Lealholm

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"Ah lovely Lealholm! Where shall I begin. To say what thou art now and once hast been?" (John Castillo)

Lealholm is a small village in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park. A honey pot during the summer months, very popular with tourists, it is formed at the meeting of three roads and a crossing point of the River Esk in the bottom of a U shaped valley formed by glacial actions during the last Ice Age. Despite having less than 50 houses, the village has a wide selection of amenities, being home to a village shop, post office, Petrol station and farm goods store, art gallery (formerly a pottery), public house (The Board Inn), Antiques shop, Infant and Primary school, Cafe Restaurant, Cricket / Football Pitch), Lealholm railway station and three churches. Lealholm was home to the poet John Castillio (1792 - 1845), often referred to as the "Bard of the Dales".

At the head of the village stands the woodland and steep sided valley of Crunkly Ghyll, a ravine carved by the River Esk through the hillside where the river drops 30 metres from the valley above to reach the village. It was formed during the last great ice age as a huge wall of ice move across the landscape carving out what is now the Esk Valley as far as Lealholm. At its head it formed a massive dam blocking the flow of water from above creating a lake running back up the valley to Commondale. As the ice melted, the river fourced its way out carving the ravine we see today. In Victorian times, the Ghyll was home to a large rockery garden, open to the public, but long since washed away by flooding.

Lealholm has three churches - the Roman Catholic Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, St James the Greater - the Church of England church and the Methodist Chapel.

The River Esk dog legs through the village. In the centre stands the bridge which crosses the Esk a few yards south of the old fording point. 400 yards further upsteam stands a set of stepping stones. Between these two the river becomes very deep where it bends sharply to the right. Despite warning notices, the pool is popular with swimmers and teenagers diving into the river on hot summer days. In the early nineties a boy was drowned in the pool when he dived in and became entangled with weeds and tree roots in the depths.

Across from the Board Inn alongside the Bridge stands the village green where the local team play Quoits. The pub itself is a popular destination and regularly holds Domino drives.

Lealholm was home to at least one mill for centuries, and the earliest records show a mill located within the village in 1336 belonging to the Lord of the Manor Willian le Latimer, 3rd Baron of Danby. Fed by the small Cow Beck, work could have been in short supply during dry summer months, and by 1709 it was demolished. A Quaker, Thomas Whatson, built a new mill on the site constucting a long mill race from Crunkly Ghyll through the village to join Cow Beck close to the site. This mill race now forms the boundry of the cricket pitch surrounding it on most sides as it passes the mill. The mill had the authoritory to clean and remove any woodland, earth or rubbish within 40 yards of the mill race "for upholding the mill and dams", and "with liberty for all persons that shall grind corn and grain at the mill to sieve and sift on two parcels of ground called Adam Rigg and Ellergates". Thus the outcrop of hillside rising towards the station became known as Oatmeal Hill. When the Nos 3 & 4 railway cottages were purchased by the Overton family in 1970 the semi-detached houses were combined and the building became known as "Oatmill Cottage". The village was also home to a paper mill, which employed up to 20 people during it's heyday. The site is now a garden centre, known as "Poet's Corner" after John Castillo.

In more recent times, the mill, owened by the Nelson Family was used as the village hall, and became known as Nelson Hall. In the late eighties it was sold off and converted into a house, leaving the Ley Hall at the top of the village the only venue for public gatherings. Today it is used for the local playgroup, young famers, the parish council and the WI amongst others.

Due to its proximity to the river Esk and its tributries, flooding has long been a problem for some of the lower houses in the village, and marks carved into the side wall of the Methodist chapel show the extent of recent floods in the 20th century. Close to the chapel, by the mill race stands the Quaker Friends Burial Ground, donated by Thomas Whatson.

Overlooking the village stands the hamlet of Lealholmside - a row of houses running along the side of the valley. It was a popular location with the photographer Frank Meadow Sutcliffe, who took many pictures in the area, although few of the village itself.

[edit] Lealholm Village Show

Lealholm Farm Produce and Horticultural Society hold a village show & sports day on the first Saturday in September. Held on the Sports Field, the show has exhibitions of crafts, wine making, fruit, vegitables and farm produce as well as categories for children. Children's sports and a fancy dress parade are held on the cricket pitch, and are always popular, although there usually has to be a lot of pursuasion for entries into the "Twice round the field" competition. Popular side stalls include "Bowl for a Goose", where competitors have to try and get bowl 5 ball through holes in a frame at the end of a short but bumpy pitch. The winner can either take home a live Goose, have it delivered for Christmas or a cash prize. The biggest event of the afternoon is the Grand Duck Race on the River Esk, where 1000 numbered plastic ducks are launched along the river towards a finishing line. The 10 fastest ducks are then picked out at the finishing line to win cash prizes. In the past few years the village show has also featured displays by steam engines, fire safety as well as brass band performances, demonstrations by St John's Ambulance and a bouncy castle.

Entries to the show's competitions are made on the morning of the show and are taken up till 11.15am, with staging by 11.30 ready for judging. The show then opens to the public at 2pm.

Lealholm in Winter from St James' Church.

Lealholm in Winter.

Sports at Lealholm Show.

The Grand Duck Race gets underway on the river Esk.