THE North York Moors are said to contain England’s largest collection of standing stones, probably the biggest for any similar sized area.

They include parish boundary markers, the remains of stone circles, way markers, earthworks, religious crosses, memorials of various kinds and sundry other stones, many probably little more than old gate posts. The crosses alone are said to total about 1,300.

Some are wonderful examples of medieval craftsmanship while others are little more than the bases of former stone crosses. Several are nothing more than natural outcrops of rock revealed by centuries of erosion, these having been wonderfully sculpted by long exposure to the fierce moorland weather.

A good example of the variety of such stones can be gauged from ancient maps of the moors. I examined one such map that featured my home village of Glaisdale; the map was produced after a survey was conducted between 1849 and 1853 and it recorded Yoak stones, grey stones, the Rokan Stone, Hart Leap Stones and dozens of others marked simply stones or piles of stones.

It is possible the Rokan Stone was an old route marker or perhaps a boundary stone of some kind, but I wondered if it was used to guide people lost in moorland fogs – roak or roke is an old word for mist or fog.

Yoak Stone probably originated from “ye olde oak tree stone”, a parish boundary marker of ancient times while Hart Leap Stones mark the leap of a terrified hunted deer which produced a leap of fourteen feet (4.26m) to gain its freedom.

Many moorland stones also commemorate significant events. Examples include the Elgee Memorial Stone on a flat-topped boulder overlooking Loose Howe on Rosedale Moor. It is a reminder of the work and writings of the “man of the moors”, Frank Elgee, author of the classic book The Moorlands of North East Yorkshire (1912). He was a noted naturalist, archaeologist and author, his memorial stone providing his date of birth (1880) and date of his death (1944).

The renowned seafarer and explorer, Captain James Cook, is commemorated in a stone monument on Easby Moor at the western edge of the Moors above Great Ayton. Born at Marton, near Middlesbrough, in 1728, he was eight when his family moved to Great Ayton where he attended school.

His father obtained work at Airyholme Farm on the slopes of Roseberry Topping with young James working there for a while. Following apprenticeship to a grocer in Staithes he acquired his love of the sea and explored the world’s oceans – to discover Australia.

Not far away at Carlton Bank Top is a marker stone known as Three Lords Stone. At 975 feet above sea level, its original purpose was to mark the boundaries of three Lords’ estates which met here – Duncombe of Helmsley, Marwood of Busby Hall and Aylesbury of Snilesworth. There is now a busy café at this location.

Of all the stones on the North York Moors, perhaps the best known are those that amount to a huge collection of stone crosses which are widespread over the moors. One of the best known is Young Ralph, sometimes erroneously known as Ralph’s Cross.

This appears on the logo of the North York Moors National Park and the iconic stone cross stands near the meeting of roads leading to Castleton, Rosedale, Hutton-le-Hole and Westerdale.

Nearby is the smaller Old Ralph and another known as White Cross which in fact is not shaped like a cross but is a boulder painted white and sometimes known as either Fat Betty or White Cross.

Many of the crosses do not bear names but were probably way-markers in former times, some being the location of religious meetings hence their similarity to the crosses known as crucifixes.

Among those with names are: Margery Stone, Percy Cross, Jack Cross, John Cross, John o’ Man, Cooper Cross, Tom Smith’s Cross, Donna Cross, Jenny Bradley, Redman Cross, Anna Ain Howe Cross, Robinson’s Cross, Hudson’s Cross and Mauley Cross, Cropton Forest.

There will surely be others that are not named, and yet more that have disappeared with time. The reason for names is often obscure but Tom Smith’s Cross above Ampleforth commemorates the gibbeting of a highwayman. It is known to have stood on the site in 1642 but is no longer there, although its base can sometimes be traced.

Tom Smith’s Cross is now the name of the meeting place of roads leading from the A170 (Thirsk-Scarborough Road) into the villages of Wass, Ampleforth and Oswaldkirk.

Carved stone crosses can also be seen inside older churches around the moors, some dating to Celtic times. They include Hovingham, Stonegrave Minster, Oswaldkirk, Middleton, Kirkdale Minster, Lastingham, Nunnington, Hawnby and others.