God's Own County

The lower slopes of the Yorkshire moors can be thickly covered with bracken (one of many ferns). Despite some belief to the contrary it has been shown that any increase is slow but it is still an invasive species. Gone are the days when it was valued and cut as bedding for horses and cattle, now it only seems fit for breeding insects.

Among several Yorkshire ferns are the attractive upland Lemon-scented Fern and the beech fern Phegopteris connectilis which is now very rare in West Yorkshire.

Ferns Growing in Yorkshire

• Bracken fern
• Broad Buckler-fern Dryopteris dilatata
• Hart’s-tongue fern grows on the limestone pavement in the Yorkshire Dales
• Lady Fern Athyrium felix-femina is one of the larger ferns
• Lemon-scented Fern
• Male Fern Dryopteris filix-mas found in woods and under shade.
• Adder’s-tongue Fern which grows in old grasslands, hillsides, woodland and on sand dunes

Fossil Fern of Yorkshire

• The North Yorkshire coast is one the most important sites for fossils from the Cretaceous and Jurassic period.
• Many of the plant fossils from North Yorkshire belong to the group of the ferns.
• ‘One of the most common ferns is Todites williamsonii, a representative of the Osmundaceae family, which includes also the living Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis)’ Read more and see photos
• From whitby you can reach the Saltwick Formation and between Middlesborough and Bridlington other plant fossils can be seen at the Claughton ‘Gristhorpe Member’ and the ‘Scalby Formation’.

Credits
Fern in sharp lighting by Mirror | imaging reality CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Bracken by Anita363 CC BY-NC 2.0 Bracken growing like swathes over the hills
Fossilised frond from a seed fern, Alethopteris, GL1339 by Black Country Museums CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Ferns by amandabhslater CC BY-SA 2.0

A cautionary tale involving our former colonies and a shrewd Yorkshireman (is there any other sort?)

In the land of sheep and Ayers Rock, after having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year, Australian scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 200 years. They came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than 150 years ago.

Not to be outdone by their colonial cousins, in the weeks that followed, an American archaeologist dug to a depth of 20 feet, and shortly after, a story published in the New York Times:
“American archaeologists, finding traces of 250-year-old copper wire, have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network 50 years earlier than the Australians”.

One week later, the Yorkshire Post reported the following:
“After digging as deep as 30 feet in North Yorkshire, Jack Priestley, a self-taught archaeologist, reported that he found absolutely sod-all.
Jack has therefore concluded that 250 years ago, Yorkshire had already gone wireless.”

Comments on Wireless in Yorkshire

• I think that this story is the Cats Whiskers. ‘Tinker’
• A true Home Service broadcast of comical proportions. ‘Percy Parrot’
• Stone the ipod and the crows. ‘Transistor Sister’
• Crystal sets them apart in Yorkshire. From the ‘Wireless and Radio Times’ Heckmondwike edition

What happened to Murdoch ans Darcy whose home was threatened with council cut backs in 2011? I will try to get an update

Bradford Telegraph and Argus report ‘In a climate where hundreds of people are losing their jobs and cutbacks are happening throughout the district then the future of two shire Horses is not automatically at the top of the list of priorities. But Murdoch and Darcy, who are stabled at the Bradford Industrial Museum in Eccleshill, clearly have a place in the hearts of local people as evidenced by the last time they were under threat.’ and the threat was beaten back but new cuts at Bradford MDC may not be as forgiving.
Getting rid of the horses from the museum would save money “Stabling and taking care of horses is expensive and finding somewhere else for the horses would save £126,000.’ Says Tony Stephens AD cultural and tourism, but then again so would getting rid of ‘AD cultural and tourism’.

As the old cowboys used to say ‘Git on your ‘orse Bradford.’

New foal shire horses were on display at the Otley Show

Shire horse books DVDs and memorabilia is available from Amazon. Perhaps Bradford need to latch on to similar marketing opportunities.

See a Bradford Shire getting a wash and brush-up