Swaledale
Swale is a river-name of Anglo-Saxon origin, thought to mean whirling, swirling, swallowing river. Its earlier, presumably Celtic name, is unknown. This river, in the Yorkshire Dales, is one of the fastest flowing rivers in England and a home to several little waterfalls.
In ancient times the Swale is thought to have been situated within a Celtic kingdom called Catraeth, possibly along with the River Tees and River Ure (in Wensleydale) but was later colonised by the Northumbrians of either Deira or Bernicia, who gave the river its English name ‘Swale’ as they spread westward into Westmorland.
The Swale rises west of the villages of Keld and Muker where it is fed by a number of streams that rise near the Westmorland border. The two principal streams that merge to form the Swale, about two miles west of Keld, are Great Sleddale Beck that rises near Great Shunner Fell to the south, and Birkdale Beck, which rises to the west, forming the valley of Birkdale.
The course of Birkdale is more or less followed by the B6270 road that takes us onwards north-west to Kirkby Stephen in Westmorland. Birkdale is the name of a farm within this little dale, with a little lake called Birkdale Tarn to its north. To the north-west, over in Westmorland, is a hill called Nine Standards Rigg, named from nine prominent tall cairns on its summit.
Downstream, along the Swale just under a mile east of its beginnings where the two becks merge, the Swale is joined from the north by Whitsundale Beck that rises on Ravenseat Moor, with Stainmore pass beyond the Kaber Fell to the north.
A little over half a mile downstream from Whitsundale Beck, the Swale is joined again from the north, this time by Stonesdale Beck. This forms a tiny valley, partly followed on its east side by the Pennine Way long-distance footpath and followed on its west side by a minor road. Both of these routes head north towards the Tan Hill Inn, the highest pub in the British Isles, three miles north of the River Swale.
Across the bleak, remote moors north of Tan Hill is Stainmore but there are few routes across these moors to Teesdale and the region we call the North East.
Much of upper Swaledale has rather distinct and beautiful scenery. It is generally a narrower dale than Wensleydale and often characterised by numerous isolated stone barns in each of the walled fields that litter the fell sides in a rather appealing way.
Waterfalls are another regular feature of Swaledale although they are mostly minor falls. A couple can be found along the course of the Swale between its meeting with the Whitsundale and Stonesdale Becks, one of which is Wain Wath Force. ‘Wain’ is an old word for ‘wagon’, while ‘wath’ and ‘force’ are respectively Viking words for ‘ford’ and ‘waterfall’.
On the Stonesdale Beck, where it joins the Swale, we find Currack Force and a further half a mile to the west, just past another waterfall called Catrake Force, we find the tiny village of Keld.
Many place-names in upper Swaledale are Viking in origin, just as they are in neighbouring Teesdale, Wensleydale and the Eden valley. Keld, for example derives from the Viking word ‘Kelda’ meaning a spring. Keld was once called ‘Appletre Kelde’ meaning ‘the spring near the apple trees’.
From Keld the River Swale heads south-east around the eastern side of a hill called Kisdon and hosts Kisdon Force waterfall on its north side with Crackpot Hall to the east. The Pennine Way also heads around the eastern side of this hill.
Motorists, however, are taken around the western side of Kisdon Hill through a village called Angram and then onward to the village of Thwaite where the road meets the Pennine Way, now heading west, for Great Shunner Fell.
The place-name Angram derives from ‘anger-um’ meaning ‘at the grasslands’ and there are other places of this name in Yorkshire. Thwaite is a Viking word for a ‘clearing’. The pioneering wildlife photographers and brothers Richard Kearton (1862-1928) and Cherry Kearton (1871-1940) were born in Thwaite.
At Thwaite, the B6270 road heads east towards Muker while another minor road called Cliff Gate Road heads south towards Wensleydale crossing through the dramatic scenery of Buttertubs Pass. This route between the dales has been in use since long before the Norman Conquest. Limestone potholes here, formed from water erosion, were once used for cooling tubs of butter, by farmers on their way to market.
Thwaite is on the Thwaite Beck but within a mile to its east this beck becomes Muker Beck or Straw Beck, passing close to a campsite at Usha Gap. At the little village of Muker, a mile east of Thwaite, the beck joins the south flowing River Swale which has arrived from the eastern side of Kisdon Hill. From its junction with Straw Beck, the Swale now flows east.
Muker, pronounced ‘mewker’, derives from the Viking ‘Mjor-aker’ (acre) which means a small piece of land. The church in Muker, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, dates from Elizabethan times and superseded an earlier chapel of rest. In the nineteenth century Muker, like several villages in upper Swaledale, was an important centre for lead mining.
A mile and a half east of Muker is the hamlet of Ivelet on the north side of the River Swale with a name deriving from ‘Ifa’s hlith’, meaning slope (‘hlith’) belonging to someone called Ifa.
On the south side, slightly upstream to the west, the Swale is joined by the Oxnop Beck that plays host to Low Oxnop; Oxnop Bridge; High Oxnop and Oxnop Gill. Close to where the beck joins the Swale, the river itself is crossed by Ivelet Bridge, a single-arched packhorse bridge of the late sixteenth century, described by Nikolaus Pevsner as “the most romantic of the Swaledale bridges”. Downstream from Ivelet is the hamlet of Satron, its name from the Old Norse ‘saetr-rum’ meaning woodland cleared for pasture.
Further east, along the Swale is the village of Gunnerside which was the ‘saetr’ or pasture belonging to a Viking called Gunnar. Gunnerside is a beautiful dales village surrounded by the typical walled fields, with their characteristic barns that are such a feature of Swaledale.
The village, situated on the Gunnerside Beck, slightly north of the Swale, hosts a weekly market and is home to a pub called the Kings Head and an old Methodist chapel of 1866 that replaced an earlier Georgian one. Other buildings in Gunnerside include an old smithy and an old school house.
Gunnerside Beck rises three miles north of Gunnerside near Blakethwaite Moss and Gunnerside Moor. As with several places in Swaledale there is lots of evidence for old lead mining activity here, particularly in the Melbecks Moor area east of the beck.
A number of former ‘hushes’ can be seen hereabouts; a ‘hush’ being formed by a dam created by miners that was fed by channels called leats. The released force of water was used to strip away vegetation revealing veins of lead ore beneath. Lead was extensively mined in the northern dales of Yorkshire as well as in Teesdale and Weardale in neighbouring County Durham.
A mile and a half along the Swale east of Gunnerside, the Swale is joined on its south side by Haverdale Beck that hosts the hamlet of Crackpot, not to be confused with Crackpot Hall to the west near Keld.
There are two parts to the name Crackpot. Recorded as ‘Crakepote’ in 1298 the name derives from the Old Norse ‘Kraka’, a crow and the word ‘pot’ or ‘potte’. A ‘pot’ is usually a cavity or deep hole, often in the bed of a river but in the case a rift in the limestone.
About half a mile downstream to the east, on the north side of the Swale, overlooking the dale are the adjoined villages of Low Row and Feetham. There is a congregational chapel of 1809; a parish church of Holy Trinity, dating from 1810 and a pub called the Punch Bowl Inn with splendid views overlooking the dale.
The name ‘Feetham’ derives from a plural form of the Viking word ‘fit’ (‘fitjum’) meaning ‘meadow’. It has the same meaning as Feethams (to which an ‘s’ has been added), the former home to Darlington Football Club that is situated alongside the River Skerne in that town.
Less than a mile downstream to the east, on the south side of the Swale near Low Whita is How Hill, the site of a defended Iron Age settlement that possibly remained in use in the Roman era as a Romano-British settlement. Slightly downstream, the Swale is joined on its north side near Healaugh by Barney Beck which forms the Mill Gill or ‘Old Gang Gill’ upstream. This beck and its gill (a ravine) begin near Great Pinseat to the north west.
Healaugh means ‘high ley’, describing a ‘ley’ or ‘forest clearing’ in Old English, but the spelling ‘laugh’ (or ‘lagh’ in some old records) is thought to be due to Scandinavian influence. Like the similar villages of Gunnerside, Low Row and Feetham to the west and the larger village of Reeth to the east, Healaugh is situated on the top of a slope situated set slightly away from the Swale but still overlooking the valley.
Reeth and Arkengarthdale
Reeth, a mile and a half east of Healaugh is the largest village in upper Swaledale and a place of great charm. Mentioned in the Domesday Book, it was a tiny place that developed as a lead mining centre.
Situated on a plateau above the Swale, Reeth occupies an irregular village green that gives the village centre a wild and wonderful feel of a slightly scattered village of houses that seem to have been simply dotted around the hill in a rather charming way.
At Reeth there are lovely views of the surrounding hills in the dale of Swale and the neighbouring Arkle Beck. Reeth is a popular place to visit and the home to village pubs called The Buck; Kings Arms and Black Bull that overlook the green. There are several little country craft shops and galleries including those of the Reeth Dales Centre, just off Silver Street.
There are guest houses with superb views in the village and a hotel called the Burgoyne, occupying a prominent Georgian house that dates from 1783.
A former Methodist school room of 1836 has been the home of the independently run Swaledale Museum since 1974 and is a reminder of Reeth’s important role as the heart of upper Swaledale which it has been since the age of lead mining. The museum features the history of Reeth, Swaledale and Arkengarthdale.
Reeth has an obscure probably Anglo-Saxon place-name that means something like ‘at the stream’, from the Anglo-Saxon ‘rith’ meaning ‘stream’, though an alternative view is that it may be derived from an Old Welsh word ‘rhyd’ or ‘rit’ meaning ‘ford’ that also occurs in the name of Penrith.
Reeth has held a small market since 1695 and is distinguished from the other little stone villages of Swaledale by its huge village green that make it the most prominent of the Swaledale villages. It almost has the feel of a tiny town.
It is at Reeth that the Swale is joined from the north by the Arkle Beck that forms the valley of Arkengarthdale further to the north-west. Arkengathdale means ‘Arkle’s enclosure in the valley’. Arkle was a common Viking personal name and ‘garth’ is a Viking word for enclosure.
The three main villages of Arkengarthdale (Arkle Town, Langthwaite and Booze) are all very tiny and situated close together about two miles north west of Reeth. Langthwaite is the ‘long clearing’ and Booze is from ‘Boga-Hus’ meaning ‘house by the river bend’.
A minor road from Reeth follows the valley of Arkengarthdale north-west to the Tan Hill Inn and onward into Stainmore towards Brough although just north of Langthwaite an alternative road northward takes us through the Stang Forest and down into the valley of the River Greta towards the A66.
The moors to the north of Arkengarthdale that are partly occupied by the Stang Forest separate Swaledale’s watershed from that of the River Greta, which is a tributary of the River Tees.
As we continue to follow the River Swale eastward downstream from Reeth, the next villages we encounter are High and Low Fremington just across the Arkle Beck to the east of Reeth and to their south, across the other side of the Swale, is the village of Grinton (from ‘green-tun’ meaning ‘green enclosed village’).
There is a linear prehistoric entrenchment of uncertain purpose that runs through Low Fremington, with another just to its west, to the north of Reeth. These two entrenchments are mirrored by a further two entrenchments over on the south side of the river to the west of Grinton. On the east side of Grinton are further earthworks of an Iron Age hill fort known as ‘Maiden Castle’, which is of course also the name of a major Iron Age hill fort in Dorset as well as a relatively minor one near Durham City.
At Grinton we encounter the first church of antiquity in Swaledale as we travel down the dale. This is the partly Norman church of St Andrew, which saw much renewal in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
About a mile and a half downstream to the east of Grinton we find two priory sites. The first, on the north side of the river, was a Benedictine nunnery called Marrick Priory, established by Robert de Aske between 1140 and 1160. The nunnery was closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries instigated by King Henry VIII. Marrick’s prioress and its sixteen nuns were all evicted.
The parish church of Marrick was built in 1810 and dedicated to St Andrew using materials from the priory, including the church tower that incorporates a thirteenth century window. The name Marrick (the village itself being just east of the priory site) is corrupted from ‘Marr-rigg’, meaning ‘horse ridge’.
Across the Swale south of Marrick are the remains of Ellerton Priory, another former nunnery; this one of the Cistercian order. It was founded in the twelfth century. The most prominent remaining feature is its western tower.
Both nunneries suffered at the hands of Scottish raiding that came into Swaledale via the Eden valley. However, like Marrick Priory, it was Henry VIII that ensured the nunnery’s demise in the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
West of Reeth and Grinton, Swaledale gradually broadens out and the scenery takes on a gentler appearance. A mile downstream from Ellerton Abbey, the Swale is joined in the woodland on its south side by the Gill Beck. A little upstream along this valley, are the villages of Stainton and Downholme, respectively west and east of the beck, but on the edge of its valley.
Stainton means ‘settlement on stony ground’ and is a Scandinavianised form of ‘Stanton’ which has the same meaning. Downholme is not a ‘holm’ at all but comes from ‘Dunum’ a plural form of ‘dun’ meaning ‘hill’.
A little hill called ‘How Hill’, not to be confused with the other How Hill we have already encountered further up the dale, is on the west side of the village. Downholme Moor and Sourmoor Hill are above the eastern and southern sides of the village. Downholme church, dedicated to St Michael, is of Norman origin.
Just south of Stainton and Downholme is a fortified house of the fifteenth century called Walburn Hall. Established by the Scrope family it was later acquired by the Siggiswicks. Its fortification acknowledges the constant threat from Scottish and border raids.
The place-name Walburn for the site at which the hall was built comes from ‘Wealas-Burn’ meaning ‘stream of the Britons or Welsh’. Walburn is an Anglo-Saxon name but probably refers to ancient Britons. The term ‘burn’ (usually associated with Scotland but actually Old English) was superseded throughout most of Yorkshire by the Viking term ‘beck’. South of Walburn we enter the broad lower part of Wensleydale towards Bellerby and Leyburn.
In the Downholme area the River Swale takes on a north-westerly course for around three miles and is joined on its west side by the Marske Beck. Just upstream along this beck is the village of Marske, home to a Norman church dedicated to St Edmund, which saw significant restoration in 1683. Marske derives its name from a Scandinavianised form of ‘mersche’ meaning ‘marsh’ or ‘marshes’.
Across the beck from the village and its church is Marske Hall, a mid eighteenth century house with a history going back to 1596 when the land here belonged to Matthew Hutton, Archbishop of York. It passed to his son Matthew Hutton, a High Sheriff of Yorkshire, who built the first house. A later descendant here, John Hutton, was a noted eighteenth century racehorse breeder. The hall was restored by the Shaw family after the Second World War.
East of Marske the Swale heads eastward passing farms called Applegarth on its north side and the village of Hudswell on its south side as it approaches the town of Richmond.
Richmond Castle
Richmond, the ‘capital’ of Swaledale, was originally called Hindrelac, an Anglo-Viking name that is thought to describe a woodland clearing frequented by a hind or female deer. The present name of this historic Swaledale town is Old French and derives from ‘Riche-Monte’, a common French place-name that means ‘strong hill’.
It was here in 1071 that a French Count called Alan the Red (Rufus) of Brittany built a castle on the lofty hill overlooking the Swale. Alan had led a contingent of Bretons (the Celtic-speaking people of Brittany) at the Battle of Hastings and was awarded for his service by William the Conqueror with these northern lands. In addition to Richmond, Alan also built a castle at Middleham in Wensleydale, which belonged to his brother Ribald.
The territory surrounding Richmond became Alan the Red’s land and was called the Honour of Richmond. It would come to be known as Richmondshire, a shire comprised of the former Viking wapentake districts of Gilling and Hang. It was known as a liberty or ‘Honour’ as its lords held distinct political rights, though these rights were not quite so extensive as the Prince Bishops in Durham just across the Tees to its north.
Alan’s great nephew, Conan ‘the Little’ of Brittany is thought to have built the huge keep at Richmond Castle. Such was Richmond’s strong links to Brittany, that Richmondshire was sometimes known as the Honour of Brittany.
Until 1372 the castle regularly changed hands between the Dukes of Brittany usually according to allegiances in various rebellions. For a time King John was in possession of the castle.
From 1372 the castle was in Royal hands under the Lords of Richmondshire who were later Earls of Richmond. This title seems to have become less closely associated with Richmond itself from the 1460s and one of the holders of this title was the first Tudor King, Henry VII.
In 1499, four years after his coronation, Henry, as Earl of Richmond, constructed a palace at a place called Sheen by the River Thames near London in the county of Surrey.
Sheen was renamed Richmond, from the title of Henry, Earl of Richmond. This is now the famous London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. So Richmond in Surrey ultimately takes its name from Richmond in Yorkshire. By this time much of the castle at Richmond in Yorkshire had sadly fallen into ruin.
In later years Richmond Castle belonged to the Dukes of Richmond and in the nineteenth century served as a barracks for the North Yorkshire Militia.
During the First World War the castle became a place of employment for conscientious objectors who were willing to undertake work to assist with the war effort and also a place of imprisonment for those objectors who refused even to assist in that way.
Richmond Town
Richmond, North Yorkshire is situated around a broad market place that has many interesting Georgian and Victorian buildings. Apart from the prominent castle, which towers above, the most striking features of this extensive cobbled market place are the large obelisk erected in 1771 (the market cross) and the medieval Holy Trinity Church that now serves as a museum dedicated to North Yorkshire’s former Green Howard’s Regiment.
The town or borough of Richmond seems to have developed under the castle’s protection during the twelfth century. At one time Richmond was a walled town, the walls constructed from around 1313 to resist Scottish attacks were paid for by a murage tax at Richmond fair, though the walls had fallen into a ruinous state by the 1500s.
Old street names in the heart of Richmond include Pottergate, Millgate, Rosemary Lane, Frenchgate, Castle Wynd, Newbiggin, Cravengate, Finkle Street, Bargate and Gallowgate, the last of these of course being the site of the town gallows where executions once took place.
Frenchgate is one of the main streets in the town. It is presumably named from being inhabited by Frenchmen but was this to distinguish it from Englishmen or from Bretons? Gate was of course an old Anglo-Viking word for a street and the term seems to have been enthusiastically adopted by the Normans within their defended towns.
At the end of Church Wynd, just off Frenchgate is the twelfth century church of St Mary, the parish of church of Richmond. Beneath the church, the A6136 (Station Road) descends to a bridge over the Swale across which we find ‘The Station’ formerly Richmond railway station that was designed by the railway architect, George Andrews.
This building opened as a railway station in 1847 but closed in 1969 with the railway itself removed the following year. As a leisure venue called ‘The Station’ it is now home to two cinemas, restaurants, a gallery, a micro brewery and dance studio. The bridge across the Swale, called Station Bridge dates from 1846 and was originally called Mercury Bridge.
St Mary’s church is somewhat overshadowed by the more prominent Holy Trinity church in Richmond Market Place which includes Norman and fourteenth century features but Holy Trinity, now the Green Howards regimental museum, originally only served as a chapel.
Other notable religious buildings in Richmond include the Roman Catholic Church of St Joseph in Newbiggin which dates from 1867-68 and the scant remains of a small Norman Benedictine Priory of St Martin situated a little to the south of the old railway station.
However, a more prominent ecclesiastical religious building in Richmond is the tower of Greyfriars, a remnant of a Franciscan friary established at Richmond in 1258.
This remaining tower in fact dates from the fifteenth century and has a pleasing setting in a small park. It is thought to have been established by Ralph Fitzrandall, whose heart was subsequently buried here following his death around 1270 in a similar manner to Robert the Bruce’s heart at Melrose.
Greyfriars Tower stands opposite Victoria Road and can be reached from the north side of the Market Place along Friars Wynd.
From a later era, Richmond has a notable Georgian Theatre located in Victoria Road just opposite the tower. This is the Georgian Theatre Royal, regarded as the oldest working theatre in its original form in Europe.
The theatre was built in 1788 and closed in 1848. For a time it served as an auction room and a furniture warehouse but was restored and reopened in 1968.
Excellent views from the castle and lovely walks along the Swale are an attractive feature of Richmond. The town is noted for its steep banks, hills and descents that give the town its distinct character.
It is often erroneously believed that the well-known song, The Lass of Richmond Hill originated in Richmond in Surrey, but this song in fact belongs to the original Richmond in Yorkshire:
On Richmond Hill there lives a lass
More bright than May-day morn,
Whose charms all others maids’ surpass,
A rose without a thorn.
This lass so neat,
With smiles so sweet,
Has won my right good will.
I’d crowns resign to call thee mine,
Sweet lass of Richmond Hill!
Sweet lass of Richmond Hill,
Sweet lass of Richmond Hill,
I’d crowns resign to call thee mine,
Sweet lass of Richmond Hill!
The ballad was written by Leonard McNally about his wife Frances I’Anson who died at Dublin in 1795. Frances’s father was William I’Anson and her mother was Martha Hutchinson who lived at Hill House in the Yorkshire Richmond.
Frances herself was baptised in the village of Wensley in Wensleydale in November 1766 and although she did marry MacNally in London, it seems clear the song relates to the Yorkshire Richmond on the banks of the Swale rather than the equally charming town of Richmond on the Thames.
The Swale and its valley cutting beneath the town lies at the heart of Richmond’s beauty. The river is crossed by two bridges in Richmond; one being Richmond Bridge south-west of the castle. The other is Mercury Bridge or Station Bridge that we have already mentioned.
Between the two bridges in a little nick of the river reached from Riverside Road east of Richmond Bridge are the Richmond Falls, at a site called the ‘Foss’ or ‘Force’ from a Norse word for a waterfall.
This area was once the site of the Castle Mill corn mill that is thought to have been as old as the castle itself, but which later became the site of a paper mill in 1865 that was sadly washed away by the Swale during a flood in 1883.
The falls at Richmond are formed by limestone slabs in the river bed of the Swale. They are just one of many cataracts and falls along the course of this river but are a particularly attractive feature given their setting in this historic old town.
Richmond Bridge, which dates from 1789, is approached from Bridge Street and Cornforth Hill and situated just below Richmond Green, a village-like part of Richmond that is clustered around a triangular green.
Close to Richmond Green, in a nook near the Swale, to the east of the green is Culloden Tower, a folly known locally as ‘The Temple’ built in 1746 in grounds belonging to the Richmond MP John Yorke on the site of an earlier pele tower.
Culloden Tower was built to celebrate the Duke of Cumberland’s victory over the Scottish Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden that year and is also known as the Cumberland Temple. The tower is octagonal and built in Gothic style.
Returning to the Swale, after passing Richmond Bridge, the Richmond Falls and the Station Bridge, the Swale heads south-eastward, passing the old railway station and remnants of St Martin’s Priory on its west side, before reaching Easby Abbey on its east bank, half a mile south-east of Richmond.
The ruins of this abbey are picturesque and extensive. It dates from 1152 and was dedicated to St Agatha. The abbey was established by Roald, Constable of Richmond Castle as a Premonstratensian foundation of ‘white cannons’.
The brethren of the Premonstratensian order were ‘canons’ rather than monks and regarded as ‘white’ canons from the colour of their robes. Egglestone Abbey on the Yorkshire side of the River Tees near Barnard Castle was also a Premonstratensian establishment. ‘Easby’, the name of the site at which the monastery was built means ‘the settlement of Aese’, from a Viking personal name.
Catterick and Catterick Garrison
East of Richmond, after passing Easby Abbey, the Swale heads towards the Northallerton area, leaving the dale behind and entering a broad vale. Just south of Richmond, across the Swale, is Catterick Garrison, a town slightly larger than Richmond itself.
Catterick Garrison developed to serve the neighbouring Catterick army camp and has almost absorbed the older villages of Hipswell and Colburn on its north-east side and the village of Scotton to its south. Hipswell was the birthplace of the famed theologian and founder of the Lollard movement, John Wycliffe (c1328-1384).
Catterick Garrison has its roots in 1907 when Robert Baden Powell moved the newly formed Northumbrian Division of the Territorial Army from Richmond Castle to this site. The army base of Catterick Camp itself, now covering about 2,000 acres, was established in 1914 at the onset of the First World War and was initially called Richmond Camp. There have been permanent buildings in the garrison town since 1923.
From Easby Abbey the Swale flows east with Catterick Garrison and the villages of Hipswell and Colburn on its south side before reaching the village of Brompton-on-Swale on its north side.
Brompton-on-Swale is not to be confused with Brompton in Allertonshire near Northallerton to the east, although both places mean ‘settlement where broom (or gorse) grows’.
The Swale passes beneath the A1(M) motorway at Brompton-on-Swale and then passes beneath Catterick Bridge near the northern end of Catterick racecourse. Between the two bridges the Roman road called Dere Street once crossed the Swale. Nearby on the south bank of the Swale just west of the motorway was the location of a Roman fort called Catarctonium.
After passing Catterick Racecourse the Swale turns southward towards the village of Catterick which is situated on the west side of the river with the villages of Scorton, Bolton-on-Swale and Ellerton to its east. There are several man-made lakes in this area on both sides of the river. Bolton-on-Swale should not to be confused with Brompton-on-Swale and Scorton should not be confused with Scotton.
Catterick and its surrounds was likely a place of importance from before Roman times. It may have given its name to a Celtic kingdom called Catraeth, probably focused upon the Tees, Swale and Ure valleys. Catraeth held out against the invading Anglo-Saxons before it was incorporated into the expanding kingdom of Northumbria. A decisive battle was fought at Catterick in AD 598, which completed the Northumbrian expansion.
In later Anglo-Saxon times Catterick was an important royal centre within the Kingdom of Northumbria, probably lying within that part of the kingdom called Deira. When King Edwin of Northumbria (a Deiran) converted to Christianity in AD 627 a mass baptism of his people took place in the Swale at Catterick, undertaken by Edwin’s Roman missionary, St Paulinus.
Catterick continued to be important in later periods of the Anglo-Saxon age. In AD 792, the Northumbrian King, Æthelred married the daughter of King Offa of Mercia at Catterick.
The ancient Britons had a reputation for fierce resistance in this area in earlier centuries and created much trouble for the Romans, who built the Roman fort and town called Cataractonium on the south bank of the Swale.
Cataractonium, which we have already mentioned was to the north of the present village of Catterick towards Brompton-on-Swale just west of where the Roman Dere Street crossed the Swale. Its site is more or less separated from the village of Catterick by the extensive Catterick racecourse. Horse racing, incidentally, has been held at Catterick since 1783.
Pretty Catterick village, with its pleasant village green is thought to take its name from the Latin ‘Cataracta’ meaning ‘waterfall’. It may be named from its proximity to the River Swale, which flows very swiftly nearby just to the east of the village. Here the Swale is joined by the Brough Beck, a little stream that flows through the centre of the village. It was once crossed by Dere Street just west of the village. An alternative view is that the name is related to the Old Welsh ‘cader’ or Old Irish ‘cathair’ meaning ‘hill fort’.
The church at Catterick dates from 1412 and is dedicated to St Anne. It was built over three years by a mason called Richard de Cracall (Crakehall) for Katherine Burgh and is referred to as the ‘Kirke of Katrik’ in the surviving detailed contract with Richard which describes its required specifications.
Scotch Corner
To the north of Richmond, Catterick and Brompton-on-Swale, the northern parts of Richmondshire historically stretched as far north as the River Tees near the outskirts of Darlington. Scotch Corner is one of the most familiar places in this part of Richmondshire, forming a major junction on the motorway, with a prominent hotel dating from 1939 near the site of earlier coaching inns.
Historically, Scotch Corner was a coaching stop at this important road junction. Here you could make a choice to follow the road north into Durham and Northumberland, en route to Edinburgh and the eastern parts of Scotland or you could follow the road west to Bowes across the Stainmore gap and onward to Brough in Westmorland before heading along the Eden valley into Cumberland and onward towards the western parts of Scotland.
A choice of two routes heading towards different parts of Scotland seems to be the explanation for the name ‘Scotch Corner’. The historic road northward and southward from Scotch Corner (Dere Street) and the old road west from Scotch Corner (the A66) both follow the course of Roman roads and this spot would have been an important strategic location. It was the site of an early Roman camp situated just to the west of the road junction.
Villages near Scotch Corner include Skeeby to the south west half way between Scotch Corner and Richmond. Its Viking name is thought to mean ‘Skyti’s by’, meaning the village or farm belonging to Skyti, a personal name or nickname that means ‘archer’.
Middleton Tyas, another pretty village, is situated just east of the Scotch Corner motorway junction. It has a church dedicated to St Michael, that in part dates back to the twelfth century. Tyas recalls a family of Norman origin, although their actual connection to the village is not known.
South of Middleton Tyas is the village of Moulton, home to the nearby Moulton Hall of the seventeenth century that was once a property of the Smithsons, who were relatives of the Smithsons of Stanwick (see below). To the east of Moulton are the Cowtons : North, East and South Cowton, all villages north west of Northallerton.
North of Middleton Tyas is Barton, where the Victorian church of the 1840s, dedicated to St Cuthbert and Mary was built by the Durham architect, Ignatius Bonomi. It replaced a now lost earlier church that stood near the vicarage.
Melsonby, across the other side of the motorway west of Barton has a Viking name meaning ‘Maelsuithan’s village’. Maelsuithan is an Old Irish personal name and likely represents a Hiberno-Norse or ‘Norse Gael‘ settlement. Just north of Barton is Brettanby Manor, which like Melsonby is a Viking place-name that incorporates an Old Irish personal name; in this case the name Brettan.
Melsonby was the family name (that derived from this place) of a thirteenth century Prince Bishop of Durham called Thomas de Melsonby, who was bishop from 1237 to 1240. Melsonby church, dedicated to St James, is twelfth century but pre-Conquest Anglo-Saxon sculptures in the church point to it being the site of an earlier church.
The importance of the Melsonby area goes back to ancient times. In December 2021 what proved to be a buried Iron Age hoard of international importance was uncovered near Melsonby by a metal detectorist and came under the excavation and study of Durham University’s archaeological department.
The full details of the find, revealed in 2025, include over 800 artefacts, particularly horse harnesses and bridal bits designed to show off wealth. The hoard features seven wagon vehicles or ‘chariots’; spears; a cauldron and an ornate wine mixing bowl featuring a mix of Mediterranean and native Iron Age styles. The Melsonby area was already known for its important Iron Age associations, given the proximity of the great Iron Age fort of Stanwick just to its north.
Near Melsonby and Barton the A1(M) motorway veers north eastward towards Darlington leaving the Roman road of Dere Street behind, but Dere Street continues northward as the B2675 towards the village and Roman site of Piercebridge.
Aldbrough and Stanwick fort
Aldbrough St. John, a village just west of Dere Street, a little over a mile north of Melsonby has an English name meaning ‘old burgh’ – signifying an ‘old fortified site’ or ‘old town’. It probably refers to the nearby earthworks at Stanwick to the west, which was one of the principal forts of the ancient British tribal confederacy called the Brigantes.
However, Aldbrough itself is of great interest, with an extraordinary large village green situated on two sides of the Aldbrough Beck and perhaps it too has ancient origins. The beck itself is crossed by a little footbridge and a road bridge of stone a little to its north. Aldbrough’s parish church, overlooking the south green dates from 1891 and is dedicated to St Paul, rather than St John.
The hamlet of Stanwick and the remains of its huge ancient Iron Age fort within which it lies are situated just west of Aldbrough and are one of the most interesting ancient sites in the north. The fort here sometimes called Stanwick Camp is often described as an Iron Age ‘hill fort’ and is one of the biggest in Britain. Its site covers 766 acres, however, Stanwick is unusual in that it has a lowland setting rather than a hill top location.
Stanwick was an important centre for the Brigantes, the Iron Age tribe (actually a confederacy of tribes) that dominated what is now northern England at the time of the Roman Conquest and seems to have already been in use before the Roman invasion of AD 43.
It seems to have been a royal centre and possibly even an ‘oppidum’ or tribal capital, similar to that of the Selgovae tribe at Eildon Hill near Melrose or the Votadini tribe at Traprain Law in Lothian, which are both in Scotland.
The Stanwick fort is thought to be associated with the Brigantian ruling queen, Cartimandua and her consort husband, Venutius. Following the Roman invasion, Cartimandua followed a policy of an alliance of peace with the Romans. This policy was tested after the rebellious, Caractacus, chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe of south eastern England (north of London) fled north following his defeat to the Romans.
Caractacus sought refuge in the territory of the Brigantes but was betrayed by Cartimandua who handed him over to the Romans in chains. These events, coupled with with Cartimandua’s love affair with Venutius’ armour-bearer, Vellocatus, infuriated Cartimandua’s husband, Venutius, and a civil war broke out amongst the Brigantes between the pro-Roman and anti-Roman factions.
There is some debate over whether the fort at Stanwick was primarily associated with Venutius, Cartimandua or both. It should be noted that the curious names of these historical figures Cartimandua, Vellocatus, Venutius, Caratacus will be Roman interpretations of their ‘Celtic’ names.
Around AD 71 the Romans seized control in the North after defeating the Brigantes at a possible battle site near Scotch Corner and the Brigantes seem to have abandoned Stanwick fort at around this time.
Gradually, the Brigantes were assimilated into Roman Britain and a Roman town called Isurium Brigantum became their tribal capital under Roman rule. This new tribal capital established by the Romans was located at Aldborough near Boroughbridge. Like Aldbrough St John, the name of this Aldborough (note the slightly different spelling with an extra ‘o’) means ‘old fortified place’ or ‘old town’.
It is hard to capture the scale of the fort at Stanwick with photography so it is best to visit to get an impression of the site. It covers 750 acres and some 6 miles of earthworks. In the early 1950s the site was excavated by the renowned archaeologist, Sir Mortimer Wheeler, whose finds included an Iron Age sword and traces of several Iron Age round houses within the site.
Several other items had been discovered in a hoard at the site back in 1845 which included a number of harnesses used by the Brigantes for their chariots. A further archaeological excavation was undertaken in the 1980s by a team from Durham University. This team concluded that the fort had been the centre of an estate belonging to Cartimandua, whereas Wheeler believed the site was more closely connected to Venutius.
Wheeler concluded that the first phase of the fort covered a smaller area and was centred on a site called the Tofts that dated from around AD 40, with later extensions to the fort made around AD 50-60 and AD 71 after which it appears to have been abandoned. In addition to ditches cut into the underlying rock there are extensive ramparts.
The site was also protected by stone walls up to fifteen feet high. Wheeler recovered some of the material from these walls from a defensive ditch and reconstructed part of the wall but only to a height of 2 feet.
In addition to the earthworks of Stanwick fort there is an associated entrenchment complex called the Scots Dike (or Dyke) to the east including parts just south of Adbrough St John. The Scots Dike can be traced for six miles in detached remaining sections as far south as the River Swale between Richmond and Easby Abbey.
The Scots Dike continues north from the Swale, passing to the east of the village of Gilling (west Gilling) and then onward through Melsonby towards Aldbrough and Stanwick with part continuing north towards Aldbrough and another part turning west to presumably link up with the neighbouring Stanwick fort. How it came to be associated with the Scots is not known.
It is thought that the dike may have continued further north perhaps crossing the River Tees at Gainford. The Roman road of Dere Street is situated to the east of the dike. The Scots Dike should not be confused with the ‘Scots Dike’ that forms part of the Scottish border near Eskdale to the north of Carlisle.
The name of Stanwick does not date to the time of the Romans and Brigantes but appears to be from the Scandinavian ‘Stainwegges’ meaning ‘stone walls’ and is a reference to the ancient site. This Viking name has the same meaning as Stanwix near Carlisle, although in the case of Stanwix it refers to the remains of a Roman fort.
Stanwick, also called Stanwick St John, seems to have become an important religious site after the Roman era and its much restored church dedicated to Stanwick St John has traces going back to Norman times. However, the circular shaped churchyard points to this being possibly an early Christian Anglo-Saxon site, while the shaft of a decorated Anglo-Danish cross along with fragments of other sculptured items demonstrate that this continued to be an important religious site during the Viking era.
Stanwick’s early owners included a man called Tor who held land here at the time of the Domesday Book. In the thirteenth century it was held by the Knights Templar and then the Knights Hospitaller in the following century. Later in the fourteenth century it became the property of the de Catterick family before it was sold in 1638 to the Smithsons who built a house called Stanwick Park here in 1662.
A later inhabitant, Sir Hugh Smithson (1714-1786), inherited the title Duke of Northumberland through his wife and adopted the name Percy. His inherited properties included Alnwick Castle but he and his son, Algernon Percy, the 4th Duke of Northumberland (1792-1865) had a preference for Stanwick.
After a short period during World War One when the house was used as a military hospital the Percys sold the lands of Stanwick in 1923 and the house, not finding a buyer, was demolished. Only a stable block survived and to the north an old farmhouse that belonged to the Smithsons called Kirkbridge can still be seen near Stanwick church.
Towards the western end of the Stanwick fort is the little village of Forcett with its Norman church dedicated to St Cuthbert. In the fourteenth century Forcett belonged to Walter Urswyk, the Constable of Richmond Castle. Early spellings of its name such as ‘Fordseta’ point to the name meaning ‘fold by a ford’.
Forcett was a property of the Shuttleworth family of Lancashire who made it their home in Elizabethan times when the hall called ‘Forcett Park’ was built here. This house was re built in the early Georgian era and includes lodges, stables and an interesting dovecote.
There are a number of pleasant little villages in and around the Stanwick and Forcett area. To the north east of Aldbrough over on the east side of Dere Street towards Piercebridge is Manfield with a little pub called the Crown Inn and a heavily restored medieval church dedicated to All Saints.
Ravensworth and Gilling West
Just north of Forcett near the Forcett Beck is Eppleby – ‘the apple farm or village’ – which has en extensive village green. To its west is Caldwell on the Caldwell Beck with a chapel of 1844. Further to the west still is Hutton Magna and to its north are the villages of Ovington and Wycliffe on the River Tees.
To the south of Forcett are the twin villages of East and West Layton with Melsonby (which we have already mentioned) to their east, all three being just north of the A66.
South of the A66, other villages to mention include Barningham, Dalton and Newsham to the west towards Greta Bridge. Across the A66 to the south of the Laytons are villages called Gayles, Kirby Hill, Whashton and Ravensworth.
Ravensworth is situated around a large village green and to its south are the ruins of Ravensworth Castle (not to be confused with Ravensworth Castle near Lamesley in Gateshead). The castle was built in the late fourteenth century for Henry Fitzhugh of Ravensworth.
Kirby Hill to the east of Ravensworth is clustered around a little village green. It is home to the church of All Saints which occupies the site of an earlier eighth century Anglo-Saxon church. About two and a half miles east of Kirby Hill and two miles north of Richmond is the village of Gilling or specifically ‘Gilling West’.
Gilling was a place of some importance in Anglo-Saxon times being a royal centre associated with that part of the Kingdom of Northumbria called Deira. Gilling or somewhere in its surrounds is identified with the place where Oswine, King of Deira was murdered by his rival, Oswy, King of Bernicia in AD 651. The two men had succeeded King Oswald, who had been the King of all Northumbria. Oswald was killed in battle in AD 642 and his death seems to have divided the Kingdom of Northumbria.
The location of Oswine’s murder was described by Bede as Wilfar’s Hill (Wilfaresdun) near Gilling (‘Ingeltlingum’) and this site has been identified with Diddersely Hill, to the north of Gilling and west of Melsonby. An alternative view is that the murder took place at a completely different village, East Gilling or Gilling East, which is located thirty-one miles to the south-west in Ryedale, half way between Malton and Thirsk.
Whatever the location, King Oswy’s wife and queen, Eanflæd demanded that her husband establish a monastery at the location of the murder as a penance. The monastery of Gilling was founded and dedicated to St Oswine, as the late king was canonised but it’s not clear where exactly this monastery was located.
Gilling’s first abbot was called Trumhere and he later became the Bishop of Mercia. Another early abbot was Trumbert who later became the Bishop of Hexham. He is buried at Yarm on Tees. Another man associated with Gilling monastery was Ceolfrith, a Gilling monk who became the famed Abbot of Wearmouth–Jarrow.
At the time of the Norman Conquest the area called the ‘Fee of Gillingshire’ centred upon this village was under the ownership of Edwin, the Earl of Mercia, who was the brother of Morcar, Earl of Northumbria. Gillingshire encompassed the whole of Swaledale and land stretching all the way up to the south bank of the River Tees as well as encompassing the Catterick area and the whole of Wensleydale.
Gillingshire was divided into administrative divisions of Viking origin called wapentakes. These were the Wapentake of Halikeld; the Wapentake of Hang (later divided into Hang West and Hang East) and the Wapentake of Gilling itself, that was later divided into East and West Gilling wapentakes.
The Wapentake of East Gilling should not be confused with the village of East Gilling which as we have noted is thirty-one miles away to the south east. Although these wapentakes continued to exist after the Conquest the whole of the Gillingshire area became the Honour of Richmondshire under the virtual rule of Alan the Red of Brittany who moved its centre or capital from Gilling West to Richmond.
Gilling West is a substantial village of much character situated on the Gilling Beck which the village High Street crosses by a stone bridge. Many of the houses in the village have great charm. Gilling church, dedicated to St Agatha, is one of the few clues to Gilling’s former importance and contains Anglo-Saxon sculptures as well as Anglo-Danish sculptures from the Viking age.
In 1976, a complete Anglo-Saxon sword was discovered by a nine-year-old schoolboy, Gary Fridd, next to the Gilling Beck in the village. The sword, now in York’s Yorkshire Museum, has a pommel and grip decorated with strips of silver.
Other clues to Gilling’s past include a street of modern times that has adopted the name Oswin Grove. From much earlier times are traces of the Iron Age ‘Scots Dyke’ earthwork associated with the Iron Age fort at Stanwick. The Scots Dyke can be traced both to the north and south of Gilling West village.
Just under a mile south of Gilling West is Aske Hall, which was the ancestral home of the Aske family in medieval times. The earliest parts of the present hall include a twelfth century pele tower behind the east wing and some fifteenth century additions but the present house is mostly of the eighteenth century. Families connected with the house over the centuries include the Askes, Bowes, Whartons, Darcys and the Earls of Zealand whose descendants still own the property. The hall is a mile or so north of Richmond.
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