My latest research has been to look at Moorland Crosses & Trods. There are approximately 50 Moorland Crosses scattered about the Moors, some with rather unusual names! Fat Betty (or White Cross), Young (east) and Old (west) Ralph have caught my attention which can be found on and around the Castleton to Blakey Ridge Road. The other is Lilla Cross which used to overlook the Early Warning System of RAF Fylingdales.
One tale, that I took from a book called The Crosses Walk by Malcolm Boyes, is that when Ralphs Cross and Fat Betty meet there will be a wedding. Another tale is the dispute between Baysdale Abbey and Rosedale Abbey about boundaries. Old Ralph was the guide who took Sister Betty up to Rosedale Head to meet Sister Margery. They were all lost in a dense fog, so Old Ralph left Sister Betty at what is now Fat Betty and set off eventually to find Sister Margery at what is now Margery stone. He then guided her back to Sister Betty for the meeting.
The Crosses Walk, that I mentioned, was set up in the early 1970’s by five individuals, Pete Gough, Maurice Boyes (who wrote the book The Crosses Walk), John Waind, Colin Hood and Mick Horsely. It was a 24-hour event that took in 14 of the stone crosses over 53 miles hoping to raise money for the Scarborough District Search & Rescue Team. Not all the crosses visited were met with awe!
“There we are, Botton Cross”, I declared.
“Is that what we’ve walked nine miles to see!” exclaimed John, looking down at the broken shaft and socket stone. I hurriedly pointed out that three were three better crosses in the next two miles and off we went.
I have briefly scaled down the reasons why there are crosses on the Moors but we have an abundance of books that will keep you busy reading more about them. Most of them have been around for over 1300 years with Lilla Cross being the oldest. In the first place they were erected as a terror to evil spirits and a reminder of our holy religion. A place from which Celtic missionaries told the story of the Cross to the wondering pagans or to commemorate great victories or memorable events. Possibly used as an entrance or centre of a village and the site of a murder or sudden death!
Which was the case for Lilla Cross – Lilla was the faithful servant of Edwin, King of Northumbria and it is believed that Lilla sacrificed himself for the King by taking a dagger assassination. During the early 1950’s Lilla was moved across the road to Sil Howe because it had recieved some damage from shellfire, however, it also suffered some vandalism in its new position; there was much petition to have it returned to its original position, when the area had been demilitarised in the earls 1960’s, which happened in June 1962.
I decided to venture out into the Moors to witness these particular crosses mentioned which happened to be on a day of dense, eerie fog and also came across the famous memorial of the ‘Man of the Moors’ Frank Elgee; an archaeologist who had deep passion for the moors and all that it offered.
“With this region I have been on intimate terms for a lifetime so that it is not too much to say that my love for it has been a powerful motive in the creation of this work.” Frank Elgee
We have several books written by Frank Elgee including A Man of the Moors: Extracts from the Diaries and Letters of Frank Elgee where you can read more about this fascinating character that explored the Moors. We also have a Frank Elgee collection in our archive too; explore his life as curator in the Dorman Museum, Middlesbrough, read some unpublished fairy stories, discover moorland myths and superstitions, read his work on the Roman Cleveland and the finding of a Bronze Age ‘Boat Buriel’ in 1937!
Then there are the Trods; around 25% of the 40-50 moorland crosses in our region are within sight of a trod and 33% of the 40-50 Waymarks in our area are within sight of a trod. They are almost entirely in the northern part of the North York Moors due to the geology of the area – sandstone is a suitable material for load-bearing Trods. It is believed that Monks may have had their hand in laying some of them as they are referred to as ‘Monks Walk’ – namely one is the walk from Goathland to Whitby (but also known, in parts, as the ‘Long Trod’). Primarily, used as a way to transport goods such as fish as far back as the late 16th Century…and used for smuggling!
Again, we have literature in the library to read and discover more about the Trods or plan a walk to take in a few of the Trods and the Moorland Crosses.
References:
Evans, C.P. (2008). Trods of the North York Moors: A Gazetter of Flagged Paths. Printed: Q3 Digital/Litho. Loughborough.
Woodwark, T.H. (1995). The Crosses on the North York Moors: Fifth Edition. Printed by Vision Press, Middlesbrough.
Boyes, M. (1979). The Crosses Walk. Around the Crosses. Printed by Galava Printing Company Limited.
By Claire Marris
Archive Development Officer #HeritageFund #archivesforall
