Westerdale
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Westerdale | |
|
|
|
  Westerdale shown within North Yorkshire |
|
| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| District | Scarborough |
| Shire county | North Yorkshire |
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WHITBY |
| Postcode district | YO21 |
| Police | North Yorkshire |
| Fire | North Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| European Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| UK Parliament | Scarborough and Whitby |
| List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire | |
Westerdale is a village and dale within the borough of Scarborough, in North Yorkshire, England. The Esk Valley Walk runs through part of the village.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
[edit] Westerdale Side
Westerdale Side is part of Westerdale, but is close to the village of Castleton. It is accessed by a narrow road running along the southwest of Castleton Rig.
[edit] Westerdale Moor
Westerdale Moor is an extensive upland area surrounding the farmland in Westerdale. At its highest, Westerdale Moor rises to 429 metres in the vicinity of Ralphs Cross, and to 434 metres at Stony Ridge to the South West.
Much of the moor is covered by peat and calluna and descending into the dale, bilberry and some bracken can be found, with scirpus and sphagnum in boggy areas. Bracken is no longer widespread on Westerdale Moor, since an eradication programme by a previous landowner. There are some trees by the streams which are tributaries of the Esk - mainly Mountain Ash, Birch, Oak and Holly. Near Stockdale beck are fragments of ancient woodland on steep slopes and, as in nearby Baysdale, a few junipers can be found.
[edit] The Farmed Dale
Despite its rather remote upland location, Westerdale has been farmed for thousands of years. There are many soil types across the dale ranging from strong clays to free-draining shale.
Historically some of the more fertile lower fields grew a range of arable crops particularly barley, oats, turnips and potatoes, but more recently most farms concentrate on grass for grazing and the production of hay and silage as winter feed.
Dividing and stock-proofing the fields, there are many miles of dry stone walls in several styles - and built over a very long timespan. There are also some good hedges and in recent years much work has been done to safeguard and improve both walls and hedges through a National Park sponsored programme.
[edit] Westerdale Hall
Westerdale Hall is a substantial building located close to the village, designed by Thomas Henry Wyatt, it was originally a shooting lodge mainly for grouse shooting in the late summer and autumn. After World War II it became a popular youth hostel, but is now a private residence with many of its external features remaining much as it did when it was built.
[edit] The Esklets
The River Esk rises as numerous small streams in the upper part of Westerdale, known as "Esklets," which is close to neighbouring Farndale. Until recently, water was extracted from these streams for public supply but this is no longer the case and the old pumping station stands empty.
[edit] Links with The Knights Templar
Agricultural land and a hall, situated in the Westerdale area, were given to the Order of Knights Templar at an early period in the twelfth century. The property was donated by Guido de Bovingcourt who owned the land, together with other holdings in nearby Baysdale (a.k.a. Basedale/Handale/ Grendale). Bovincourt was a supporter of the Cistercians and donated a number of other lands in the area to them including Battersby, Stokesley, Newby, and Baysdale itself. At Baysdale, he provided a home for a small congregation of Cistercian nuns who lived in a small abbey there, supported by mining and smelting rights near Westerdale village.
The remains of the fortifications of the hall given to the Templars by Bovincourt was situated to the north of the present day Westerdale Hall (formerly a Youth Hostel) and was excavated by the warden's son, Paul Wheater, in 1960. He found evidence of a main chamber together with a kitchen, a brewery, animal quarters and a chapel.
In the book The Story of Danby by the late Dr Bob Robinson (1991), we are told that the Templars of Temple Newsam, Leeds, appointed the then prominent Westerdale Preceptory in 1119 to be the head of the North Yorkshire Templars.
The Preceptory prospered for around two hundred years until 1309 when the Templars were suppressed. William de la Fenne was Westerdale's last preceptor and it is likely that with their impending suppression, he encouraged his Templars to turn much of their valuable goods into cash. A listing of their removable possessions is surprisingly small, particularly in the light of us being told that Westerdale had been declared the 'head Preceptory of North Yorkshire'. The granary contained only 4 bushels (100 kg) of rye.
The revenue from the Preceptory's extensive holdings were handed over to the Knights Hospitallers and included:
- 1000 acres (4 km²) of wild moorland
- 60 acres (240,000 m²) of parkland
- 60 acres (240,000 m²) of oats
- 40 acres (160,000 m²) of grazing meadow
- 2 acres (8,000 m²) of rye
- the granary at Grange Farm
Livestock handed over included:
- 16 oxen
- 14 cows
- a single bull
- 13 geese
- 3 colts
- 5 affers (heifers)
Property belonging to the Chapel were listed as
Also listed as part of the chapel holdings were a
- plaustrum (wagon)
- 3 ploughs and accessories
- 6 harrows
- 2 ladders
- a vang (heavy rope)
- 2 manure forks
Other property in the list is very insubstantial in nature and covers minor items such as candles, jars, tables, etc.
As to the boundaries of the Templar lands at Westerdale, there is little evidence of their limits. A number of ancient crosses and stones stand on the moorland around this area and no doubt some of them could easily be markers for Templar boundaries. The Reverend George Young in his History of Whitby & Streonshalch Abbey (1817) says:
- many [stone crosses and markers] were set up to prevent disputes over territory and serve as landmarks......this plan was especially adopted by the Knights Templars and Hospitallers......
