Fears for the future of moors' historic stones (From Gazette & Herald)

Fears for the future of moors' historic stones

INSCRIPTIONS on scores of historic stones on the North York Moors are being lost because they have suffered generations of rain and wind, says a leading historian.

As a result, says retired teacher Eric Frisby, who has had a lifelong interest in the moors, the tales associated with them are being lost. "They surely deserve our attention and preservation but no one seems to want to take on the responsibility," he said.

Some are memorial stones, others mark boundaries or were refuges for pilgrims on their way from Byland and Rievaulx Abbeys to Whitby Abbey. Many of them have suffered weathering.

But the biggest crisis is being caused by people who are using four-by-four vehicles to get onto the heart of the moors over rough terrain, and remove landmark stones for use in private gardens, says Mr Frisby.

One on Wheeldale Moor, he adds, marking the spot where a long-serving gamekeeper died, is even pitted with bullet marks after being used for target practice.

He wants a central point of information set up where details of the stones can be found by students, walkers and historians.

"I have found records of a number of stones but when I went to find them, they have gone," said Mr Frisby, who has built up a massive 1,000-strong photographic library of existing stones and crosses.

In some cases, stones have been knocked over and covered by heather and undergrowth. However, a number of newer stones have been put on the moors in memory of people who had a love for the national park.

Mr Frisby has asked English Heritage, the national park authority and the National Trust to take on the responsibility for caring for the monuments, but without success, because of the potential cost.

Mr Frisby says his big worry for the future is that landowners, who in the past had a keen interest in the stones, would no longer protect them if areas of the moors were bought by shooting consortiums.

Resins used to protect cathedrals, and other important ancient buildings, could be used to safeguard the inscriptions, he said. "My interest is in making a record of the stones and their inscriptions."

Many of them record tragedies, says Mr Frisby. One marks the location where a peddler perished in a blizzard, while one of the more recent marks the spot where a young motorist was drowned while trying to cross a ford in 1994. Another records how an elderly man lost his life when he was burning heather on the moors, and the blaze got out of control.

Some isolated boulders, known as hanging stones, are thought to have been used for hanging sheep rustlers, or as suicide spots, because they hung over slopes on the moor.

"These stones are a fascinating part of our local heritage and it is vital that their history and inscriptions are recorded," said Mr Frisby.

Updated: 10:40 Wednesday, January 26, 2005