Reeth
Museum's Digital Image Archive has beeen
transfered to the Resource Centre in
Keld.
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| Reeth Local History Walk – 7th September 2024 |
25 Members and guests joined Alan and Judith Mills on Saturday 7th September, to explore the local history of Reeth and its surrounding area.
Starting on Reeth green Alan discussed the development of the village and its appearance as incomplete planned village. Reeth got is Market Charter in 1695. Buildings dating from medieval, through Georgian to more modern alterations in late 19C and early 20C periods were discussed.
From the bandstand the western part of the Grinton – Fremington Dykes and the Romano- British settlement. Following along the line of Harkerside the southern dykes can be observed.
Further investigation of the green area the Porters Lodge for the Reeth Poor Law Union Workhouse was pointed out. In operation from 1840 to 1930 the workhouse housed up to 80 paupers.
Leaving the Green we passed down towards Reeth bridge (built 1772/3) passing Stonegate (many of which were shops in earlier times). Arriving at Fremington Corn Mill it is possible to see the water wheel still in situ in the building. The first record of the mill was in 1288, the current building dates from 1751 and closed around 1900.
As we approached Draycott Hall a ditch and bank can be observed running up to High Fremington. A little further along the road to the right an eroded bank can be seen – is this part of the dyke system or not?
We then progressed towards Grinton. The bridge was constructed 1797, looking underneath you can see where the medieval bridge was widened to accommodate more traffic.
Passing through the church yard in Grinton we moved along the Corpse Way. You can now see more parts of the “dyke” system. Here the ditch and bank are clear. There are 7 sections of the dyke in the area – possible Bronze Age / Iron Age / Viking? – but probably multi period, extended and reused as required over the ages.
Swale Hall Farm is one of the oldest houses in the area. This is a possible site of a corn mill, usually every manor house had a corn mill (this is the manor of West Grinton). Moving on we passed a Bronze age burial mound, the Romano British settlement we had seen from Reeth Green, a Burnt Mound and a Tufa Quarry (white calcium carbonate – limestone – used as a fertiliser).
At the Swing Bridge you can see How Hill to your left (a worked mound with a possible settlement on top. Across the river you can see the strip lynchets (terraces) dating from 14th C.
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| The south-western dyke |
Reeth Union Workhouse Porters Lodge with Wards behind |
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| News Record: 194 Updated: 10-11-2024 15:59:56 |
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| Bread Ovens and Campaign Medals |
SWAAG member, Richard Hunt, spoke about his research into bread ovens in Swaledale. He began by explaining that historically there were three main types of bread oven – communal ones that served a village or hamlet, internal beehive-shaped bread ovens and external bakehouses. To date he has discovered that nineteen houses between Grinton and Keld had or still have bread ovens. They are usually on north-facing walls and a number were built understairs. Sometimes a few curved footing stones on the outside of a building are the only clue to a bricked up or demolished bread oven. Bakehouses are trickier to discover as their more substantial dimensions meant that some were subsequently converted into small dwelling houses. The manorial records sometimes refer to bakehouses, allowing Richard to identify thirty-five locations where these might previously have existed. Finding them on the ground is trickier. There may have been communal bread ovens in Swaledale, which might explain why some villages seem to have comparatively few houses with bread ovens, but caution is required as the sample size is small. There is some evidence that communal bread ovens existed nearby in Bowes, where there is a record of two villagers having been prosecuted for using their own bread ovens. Manor bakehouses may have had a monopoly in the same way as manor corn mills. As most of Richard’s discoveries have been by word-of-mouth, he would be very interested to hear from you, if you too have a bread oven!
One of Richard’s other interests is pre-20th century campaign medals. Medals were awarded following major wars, with additional bars added for specific battles. The first were awarded by the East India Company following the 4th Anglo Mysore War (1798-99), which saw the defeat and death of Tipu Sultan, ‘The Tiger’, ruler of Mysore. The medals, which were made of either gold, silver, bronze or tin, showed the British lion defeating the tiger on one face. Monetary awards were also given, varying from £10,000 down to £7.
The British Government only began issuing campaign medals much later, when they issued them retrospectively to the participants in the Napoleonic wars. Campaign medals show the name of the soldier together with their regiment, giving a small insight into their time in battle. Richard looked at several of the campaigns in more detail and briefly considered their impact, together with the controversies they caused.
J.H. |
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| News Record: 193 Updated: 07-11-2024 14:50:10 |
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| Rocks, fossils and an owl |
At the end of September, SWAAG members enjoyed a walk to look at the geology and industrial archaeology of the Swale valley, near Keld. It was led by Les Knight, who began by explaining how the underlying Yoredale rocks were laid down during the Carboniferous period when, as result of plate tectonics, the British Isles lay much nearer the equator. Limestones formed in the warm tropical seas and were later buried by sediments washed in by rivers draining the surrounding land surfaces. Over time these compacted to become mudstones, shales and sandstones and the sequence was then repeated over ten times as sea levels rose and fell. Only the later of these ‘cyclothems’ are visible at Keld.
Since being uplifted the rocks have been weathered and eroded. Today the limestones form the steeper cliffs and waterfalls, whilst the less resistant mudstones and shales form the gentler slopes. Faulting has also affected the landscape by bringing different rock types into close juxtaposition. We stopped to look at the limestones at Kisdon Force and an outcrop of shales higher up the track. Further along we looked for crinoid fossils. Sue explained how lichens can be used to distinguish between limestones and sandstones.
Relics of the lead mining industry can be seen across the slopes of Beldi Hill. There are hushes, spoil heaps and derelict buildings. Les explained how shafts and adits were used to access the mineral veins deep below ground. It was during one of these explanations that he was totally upstaged by a large owl which was having a nap, right in front of us, in a hollow tree. Startled, it flew away directly over our heads.
We finished our walk at the ruins of Crackpot Hall where we had lunch. The weather was much kinder than on our previous visit!
J.H. |
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| East Gill Force |
Crinoid fossils |
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| On the slopes of Beldi Hill - Crackpot Hall in the background |
Lunch at Crackpot Hall |
| News Record: 192 Updated: 10-11-2024 16:01:09 |
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