Ryedale - Rievaulx, Helmsley, Pickering and Malton
Above: Helmsley courtesy of The Northern Echo
The River Rye rises in the depths of the North York Moors, somewhere between the Hambleton Hills and the Cleveland Hills. to the east of Osmotherley. It cuts its way through the moors passing the village of Hawnby before it is joined by the River Seph from the neighbouring valley called Bilsdale. The River Seph is fed by the Raisdale and Tripsdale Becks, These streams begin their course in the northern part of the North York Moors to not far from Stokesley, Chop Gate and Urra in the Cleveland district of Yorkshire.
Passing beyond Hawnby the River Rye flows on towards Helmsley before entering the flat Vale of Pickering, ultimately joining the River Derwent near Malton and Norton.
Rievaulx Abbey in the Rye Valley just to the north of Helmsley was founded in 1132 by Cistercian monks from Clairvaulx in France. It was the first Cistercian abbey in Yorkshire and was established on land granted by Walter l'Espec. Rievalulx (French for Rye valley) is one of the most impressive ruined monasteries in the North, particularly because of its location in the wooded valley of the Rye. Rievaulx like many other Yorkshire monasteries remained in use until the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII. (See also Jervaulx Abbey and Fountains Abbey)
Overlooking the abbey ruins is the Rievaulx Terrace, a piece of impressive eighteenth century landscaping which provides excellent views of this historic site. The terrace with its eighteenth century Tuscan temple were the property of Duncombe Park, near Helmsley and now belong to the National Trust. Between 1147 and 1177 Rievaulx Abbey was situated close to another Cistercian abbey only two miles away in the moors to the west at the site now called Old Byland. Monks at Old Byland were confused by the tolling of the bells at Rievaulx and eventually moved to a new site at Byland near Coxwold.
HELMSLEY CASTLE AND DUNCOMBE PARK
Helmsley is a pretty Ryedale market town situated on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors. Its most notable features are Helmsley castle and Duncombe Park. Built in the twelfth century by Walter l'Espec and rebuilt by Rober de Roos around 1200, the castle lies at the western end of Helmsley Market Place. It was dismantled in 1644 after surrendering to the onslaught of the Parliamentary General Sir Thomas Fairfax, during the Civil War but was patched up and occupied for a time be the second Duke of Buckingham.
In 1687 the castle was bought by a wealthy London goldsmith called Sir Charles Duncombe but his nephew Charles abandoned the castle. He left the castle to ruin and employed Vanbrugh and Wakefield to build a great house called Duncombe Park on a hilltop with views overlooking the old castle. The Duncombes were a very influential family in the area and were created Lords Feversham in 1826. A statue of one of their number, the second Lord Feversham, stands in Helmsley's market Square.
Ampleforth lies between Helmsley and Coxwold and its name means 'the ford where sorrel grows' It is the site of a famous Roman Catholic Public School and an abbey founded in 1802 by English monks from Dieulourard in Lorraine who fled from the Revolution in France. They left France in 1793 and returned to England before finally settling at Ampleforth. Dieulourard had originally been established by Benedictine monks from England in 1619. Some of the furniture in Ampleforth College library was made by the mouseman furniture designer Robert Thompson of Kilburn.
Gilling Castle lies to the south of Ampleforth on a hill overlooking the village of East Gilling. It began as a towerhouse built by Thomas Etton sometime in the fourteenth century. Later in 1492 it passed to the Fairfax family and remained in their hands until 1793. Most of the castle we see today dates from their period of occupancy. Part of the Castle was purchased by Ampleforth College as a preparatory school. A gallery from the castle can be seen at Barnard Castle's Bowes Museum.
Nunnington Hall, a National Trust property lies to the east of Gilling and is about four miles south east of Helmsley. It is a Tudor manor house built in 1655 by Ranald Graham. One of its earliest occupants was Robert Huickes who was a physician to Henry VIII and later to Elizabeth I. It was Robert that had to tell this Queen that she could not have children.
To the south of Nunnington is another notable house - Hovingham Hall at Hovingham village. It was built in 1760 by a Surveyor General to George III called Sir Thomas Worsley. The site of a Roman villa has been found within the grounds of the house. Hovingham lies on a Roman Road leading to Malton and Norton along which we pass the villages of Appleton-le-Street and Barton-le-Street. Close to Hovingham is the village of Wath where the Roman road crosses the Wath Beck. Wath was a Viking word for a ford.
The River Rye is joined by the River Riccal near Nunnington. Riccal's name means Rye Calf, Calf meaning a small island near a larger one. Numerous 'islands' are still formed here in the flat land between the Rye and the Riccal. Only a few miles further on, the Rye is joined by the River Dove and the River Seven, both fresh from the North York Moors near Kirkbymoorside.
KIRKBYMOORSIDE AND LASTINGHAM CHURCH
Kirkbymoorside is a small market town which is a good centre for exploring the valley of the River Dove, known as Farndale and famous for its springtime daffodils. A road from nearby Keldholme leads up this dale and on to the pretty Hutton-le-Hole and Lastingham up in the moors. Hutton-le-Hole 's name means the high farm near the hollow (Hole) but was formerly known as Heg Hoton - a heg being land enclosed for hunting. Hutton-le-Hole is the home of the Ryedale Folk Museum. Le-Hole was added to Hutton-le-hole's name by the Norman French to distinguish Hutton from other Huttons
Lastingham was the site of a monastery founded by St Cedd in 654 AD, but was destroyed by the Danes in the 9th century. A Norman church was founded on the site by Stephen, the abbot of Whitby, but around 1088 the monks abandoned the site and moved to St Mary's abbey in York. The crypt of the Norman abbey lies beneath Lastingham's church of St Mary, which dates from the thirteenth century, although the tower is fifteenth century. Going deeper into the moors still, four miles to the north, is the hamlet called Rosedale Abbey, which was the site of a Cistercian nunnery in the 12th century. It was destroyed by Scots in 1322.
Pickering means the people of Picer or Picere and is either an old personal name for an Anglo-Saxon, or an unknown tribal name that could mean the dwellers at the edge of the ‘pic’ or hill. A place called Dickering in eastern Yorkshire is thought to mean dwellers at the edge of the dyke. The first recorded owner of Pickering as a surname was Reginald de Pickering in 1165. The surname means a man ‘of Pickering’.
Pickering gives its name to the flat Vale of Pickering which lies between the Yorkshire Wolds to the south and the North York Moors to the north. The coast and the town of Scarborough can be found on the eastern flank of the vale. On its western side the vale continues into the Vale of York near Easingwold.
The Vale of Pickering is drained by the River Derwent, which rises near Hackness in the North York Moors. Flowing south for a short distance it comes within a few miles of Scarborough but surprisingly flows west, even though the east coast is only a few miles away (a man-made sea-cut or canal links the river with the sea at Scalby on the northern side of Scarborough ). Near Malton the Derwent is joined from the west by the River Rye and changes its course southwards to eventually join the River Humber. Derwent means oak river and has the same name and meaning as the River Derwent in Noth West Durham or Derwentwater lake in Cumbria.
Pickering Castle lies on the north side of Pickering town overlooking the Pickering Beck. It is thought to have been originally built by William the Conqueror but the earliest parts of the castle date from between 1180 and 1300. Historically, the castle belonged to the Earls of Lancaster.
Two miles east of Pickering on the Scarborough road is Thornton-le-Dale often described as the prettiest village in Yorkshire. It has a fourteenth century church.
Malton and Norton are almost three towns in one, consisting of Old Malton and New Malton on the north side of the River Derwent and Norton on the south side of the river. Norton was formerly an East Riding town, Malton was in the North Riding. (See about Yorkshire). The site of a Roman fort called Derventio lies between Old Malton and New Malton on the north side of the river.
Originally Malton was called Middleton, but the name has been corrupted due to Viking influence. Old Malton was the site of a Gilbertine priory and the town grew up around it, but Old Malton was burnt down by Archbishop Thurstan of York in 1138 to drive out the Scots (See the Battle of the Standard). Old Malton's church of St Mary was built using material from the priory.
Eden Camp Museum sited close to Old Malton was the site of a Second World War prisoner camp. Most of the huts within the camp have been converted into a museum portraying life during the war years.
Along the valley of the Derwent to the south of Malton are the ruins of Kirkham Priory near Huttons Ambo. The abbey was founded in 1125 by Augustinian canons.
Six miles oruth of malton in the Yorkshire wolds we can find the church of Wharram Percy and the hidden remains of Wharram Percy village. The village was desserted following the Black Death in 1310.
Castle Howard is located near the Howardian Hills to the east of Malton. It was built by Sir John Vanbrugh and was his first great project. Charles Howard, the 3rd Earl of Carlisle chose Vanbrugh to build the great house - the largest house in Yorkshire to replace Henderskelfe Castle, which had existed on the site but had burnt down in 1693. The choice of Vanbrugh was surprising as he was principally known as a playwright and was only an amateur architect at the time. Vanbrugh chose Nicholas Hawksmoor as his Clerk of Works and together they formed a famous partnership. Castle Howard was built between 1700 and 1726 and made Vanbrugh and Hawksmoor into hugely successful architects. They also built the famous Blenheim palace in Oxfordshire for the Dukes of Marlborough.
Castle Howard is still in the hands of the Howard family today. The grounds of the house cover 1000 acres and there are two lakes. Architectural features within the grounds include Vanbrugh's temple of Four Winds and Hawksmoor's mausoleum which is of church proportions. Castle Howard itself is one of the grandest architectural wonders of Yorkshire.
Sheriff Hutton is so named because it was once held by Bertram Bulmer, the Sheriff of York who died in 1166.The Bulmer family take their name from Bulmer which is a few miles east of Sheriff Hutton. Bulmer was Bull's mere, a lake frequented by a bull. Ansketil de Bulmer was the first recorded member of the Bulmer family who lived in the area in the twelfth century.
Ansketil was the High Sheriff of the North Riding of Yorkshire. The surname Bulmer is the subject of much discussion as it is believed that they were an aristocratic family of Anglo-Saxon origin who retained their status after the invasion of the Normans. It is believed that the Bulmers were related to the Anglo-Saxon noble Liulf, who was the first member of the Lumley family. Liulf was murdered at Gateshead by the retainers of the first Norman Bishop of Durham called William Walcher in 1081.
The Bulmers are thought to have continued as tenants of the Normans who inherited Liulf's land in Yorkshire. Sometime in the twelfth century Ansketil Nulmer is said to have married the daughter of the Lord of Brancepeth and their son Bertram Bulmer, who succeeded him as High Sheriff inherited this property. Later the Bulmers intermarried with the powerful Norman family called the Nevilles, who adopted the Bull's for their coat of arms and inherited Brancepeth Castle. Raby Castle, the other great Neville property may also have belonged to the Bulmers as the oldest part of this castle, the Saxon Bulmer tower is inscribed with the initials BB for Bertram Bulmer.
