The standing stones and crosses of the North York Moors (From Gazette & Herald)

The standing stones and crosses of the North York Moors

3:47pm Thursday 15th October 2009

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THE North York Moors have several impressive claims – they host the largest open area of heather in England, they witnessed the first-ever flight by a man, they are bordered by one of the most spectacular coastlines in the country, they are rich with castles, abbeys and monasteries ancient and modern, and there are surviving customs such as planting the Penny Hedge at Whitby and the showing of giant gooseberries at Egton Bridge.

There are landmarks such as Lake Gormire under Sutton Bank, the White Horse of Kilburn, the Hole of Horcum near Goathland, Roseberry Topping near Guisborough, Wades’ Causeway on the moors above Goathland, the Bridestones on Allerston High Moor and the modern Ballistic Missile Early Warning Station on Fylingdales Moor.

We can add the fishing villages of Robin Hood’s Bay, Staithes and Runswick, Cropton Forest and much more.

In other words, there’s plenty to see and enjoy during a trip around the moors, with a pair of National Park centres to provide guidance and advice. And the moors are encircled by a clutch of delightful and unspoilt market towns.

Then there are all those standing stones. We tend to ignore them but it is claimed that the North York Moors is host to the country’s largest collection of standing stones – it is certainly the largest in such a compact area but the total seems to vary somewhat.

The last figure I have is around 1,300 stones of various types, some of which had a purpose that has been lost with the passage of time while others mark achievements such as the Captain Cook Monument on Easby Moor near Great Ayton.

The total includes parish boundary markers, the remains of stone circles, earthworks, way markers, religious crosses, isolated gate posts and a wide range of memorials complete with inscriptions. One of the latter is The Elgee Memorial Stone overlooking Loose Howe on Rosedale Moor.

It is a flat-topped boulder and reminds us of the work and writings by Frank Elgee, a naturalist and archaeologist.

His classic book “The Moorlands of North East Yorkshire” was published in 1912 and remains a valuable source of information. The memorial boulder bears his name, his dates of birth (1880) and death (1944), along with an inscription that says it was unveiled by his widow in 1955.

Perhaps the largest group of stones are known as crosses but some do not possess cross bars. They are little more than plain posts of stone, perhaps having borne a cross member in former days.

The best known is Young Ralph on a moorland peak between Castleton and Hutton-le-Hole. This is widely but erroneously known as Ralph’s Cross but in fact there are two Ralphs – the nine-foot tall Young Ralph with the smaller Old Ralph about 200 yards away. The splendid Young Ralph is the logo of the North York Moors National Park but its original purpose is not clear. Its design as a tall stone cross could mean it was a place of religious meetings or it might be nothing more than a way-marker for travellers and pilgrims.

Years ago when I was a child, the cross was known to travellers because it was customary to place money in the hollow at the top. It was to help poor travellers by having access to a few pence for food and I do know the custom continued well into the 1980s, although it has now ceased.

Sadly, in 1961, a man tried to climb the cross to retrieve any coins but smashed its narrow column; happily, it was repaired. Then, in October 1984, some fools tied a rope around the cross and tried to drag it down with a vehicle. It fell to the ground and was damaged but once again repaired.

The moors have lots of named crosses including Percy Cross, Jack Cross, John o’ Man, Cooper Cross, Postgate Cross, Tom Smith’s Cross, Donna Cross, Jenny Bradley, Redman Cross, Anna Ain Howe Cross, Robinson’s Cross and Hudson’s Cross. White Cross is not really a cross because it is bulky white-painted rock not far from Young Ralph and is otherwise known as Fat Betty. One splendid example is the Mauley Cross named after the de Mauleys of Mulgrave Castle but the reasons for the names of many others is not known.

Some are known only as stones. For example, the Face Stone has a curious face carved upon it, and it was mentioned in a perambulation of Helmsley Estate boundaries in 1642 while the Three Lords Stone, 975 feet above sea-level, marked the boundaries of three Lords’ estates – Duncombe of Helmsley, Marwood of Busby Hall and Aylesbury of Snilesworth. It is near Carlton Bank Top now a popular spot for visitors and hikers.

Then there is the Rokan Stone, the Old Wife’s Stone, the Wainstones, Hart Leap Stones and many others to find and enjoy on the moors while one of my old maps simply shows several piles of stones. So how did they get there?

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