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December 2008Your lettersYoung Wisdom Reference your article about the battle of Towton in the September issue, I was born in Tadcaster about three miles from Towton and moved to Wetherby, about 12 miles away, when I got married. Some years ago when my son was about six or seven, I took him on a walk in Towton. We walked from the side of the Rockingham Arms Pub to Stutton and back, crossing The Cock Beck. I decided to give my son a short history lesson. I told him many, many years ago there had been a great battle at Towton and pointed to the monument in the distance, and told him the beck we had just crossed was said to have run with the blood of the soldiers who died in the battle. My son, who has always had an old head on his young shoulders, gave this story some thought and replied “Dad, I bet you’re glad you moved to Wetherby.” Geoffrey Eason, Wetherby Lead Church Memories I was very interested in the Battle of Towton article (October). Lead Church was the only building apart from the Crooked Billet, that we could see from Head Hall Farm, where my husband was the tenant farmer for thirty-five years from 1934 to 1971. In the early years there were two men who came to do voluntary work in and around Lead Church at the weekends. Mr Aitken, a kilted Scotsman, was the one who realised that the large stone which one walked on when entering the church was the original altar table (Henry VIII had ordered the removal of many at the Reformation). He got permission to restore it to its place. Jack Winterburn, who lived in Leeds and kept the surrounding land around the church tidy, built the base of the altar from ancient stones in the area. One stone was a damaged child’s gravestone which he incorporated. I remember going across to watch as my husband and our two farm men, and several others moved the heavy stone altar and lifted it into place. In those early days, the vicar of Saxton Church nearby held a service once a month for ‘ramblers’ as it was known. During the war, when farmers were told which fields had to be ploughed by the War Agricultural Committee, we were told to plough the whole of the grassland around Lead Church. But that was impossible, because of the foundations below the surface between the church and the farmhouse. So a good crop of corn was only gathered from the field beyond the church to the east. Mrs Jean Blackburn, Grantley, aged 97 A need for change? My partner and I recently had a day out in Settle with my eldest daughter (aged 18). After parking we walked past the public toilets and to my astonishment there was a father changing/cleaning his child on the floor of the portaloo. Are there no facilities for mother/father and baby in which to deal with these natural processes in life? My thoughts were that if any public house or cafe etc., had a spare room, why not make it into a ‘baby changing room’ only. This could be shared by parents for feeding and changing their children in private and in more sterile conditions than a floor. Is this not deterring people with children from the area because of the lack of these facilities? Judith Fuller, Sutton-in-Craven Going the extra mile Regarding the National Park Authority, does the left hand know what the right hand is doing? I recently completed the Cleveland Way from Helmsley to Filey Brigg. The stone marker at the castle car park states, Filey 110 mls. On completion of the walk in Filey, the ‘new’ fingerpost stated Helmsley 109 mls. Perhaps walkers should be made aware that walking the route in an anti-clockwise direction can shave a mile off the route. Alf Giliker, St Helens The Wisemen of Kettlewell About 200 years ago, approximately half of all the folk who lived in Kettlewell were called Wiseman. In the 1850s, looking for employment, most of them emigrated to Burnley and from there across the north. To this day, most people called Wiseman living in Lancashire or Yorkshire can trace their roots back to Kettlewell. But still in 1850 dozens remained in Kettlewell. Even in the 1920s a third of the village schoolchildren were called Wiseman. Today there is just one member of the family remaining in the village, Mrs Vera Wiseman. Last July, in an attempt to bring the Wisemans back to Kettlewell, the Rev and Mrs David Wiseman of Skipton organised a Wiseman Weekend in the village and 150 members of the family returned to the ‘land of their fathers’. They came from as far away as New Zealand, South Africa and Canada, and as nearby as Skipton and Keighley. It was such a success that the exercise is being repeated next
summer. From 17-19 July, the houses and streets of Kettlewell will
ring again to the sound of the returning Wiseman tribe/clan/family. People have already booked from as far away as Surrey and Southampton, and even New Zealand. Residents in the village still talk of last year’s event, and there is no reason why the Wiseman Weekend of 2009 should not be even more successful. Any member of the Wiseman family interested in attending should get in touch with the Rev David Wiseman on Skipton 01756 797443 or at davidwiseman1@sky.com Rev David Wiseman Puzzling ‘plane Regarding the aircraft which made a forced landing at Austwick, I am puzzled as to the circumstances which necessitated the forced landing. Clearly the aircraft was capable of taking off and flying back to base, albeit with a drastically reduced weight. No one has explained why the aircraft came down in the first place. Does anyone know the reason why a forced landing was necessary? Low fuel? Bad weather? Navigational problems? Allan Humphrey, Keighley Leading light Referring to Ian McMillan’s article in the October issue of Dalesman, I can say with all the authority of a former vicar of St John’s, Cleckheaton, a much better compound name for the archetypal West Riding town than the one he suggests is Cleckheckmonsedge, because of course Cleckheaton, Liversedge and Heckmondwike is contiguous. You might enjoy this true story of something that happened while I was there. The Christmas lights were to be switched on by Beryl Burton, the cycling champion from Morley. However, she was preceded by the Mayor, who harangued the residents, pointing out that the lights had cost a bob or two, and therefore folk should spend their brass in the town, not in Bradford or Halifax. Beryl then pulled the switch and the remnant of the Spen Valley Silver Band, who were lurking round the side of the town hall, struck up with ‘Lead Kindly Light’. Revd Geoffrey Rider, Ripon Railway Memories I was most interested in the article about Dent Station house (Oct). My late grandfather George Palmer was one of the first station masters there in the early 1900s. Two of my uncles were born in the station house. Matthew in 1902 and Harry in 1903. Matthew was brain damaged as the midwife from Dent drank heavily on the trail up to the station house and Matthew nearly bled to death. My grandmother, Hannah, had to walk four miles downhill to get food, then four miles uphill home again, in all weathers. Sometimes she was lucky and got a lift with the local carter who took pity on this young woman who lived so far from her nearest neighbour. How she stood it I don’t know, but she was a very determined woman. My grandfather later became station master at Armathwaite where he was regarded with great esteem, and life was much easier for my grandmother. Mrs A E Wright, Edinburgh No stone left unturned I was talking to someone a few years ago while on a walk along one of the old stone paths in Goathland. As the stones were so worn, it was decided to turn them over to give them a new lease of life and it was found they had been turned already. No one knows when but it must have been a long time ago. Mrs A E Wright, Edinburgh Defending Ingleton We were sorry to read David Crane’s letter about his disappointing visit to Ingleton (October issue). In over ten years of frequent stays there, we have always found it clean, friendly and peaceful. Of course, a rural village cannot meet all the social needs of its young people, and a minority will behave like louts. But the people of Ingleton deserve praise for their continuing efforts to maintain their delightful village as a desirable place to visit and to stay. Richard and Angela Barrass, Dronfield Every road tells a story In the October edition of Dalesman, one reader pointed out the strange origins of place names in Yorkshire. There are some very odd ones indeed. In Bedale there is Aiskew in Wensleydale, there is Constable-Burton in Arkengarthdale, we have the hamlet of Booze in Swaledale and there is of course Crackpot. In Sheffield we have some mind-boggling street names such as Gun Lane, Blast lane, followed by Dead-Man’s Hole Lane – a gem from Sheffield 9 – then there is, of course, Cemetery Road in Sheffield 11, which could be tagged on to this sequence. However, perhaps the queerest one to puzzle me in its origin is Friars Wynd that I spotted in Richmond. Have any readers got a theory as to how that one came about? Bernard Wilkinson, Deepcar, Sheffield Wensley at war? As you pass through a gate, leaving the village of Wensley, on a path to Leyburn, you will see this inscription on the concrete capping of the gateway: POW – ITALIAN – 15 – 5 – 44. Where was the Italian POW camp in that area? Clearly the POWs were employed out and about in the local countryside, in the absence of our own men, but this seems alarmingly near military and RAF bases, and it is still a couple of weeks before D-Day. Do any Dalesman readers still have recollections of this use of POWs? C David Gibbons, Skipton I would like to thank your publication for a letter of mine which you printed nearly three years ago. I wanted information about the whaling industry out of Hull and my great great grandfather Captain William Wells. I was contacted by several enthusiastic people with lots of interesting stories. The main breakthrough in my quest was not until earlier this year, when another great-great-grandchild left a message on my answer phone. Someone had cut out my letter and it had been given to my relation who had popped it into his wallet. He recently visited the Foundling Museum in London where our relation’s grandfather was left and after a conversation with the pianist performing there, he was persuaded to give a talk on ‘our’ foundling. With this ensuing talk in mind he contacted me. This recent contact fired up my energy to renew my research into the famous whaling captain and this ended up with a very successful joint presentation at the Foundling Museum. There were 140 in the audience and wonderful feedback. I have now launched ‘A Whale of a Tale’ mostly due to your magazine. Mrs Jennifer Stacy, York I was pleased that someone remembers Dorothy Una Ratcliffe. I have her book ‘The Cranesbill Caravan’, published by Dalesman 1961, at the time she was living with A C and they would come down from Temple Sowerby to Wensleydale with their caravan and camp at a friendly farm. Right at the bottom of the churchyard at Dallow Gill is the grave laid flat under a holly bush, where she used to often go. I think it must be her father who liked the northern moorland. She did also write in the “Darlington”. I would also like to know more about her. The large iron gates into the gardens at Temple Sowerby have their initials in the centre of each gate. She also mentions the gypsy fair at Appleby. Cranesbill is of course where the wild geraniums grow at the side of roads. R W Perkin, Leeds I was very interested in the Battle of Towton article in October Dalesman. Lead Church was the only building apart from the Crooked Billet, that we could see from Head Hall Farm, where my husband was the tenant farmer for thirty-five years from 1934 to 1971. In the early years there were two men who came to do voluntary work in and around Lead Church at the weekends. Mr Aitken, a kilted Scotsman, was the one who realised that the large stone which one walked on when entering the church was the original altar table (Henry VIII had ordered the removal of many at the Reformation). He got permission to restore it to its place. Jack Winterburn, who lived in Leeds and kept the surrounding land around the church tidy, built the base of the altar from ancient stones in the area. One stone was a damaged child’s gravestone which he incorporated. I remember going across to watch as my husband and our two farm men, and several others moved the heavy stone altar and lifted it into place. In those early days, the vicar of Saxton Church nearby held a service once a month for ‘ramblers’ as it was known. During the war, when farmers were told which fields had to be ploughed by the War Agricultural Committee, we were told to plough the whole of the grassland around Lead Church. But that was impossible, because of the foundations below the surface between the church and the farmhouse. So a good crop of corn was only gathered from the field beyond the church to the east. Mrs Jean Blackburn, Grantley, aged 97 I am trying to get in contact with Peter and Pat Otterburn. Next March is our silver anniversary and Peter and Pat had just taken over the Mayfield Hotel (75 Scarcroft Road, York) where we went for our honeymoon. They then went to Barmby Moor Country Hotel near Pocklington, and we stayed with them a number of times. We kept in contact for many years but about five years ago we lost contact. The last place I have for them is at Bingley Golf Course where they were managers. I have contacted them but have had no reply. It would be great to get back in contact before our anniversary and if anyone can help, we would be very grateful. Gill and Kevin Toller, 4 Town Close, North Curry, Taunton, Somerset TA3 6LZ It was most interesting to read in the September edition of Dalesman ‘Yorkshire’s Bloodiest Battle’, as it brought back to me many memories of the area. I was in the RAF and billeted on a farm in Saxton village. I was in charge of a Direction Finder known by everyone in the village as the ‘Fixer’ which was sited in the fields on the left of the road from Towton before the hill down into Saxton. It was 1948, and there was a stillness in the area when we each worked twenty-four hour shifts through the early hours of the morning – it was very eerie, along with the wildlife noises. Quite often the farmers when ploughing in the area kept turning up pieces of broken metal which was said to be from swords, armour etc. I know Lead Church and went there on the odd occasion, and I visited The Crooked Billet but never knew its official title until reading the article. Everyone in Saxton first referred to it as Lead Church. They also said the villagers were rounded up and forced down to the church and locked in it until after the battle. The truth of this I suppose is open to doubt. I had a very pleasant time in Saxton and my wife and I used to visit a couple fairly regularly until they both died. They also let me play with the cricket team, a few matches and later when visiting any of the team used to ask “was I still dropping catches?” Jack Rushton, Bradford Can You Help? I am seeking information about a Deighton family who lived in the Poppleton or Ouseburn area in the early 1920s. My sister and I were fostered into a family in 1925 and lived there all of our childhood and were very happy. All I know is we were illegitimate daughters of a Lavinia or Lanivia Deighton, a domestic servant. I am eighty-five so maybe I am clutching at straws – though I may be lucky. Mrs W Dobson (nee Deighton) York We
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