God's Own County

Walking is one of the best ways to get close up to history.
You will get the time to consider how things you see came into being and how they relate to the then society.
Researching your walk will often tell you quite a bit about the surrounding area and what you can expect to see whilst walking around.
A restful drink at the end of the walk will give you further time to ponder on the decades, centuries and millennia that have gone before.

Red Tower York

I did too little research for my recent walk around the walls of York but the Red Tower had ample information boards and information was easy to obtain.
The only section of old York which does not have a wall is between Peaseholme Green and the Red Tower where in medieval times there was a huge fishpond . Called the Kings fish pond this formed part of the water defences of the city. The pool silted up in the 17th century and became part of the marshy land called Foss Islands.
The tower looks short and stumpy now because the foundations and lower stone work has been sunk below soil level.
Interestingly for lavatorially minded kids you can still see the Guarderobe or toilet projecting from the rest of the wall.
The Tower is built of red brick and was the cause or a rift between the stone masons guild and that of the builders. In 1492 two masons were implicated in the murder of builder John Patrick but were later acquitted.
The tower has been used for the manufacture of gunpowder, keeping it away from the rest of the city buildings. At that time it was called Brimstone House.

“Historic Walks in North Yorkshire” by Jim Rubery, who has only lived in Yorkshire since 1975, has a good selection of walks. He started writing for the climbing press in the early 1990s, but has had a regular walking column in Yorkshire Life magazine since 1995, entitled ‘Rambling with Rubery’.

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Black Swan York

As Queen Victoria ascended the throne, British agriculture was entering a renaissance period. The landed gentry were investing heavily in what was becomming a growth industry. The great and good of Yorkshire were not to be out done as they met in The Black Swan York in October 1837. This event led to the formation of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s objectives were to arrange, at varying venues, ‘an annual meeting for the exhibition of farming stock, implements, etc, and for the promotion of agriculture’. (164 years later how do you think they are doing?)
The society’s first president and an active livestock breeder was Earl Spencer formerly Viscount Althorp (the titles sound familiar from somewhere). He was the Queens cousin and the show has enjoyed significant Royal patronage over the years. On Earl Spenser’s retirement it was said ‘he thereafter kept company with the creatures he most respected – his shorthorns, his sheep and the farming community’.
Other leading figures and families joined the Society including the Lane Fox’s of Bramhope Park and George Hudson Alderman of Your and Railway magnate.

Belted Galloways at the Show

The first show in 1838 was held at the Barrack Yard of the 5th Dragoon in York. It was so popular that scuffles broke out to gain entry and soldiers and police had to restore order. As a result of this show the societies membership grew to 800.
It was always intended that the show would move around the county and 1839 was held in Leeds followed by Northallerton and Hull then back to York in 1842.
1843 saw the show acclaimed for the first time as The Great Yorkshire Show.
For 1848 the Yorkshire Agricultural Society joined with the Royal Agricultural Society as a one-off extravaganza in Bootham Stray York. This large area was laid out with railway tracks reaching directly into the show ground. Prince Albert’s attendance drew massive crowds and the implement displays were one of the defining features.

Pontefract held the show once in 1860, Ripon in 1855 and by agreement the show moved annual between the North Riding, the Northern half of the West Riding, the East Riding and the Southern half of the West Riding.
In 1874 Sheffield hosted one of the best attended shows attracting 64,111 paying visitors but during the 1870’s there was a slump in agriculture and bad weather saw the Driffield show of 1875 only attract 27,149 attendees.
Bradford, not what I thought of as the heart of agriculture, held the show in 1901 and 1914 where the highest attendance was achieved until it was exceeded in 1956.

Halifax Agricultural Show

Sources
Richard Sunderland, on Flickr
Belted Galloways by Jeheme
‘Great Yorkshire a Celebration of 150 Shows ED. David Joy.

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