and open-source developers to promote and develop open source assistive...
, turnips and potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es, but more recently most farms concentrate on grass for grazing and the production of hay and silage
Silage
Silage is fermented, high-moisture fodder that can be fed to ruminants or used as a biofuel feedstock for anaerobic digesters. It is fermented and stored in a process called ensiling or silaging, and is usually made from grass crops, including corn , sorghum or other cereals, using the entire...
as winter feed.
Dividing and stock-proofing the fields, there are many miles of dry stone walls in several styles - and built over a very long timespan. There are also some good hedges and in recent years much work has been done to safeguard and improve both walls and hedges through a National Park sponsored programme.
Westerdale Hall
Thomas Henry Wyatt
Thomas Henry Wyatt was an Irish British architect. He had a prolific and distinguished career, being elected President of the Royal Institute of British Architects 1870-73 and awarded their Royal Gold Medal for Architecture in 1873...
. Built originally as a shooting lodge, mainly for grouse
Grouse
Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. They are sometimes considered a family Tetraonidae, though the American Ornithologists' Union and many others include grouse as a subfamily Tetraoninae in the family Phasianidae...
shooting in the late summer and autumn.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it became a popular youth hostel
Hostel
Hostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available...
, but is now a private residence with many of its external features remaining little changed from when it was built.
Hunters Sty Bridge
An ancient stone arch over the River Esk near the village.By the road towards Kildale
Kildale
Kildale is a village and civil parish in Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately 3 miles south-east of Great Ayton, in the North Yorkshire Moors on the Cleveland Way National Trail....
, but the modern road crosses the Esk by a ford nearby. This route would have been well travelled in the past, as the way to Baysdale Abbey and Gisborough Priory
Gisborough Priory
Gisborough Priory is a ruined former Augustinian priory in the town of Guisborough, now in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1119 as the Priory of St. Mary by Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale, an ancestor of the...
.
The bridge was restored by the Duncombe family in the late 19th century (A date stone on the downstream side states 1874), but the underside of the arch retains interesting Medieval ribbed stonework.
It is thought the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
may have been involved in the construction; it is of that period.
The Esklets
The River Esk rises as numerous small streams in the upper part of Westerdale, known as "The Esklets" - which is close to neighbouring FarndaleFarndale
Farndale is a valley located in the North York Moors National Park in North Yorkshire, England. The nearest town is Kirkbymoorside located some 5 miles to the south. Pickering is some 13 miles to the south east and Helmsley 12 miles to the south west. Farndale is surrounded by some of the most...
. Until recently, water was extracted from these streams for public supply but this is no longer the case and the old pumping station stands empty.
Links with the Knights Templar
Agricultural land and a hall, situated in the Westerdale area, were given to the Order of Knights TemplarKnights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
at an early period in the 12th century. The property was donated by Guido de Bovingcourt who owned the land, together with other holdings in nearby Baysdale (a.k.a. Basedale/Handale/ Grendale). Bovincourt was a supporter of the Cistercians and donated a number of other lands in the area to them including Battersby, Stokesley, Newby, and Baysdale itself. At Baysdale, he provided a home for a small congregation of Cistercian nuns
Cistercian nuns
Cistercian nuns are female members of the Cistercian Order, a religious order belonging to the Roman Catholic branch of the Catholic Church.-History:...
who lived in a small abbey there, supported by mining and smelting rights near Westerdale village.
The remains of the fortifications of the hall given to the Templars by Bovincourt was situated to the north of the present day Westerdale Hall (formerly a Youth Hostel) and was excavated by the warden's son, Paul Wheater, in 1960. He found evidence of a main chamber together with a kitchen, a brewery, animal quarters and a chapel.
In the book The Story of Danby by the late Dr Bob Robinson (1991), we are told that the Templars of Temple Newsam
Temple Newsam
Temple Newsam is a Tudor-Jacobean house with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown, in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
, Leeds, appointed the then prominent Westerdale Preceptory in 1119 to be the head of the North Yorkshire Templars.
The Preceptory prospered for around two hundred years until 1309 when the Templars were suppressed. William de la Fenne was Westerdale's last preceptor
Preceptor
A preceptor is a teacher responsible to uphold a certain law or tradition, a precept.-Christian military orders:A preceptor was historically in charge of a preceptory, the headquarters of certain orders of monastic Knights, such as the Knights Hospitaller and Knights Templar, within a given...
and it is likely that with their impending suppression, he encouraged his Templars to turn much of their valuable goods into cash. A listing of their removable possessions is surprisingly small, particularly in the light of us being told that Westerdale had been declared the 'head Preceptory of North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
'. The granary contained only 4 bushel
Bushel
A bushel is an imperial and U.S. customary unit of dry volume, equivalent in each of these systems to 4 pecks or 8 gallons. It is used for volumes of dry commodities , most often in agriculture...
s (100 kg) of rye.
The revenue from the Preceptory's extensive holdings were handed over to the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
s and included:
- 1000 acres (4 km²) of wild moorland
- 60 acres (240,000 m²) of parkland
- 60 acres (240,000 m²) of oats
- 40 acres (160,000 m²) of grazing meadow
- 2 acres (8,000 m²) of rye
- the granary at Grange Farm
Livestock handed over included:
- 16 oxen
- 14 cows
- a single bull
- 13 geese
- 3 colts
- 5 affers (heifers)
Property belonging to the Chapel were listed as
- 2 vestments
- a Chalice
- a Missal
- a psalterPsalterA psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the later medieval emergence of the book of hours, psalters were the books most widely owned by wealthy lay persons and were...
- an ant (probably antiphon)
- a thuribleThuribleA thurible is a metal censer suspended from chains, in which incense is burned during worship services. It is used in the Catholic Church as well as in Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, some Lutheran, Old Catholic, and in various Gnostic Churches. It is also used...
- 2 phials
- a chest
Also listed as part of the chapel holdings were a
- plaustrum (wagon)
- 3 ploughs and accessories
- 6 harrows
- 2 ladders
- a vang (heavy rope)
- 2 manure forks
Other property in the list is very insubstantial in nature and covers minor items such as candles, jars, tables, etc.
As to the boundaries of the Templar lands at Westerdale, there is little evidence of their limits. A number of ancient crosses and stones stand on the moorland around this area and no doubt some of them could easily be markers for Templar boundaries. The Reverend George Young in his History of Whitby and Streoneshalh Abbey (1817) says:
- many [stone crosses and markers] were set up to prevent disputes over territory and serve as landmarks......this plan was especially adopted by the Knights Templars and Hospitallers......