Knitting for Yorkshire

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Hortoris

How many gold medals will Yorkshire win at the London Olympics and is there was a medal for knitting? It may be a ‘needle contest’ but knitted Yorkshire gold would be a sure-fire top of the podium for Yorkshire’s best knitters.
A runner up medal for fourth place to complement Gold, Silver and Bronze would be Pearl (I mean purl).

Knitting Bears

You may not have time to knit all the different sports and contestants before the opening ceremony! Considering you have now probably finished your Jubilee project and probably the shirts and favours for Euro 2012 Football teams, Olympic figures are something to get your needles into. Knitting for gold will not mean you need gold thread in your yarn but then again you would stand out from the crowd.

Knitting Bears

From ‘Knitty Gritty knitting for beginners’ through to ‘400 Stitches a guide to essential stitch patterns’ there are books a plenty to teach and improve your knitting to say nothing about actual patterns.
See a good list of books on knitting here.

Knitting Bears

God’s Own County Kitting References

We do not have references like those you need to get a job or knitted example of work to be able to knit garments for retailers like Swaledale Woolens but we have a couple of links to knitting tradition.
‘The Old Hand-knitters of the Dales’ was written by Marie Hartley a great chronicler of Yorkshire its folk and dales.
Visit the Dent Village Heritage Centre and learn about the ‘Terrible Knitters of Dent’ or read a bit more on this web site.
Returning to our Olympic theme the Daily Mail’s recent story of Residents of Saltburn in North Yorkshire shows some good Knitted Olympians.
Knitting and Knattering is a club on Doncaster that you may wish to look up.

If your interest is in textiles and quilts read more about Quilts and Quilting and the York Museum here

Posted in Yorkshire Sport and Pastimes | 2 Comments

Yorkshire Archery – Scorton Silver Arrow

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Hortoris

Sorry You must be over 21
‘Sorry you need to be over 21’

Archery with a silver arrow dates back to a contest in the sixteenth century.
Ever-since It has been an annual event in the North Yorkshire village of Scorton or other Yorkshire location. The original arrow is now on display at the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds.

    • The morning session firing arrows at a target 100 yards away is tough but it gets harder in the afternoon after imbibing copious quantities of lunchtime booze to nullify the effect of the Captain’s lunch and AGM.
    • The Society of Archers was formed at the first meeting in 1673
    • It is one of the few sporting fixtures where the competitor is on his own honour to mark his own score card.
    • Competitors are able to enjoy and share a drink on the field of play (health and safety eat your heart out)
    • The winner is appointed Captain of the Arrow and they must organise the event next year.
    • The competition is the oldest recorded sporting event still running although the East riding village of Kiplingcotes and the Kiplingcotes Derby is widely accepted to be the oldest annual horse race in the English sporting calendar. It reputedly began in 1519
    • Wheelchair events and serious archery competition are now also a part of what is a grand old traditional Yorkshire event.

The Society of Archers

The Society of Archers was formed at the first meeting of the  Silver Arrow Competition in 1673 for the
purpose of maintaining Target Archery. This skill  was largely in decline following the English Civil War.
The purpose of the Yorkshire Archery Association is to promote and support the sport of archery in Yorkshire.
The YAA is the county affiliation body for clubs in Yorkshire.
Archery Clubs in Yorkshire

Posted in Yorkshire Sport and Pastimes | Tagged | 1 Comment

Stalactite & Stalagmite at Stump Cross

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Hortoris

Remember the Difference between Stalactite & Stalagmite

A stalactite is named from the original Greek  stalasso “to drip” and meaning “that which drips” (drips do not go up except in science fiction.)
A stalagmite also from the Greek   stalagma is the “drop” or “drip” that ends up on the floor or running down the walls. (Sounds like a student flat)
You can remember the Greek derivation and work out which is which or you can recall the schoolboy incantation ‘As the tights come down, the mights go up!’ or another memory aid A stalactite – with a “C” – hangs from the “C”eiling in a cave system or cavern. A stalagmite – with a “G” is on the “G”round of a cave system or cavern.
Helictites are a delicate cave formation of calcium that changes its axis from the vertical at one or more stages during its growth creating a curving or angular form. Helictites have been described in several types, ribbon helictites, saws, rods, butterflies, “hands”, curly-fries, and “clumps of worms”.( I do not mind meeting Curly Fries but Clumps of Worms ugh!)

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Stump Cross Caverns lie between Pateley Bridge and Grassington in Nidderdale. The limestone cave system at Stump Cross extends beyond the show caves which are open to the public to an overall length of approximately 4 miles.  Many of the deeper caverns are only accessible to experienced cavers.(see below)  In both areas there are numerous Stalactites and Stalagmites to inspire and damp corners to explore.

How the Caves Were Formed

The formation of Stump Cross Caverns began millions of years ago, when the area which is now the Yorkshire Dales was covered by oceans. Sediment from the ocean floor would eventually form limestone, the basic material from which the caves are made. The caves themselves began to form as the limestone was eroded by weak acid rain, created when carbon dioxide from the atmosphere mixed with the precipitation to form carbonic acid.
Many years ago, underground streams found their way into the cracks and began to expand the cave system as more rock was worn away. Once the streams had gone from the upper levels of the valley the cave system was left behind, and the mineral structures that are present today slowly began to form as water dripped through the caverns.

The caves at Stumps Cross were discovered in 1860 and have long been a visitors attraction. As I child I remember the’ butchers block’ a lump of stalagmite that was lit be a gruesome red glow. The impressive reindeer cavern was opened to the public in 2000 and development continues. The Stump Cross centre now includes a spacious tea rooms to cater for Patrons, who work up an appetite touring the caves, via a ‘Luxury Yorkshire Afternoon Tea’. Cave entry for the public is about £7 and more details and opening times are available here.

Caving as a Hobby

There is a list of Yorkshire Caving clubs and societies on the My Yorkshire web site. This may prove useful if you want to take up Potholing or caving as a retirement hobby but I think I will remain with my feet on the above ground. The Stalactite & Stalagmite formations have taken millennia to form and are very fragile so the British Caving Society produce guidelines on conservation access and protection.

I have no photographs as yet of the Stump cross formations so I have borrowed these American images from: Series: Ansel Adams Photographs of National Parks and Monuments, compiled 1941 – 1942, documenting the period ca. 1933 – 1942 Created By: Department of the Interior. National Park Service. Branch of Still and Motion Pictures. Photographer: Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984

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Dales Barns Survival

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Hortoris

Not all the wonderful barns of the Yorkshire Dales have been converted in to holiday lets or cottage homes. These distinctive, rustic almost run-down but utilitarian structures still abound. Originally erected in 18th and 19th centuries many of these barns were built, to store hay near the point of use and were called Laithes, or as Hogg Houses (Hoggs are young sheep) to overwinter the sheep. Tudor Tythe barns still exist at Riddlesden Hall Keighley and Botton Abbey.

The Yorkshire National Park Authority’s Planning Committee have approved the temporary use of a free-standing ‘eco-pod’ inside an isolated barn on the Bolton Abbey estate near Skipton. Yorkshire Forward are supporting this and other conservation measures to protect the 2000 odd barns that are suffering from dereliction.
The National Trust owns Town Head Barn Malham and this 18th century barn has been restored it to its original condition when it would have been used to house overwintering cattle and hay to feed them. It is located on the edge of the village next to its farm and is therefore a rare survival. Most village barns in the Dales have been sold off for house conversions.

Book Cover

Barns of the Yorkshire Dales by Andy Singleton & David Joy is prefaced by Bill Bryson “‘Many of the best of England’s barns are in the Dales. So it is wonderful to see a book celebrating, with wit and affection and penetrating historical insight, the Dales barn in all its undersung glory. This truly is a delightful and valuable book – almost as good, in fact, as the barns themselves.’ ”

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Barn at Burnsall

Hardraw 030

Mark Banks Dales Barn series
Main photograph at Hardwick House looking towards Nesfield and Beamsley Beacon.Hardraw 035

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Clogs & Yorkshire Boots Well Shod

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Hortoris

Tannery Workers in the Dales

‘With the large numbers of cattle and sheep raised in the Yorkshire Dales over the centuries, it is not surprising that industries associated with the by-products of the meat industry were established in villages throughout the area. Leather production indeed was once one of the most common industries throughout the whole of Britain’  according to the Dales National Park team read more.

Clogs of the traditional British design with a leather upper on a wooden sole have actually been worn since at least Roman times. Some historians suggest their origins may go back further still. The Yorkshire manufacture of Clogs Walkleys of Mytholmroyd claim to be ‘the only place in the world where the great British clog is manufactured in its entirety.’You can visit us at our the premises at Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge  where you can see Clogs being made and talk directly to Master Clog-makers.
Walkleys

Book Cover

’25 Stylish Knitted Slippers: Fun Designs for Clogs, Moccasins, Boots, Animal Slippers & Loafers’

For working men good boots were a must, see the footwear above. Women and children were not always as fortunate and had to patch, repair and wear secondhand at times. In the 19th Century the wearing of slippers was the genesis of being slipshod.

Yorkshire Boots are made in Richmond at Altberg  Bootmakers   North Yorkshire and at a second factory  in the Treviso region of Northern Italy.  The senior Alt-Berg® bootmaker shares his time between both factories, which use the same lasts, materials and manufacturing processes.

Unfortunately many skins are now packed for export as explained by The Bradford Hide Co. and Sculcoates Tannery Hull. Tanning machinery once a thriving industry in Otley at G L Murphy is now on a reduced spares only scale.
See also Shoes Booted About

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Ten East Riding Churches To Visit

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Hortoris

  • Beverley’s church of St Mary has a magnificent west front,outstanding porch and splendid tower built around 1530. Some norman remains but essentially an early English church. The woodwork is fantastic on the stalls and misericords. A rare Priests room contains ecclesiastical relics. A focal point for all visits to Beverley.
  • Hedon St Augustine although much reduced from former glory this is still one of the grandest East Riding churches. Imposing black marble grave slab form 13th century and a late 14th century effigy with a beard.
  • Flamborough St Oswald has a nineteenth century tower shown in this photograph but a Norman font and chancel-arch
  • Hemingborough St Mary linked to Durham Abbey in 1426.  Architecturally it has a slim spire rising from a thirteenth century tower.
  • Holme on Spalding Moor All Saints has one of the best churchyards in the East Riding’. There is a fine tower, patching to the roof and an eighteenth century porch of note.

Steve Punter Creative Commons

  • Hull’s Holy Trinity was rebuilt in the 14th century as the town grew It became the largest parish church in England and is now surrounded as can be seen for the photo. Inside and outside there are many monuments and a 14th century effigy in the south transept.
  • Partington St Patrick One of the finest parish churches in England built around 1300-1345. The elegant spire is enclosed with an open gallery like the cresting of a crown. Also includes fine architecture with Jacobean benches, screen and pulpit.

© Copyright Roger Gilbertson and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

  • St Nicholas North Newbold is known as the most complete Norman Church in East Riding and one of the finest in England, was built around 1151. The upper tower, chancel and priest’s vestry were rebuilt in the 15th century. The church has been called the Cathedral of the Wolds. The church has a fine organ.
  • Winstead St German largely rebuilt during the perpendicular period and further restored in the last century. Main features include 15th century glass, medieval monuments and jacobean family chapel. On the floor of the south chapel are ten eighteenth and nineteenth marble tablets to members of the Hildyard family.

  • North Grimston St Nicholas with 13th century coffin lid and statue of St Nicholas above the west window. Remarkable font with primitive figure carvings.
  • Wetwang St Nicholas is a Norman church modified in the 13th century with a tower and transepts. Restoration and modern furnishings in 1902

Research credit to Frank Bottomley and ‘Yorkshire Churches’ and Pevsner

Posted in Our Yorkshire, Yorkshire History and Heritage, Yorkshire Trips and Places | Tagged | 5 Comments

Pubs With York Heritage and Magnetism

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Hortoris

york 139

Legend had it that there were 365 pubs in York, one for every day of the year. Half the pubs of York have gone since the 1950’s and there have been some historic losses. We need to protect those with special interest interiors and ‘support our pub heritage’. I will drink all I can in helping this cause.

Lost Pubs of York

York 360

Promotes some York  pubs including The Priory which is open 11.00am-1.00am and longer at weekends

the-priory-york

Pubs with Interiors of Historic Interest

  • Black Swan in Peaseholme Green is a Grade ll* listed building with medieval timber-frame. There has been sensitive remodelling of the interior in the 30’s and 70’s but the original domestic interior survives. The 17th century staircase, doorways, fireplace and oak panelling have created a pub with very distinctive character.
  • Blue Bell on Fossgate has a slightly gaudy red tiled exterior that is not the most welcoming. For those who venture inside however an Edwardian treat awaits. The rooms are wood-panelled and traditionally furnished throughout, with the bar room only having enough room for 3 or 4 tables. A side lobby has two etched doors accessing a tiny front bar room and a rear ‘former-smoke room’ that is too narrow for some corpulent American visitors. This room and the lobby both have hatch access to the bar.The Blue Bell is a Grade ll* listed building and I hope the pub chains leave the interior alone.
  • Royal Oak on Goodramgate is a small stylish town pub. There is documentation dating it back  to the 15th century. The Royal Oak has both 18th and 19th century extensions to the back. It went through a major restoration project in 1934, a ‘Tudor Revamp’ according to Camra. Now with a gas fire rather than traditional logs it is still a cosy place to drink. Eating and your enjoyment thereof, depends on the landlord and cook at the time you visit.
  • The Swan on Bishopsgate, just outside York’s Bar Walls, was only the second pub to be designated a Tetleys Heritage Inn in the 1980’s. 30 years on and The Swan Inn has been nominated for “best real ale pub” in The Press Pub Awards 2009/10, and was Camra’s pub of the year. Probably enough said but the interior layout is one of only 3 surviving pubs witha genuine inter-war years layout within York.
  • York Arms beneath the shadow of the Minster is a homely little pub that escaped the open-plan movementr in the 1970’s. The site was a former Chapter coffee house but a licensed house was build on the site in 1838 and still has two main lounge areas, and a tiny snug at the front of the pub. It is a Samuel Smith pub so you will know it offers value for money in the beer pricing.
  • Lighthorseman was built in Fulford Road during Queen Victoria’s reign and survives as a multi-roomed public house of some style. There is a wealth of original Victorian features including the only original Victorian bar remaining in the city. Deservedly there is a grade 2 listing. With accommodation available you can check out its own web site.

I am sure I have not covered your favourite alehouse, boozer, hostelry, local, watering-hole or call it what you will. If my omission is unwarranted then I am happy to add further pubs to this page or better still visit them for myself. Please comment below.

 

The Maltings, Guy Fawkes and The Olde White Swan vie with Golden Lion, Three Tuns and The Bluebell as my current favourites

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Bolton Abbey Priory through the Seasons

Posted on April 5, 2016 by tejvan

bolton-abbey-autumn

In 1155 Augustin monks based in Embsay opted to build an Priory on a rise near the river.  400 years or so later in 1539 Henry Vlll caused its dissolution.  The ruins of Bolton Abbey are situated on the lower reaches of the River Wharfe in North Yorkshire. The bend in the river is a scenic setting for the old monastery building and this is a favourite picnic spot for trippers. These are some photos of Bolton Abbey through the seasons. Continue reading →

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Shoe Industry Booted About

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Hortoris

Stead & Simpson was one of the oldest, most well-known and respected names in the British footwear industry. The business can trace its history back to 1834, when it was founded as a Leeds based manufacturer of footwear. At its peak in the 19th century the company employed over 1000 staff in Leeds and manufactured 7000 pairs of shoes each week. During this period there were 23 tanneries in Leeds.

Book Cover

Factories and mechanization came to this large industry after 1850 as shoe makers gradually recognized the usefulness of consolidating the various processes at one location. Within these central shops, or factories, machines were perfected that imitated specific hand processes.

A ‘Cordwainer’ is someone who makes shoes and other articles from fine soft leather as distinct from a cobbler, who repaired them. This distinction gradually weakened during the twentieth century, when there was a predominance of shoe retailers who neither made nor repaired shoes. That also saw the end of another shoe related occupation a ‘Boot Laster’ or maker of lasts. Major volumes of imports started and continues today with only Clarks in Somerset as a major UK based volume manufacturer.

Book Cover
Available from amazon by right clicking the book.

Stead & Simpson started as a footwear maker but switched focus onto shoe shops. In the 1960s it had more than 400 retail outlets and 4000 staff and is now based in Leicester. Stead & Simpson, whose brands include Shoe Express, Lilley & Skinner, and Peter Briggs, made losses last year and has been through a period of administration. The company has already sold off 25 factory outlet stores trading as Famous Footwear. ShoeZone of Leicester acquired the company in 2008 and in 2016 have 550 stores and a small web presence..

Stead & Simpson were not the only shoe retailer to face problems. In 2009 the Ziff family rescued 160 Barratts and Priceless shops, part of the Stylo group at the Bradford based company from administration. Unfortunately 220 stores closed and the Dolcis brand disappeared.

Book CoverBook Cover

Book Cover
Available from amazon by right clicking the book.

 

Posted in Yorkshire Business and Money, Yorkshire History and Heritage | 4 Comments

On Yer Bike to Farndale Daffodil Valley

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Hortoris

Farndale, aka ‘Daffodil Valley’ by virtue of the ‘Lenten Lilies’ which carpet the valley floor in a sea of yellow each spring. The Daffodils, Narcissus pseudonarcissus, were probably brought to the valley and Douthwaitedale by 12th century Monks and got the old name Lenten Lily from the fact they normally bloom around Easter, a little later than most British Daffodils. If you are not worried by crowds then a weekend trip at the end of March or April will repay your perseverance. Because of the cold weather this year you may find a warmer and quieter time to visit will be mid-week mid-to late April.

Walking The Dove and Farndale

If you are not on your bike ‘Walking world’ has a range of interesting walks including Church houses in Farndale on this site. Wikipedia’s entry for Farndale must have been written by a southerner who dislikes moorland as ‘Farndale is surrounded by some of the most inhospitable moorland in England, and is sandwiched between Bransdale and Rosedale. …… Around the north of Farndale, is the track bed of the old Rosedale Ironstone Railway which forms part of two Long Distance Footpaths these being Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk and The Lyke Wake Walk’. Well they are right about walking so forgive and forget. There are many fine walks along the banks of the river Dove starting at the small hamlet of Low Mill where a nearby field is used to accommodate the hundreds of cars which arrive during the daffodil season.

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Tea Rooms and Refreshments

Refreshments are available at the Daffy Caffy at High Mill and the Feversham Arms Inn at Church Houses. The “Daffy Caffy” cafe tearoom is situated on the well known daffodil walk in beautiful Farndale, North Yorkshire, England. The scenery and walking is quite magnificent, whether it be along the river or climbing up to Rudland Rigg on the North York Moors. In the hamlet of Church Houses, Farndale, the Feversham Arms ‘serves good food and beer for the passing walker’. Just up the road is St Mary’s Church a small moors village church built in 1831 and well worth a visit even when the Daffodils have gone.

Other Village Activities

Alt country bands, renown folk singers and even Yorkshire Countrywomens Associations use the Band Room in Farndale variously described as ‘England’s tiniest major venue,’ ‘The greatest small venue on Earth,’ and ‘a corrugated iron shed in the middle of nowhere.’ There is a big gig no 29th August 2010 the night before the 103rd Farndale Show staring Megafaun ( I will say that a bit louder). Built for the Farndale Silver Band in the 1920s this 100-capacity wooden building adds atmosphere to most performances if you can get a ticket.
Picking Daffodils is not an activity that can be pursued as Farndale is now a protected Nature Reserve. Leave the flowers for others to see and the seeds to reproduce naturally.

Posted in Food and Drink & Yorkshire Products, Yorkshire Dales, Yorkshire Trips and Places | Tagged , , | 1 Comment