SummerNewsletter

2016www.place.uk.com

Please use the enclosed booking form for all PLACE events

LAST CHANCE TO BOOK!PLACE Annual General Meeting,

Saturday 7 th May 2016Our AGM this year will be held in the RichardIII Hall, the Key Centre in Middleham.The Centre is close to the town centre, on ParkLane. There is free parking on site but publictransport is difficult. Tea/coffee will be providedduring the morning; please bring a packed lunchor sample one of the many eating places inMiddleham. The morning session and theAGM are free; there will be a charge of £5.00for the afternoon.

Morning events:10.00 Arrival and coffee.10.30 Talk by Robert Wright on Middleham and Richard III.11.15 Presentation by Rob & Harriet Fraser on the Yorkshire Dales Farmer documentary project.11.45 PLACE AGM.12.30 Lunch.

Afternoon activites:A visit to Middleham Castle,A walking tour of the town,Or a country walk along the River Cover.

OUR NEXT SHORT COURSEDr Robert Wright will be presenting our nextshort course on Monday evenings from 13 th

June to 18 th July, from 7.00 – 9.00pm inBedern Hall, York. His theme will be:

Robert writes, “The North is rich insaints. From the earliest days of Christianity inNorthumbria to the second flowering ofmonasticism after the Norman Conquest, wewill examine the lives of some of theseremarkable men and women.“

The Schedule will be as follows:June 13th. St Paulinus and St OswaldJune 20 th. St Hilda and St CuthbertJune 27th. St Chad and St CeddJuly 4th. St Wilfrid and the Triumph of RomeJuly 11th. St William of YorkJuly 18th. Monastic Saints.

The cost for the whole course will be £25.00 perhead (£20.00 for retired/unwaged). If there isroom, it may be possible to book individualsessions for £5.00 each.

LIVES OF THE NORTHERN SAINTS

GUIDED TOUR OF YORK CEMETERYJoin us at 7.00pm on Wednesday 8 th June for a visitto this fascinating oasis in the city, led by CliveDawson, Chairman of Friends of York Cemetery.

York Cemetery opened in September 1837. TheCemetery was designed by the architect JamesPiggot Pritchett who landscaped the original 8 acreformal garden and built the grade 2* listed Chapel,Catacombs and the grade 2 listed Gatehouse. TheCemetery was run by the York Cemetery Companyuntil it went into liquidation in 1969 and was then leftto the ravages of time and vandalism. In 1984 TheFriends of York Cemetery was formed, their main aimat the time was to reclaim the cemetery back fromnature which continues today. The Friends give toursand talks, patrol the site and offer help withgenealogy. In 1987 the present York Cemetery Trusttook over ownership of the site and turned it backinto a working cemetery but also gave aconservation aspect for wildlife to the site. We willvisit the chapel and catacombs and explore thegardens, looking at the architecture, landscape andhistory. Ample parking on the drive for visitors. Cost:£5.00 per person.

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Curtain Up! Visit to the Georgian Theatre, Richmon dThe last session in the short course, Curtain Up! , will take place at 11.00amon Wednesday 18 th May, when we shall be visiting the Georgian Theatre inRichmond (left), built in 1788. It is situated near the marke t place on VictoriaRoad. Meet at the theatre at 10.50am in good time for the tour. Anyone iswelcome to join us, whether or not you have attended earlier s essions in thecourse. We shall be having a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of this l ittle gem,which still has regular productions (including one that eve ning – see theirwebsite for further details or to book a seat). After our tour we can havelunch somewhere in Richmond, if we wish, and then take an afte rnoon strollto Easby Abbey. The visit costs £6.00 per person.

We have arranged a special day visit to Harewood House and gar dens,including a guided tour led by the Head Gardener, Trevor Nich olson. Theparty will be accompanied by Peter Goodchild, who led the PLA CE shortcourse on landscape gardens last year. Harewood House is the home ofthe Earl and Countess of Harewood and was built by one of theirancestors, Edwin Lascelles, in the mid-18 th century. No expense wasspared: John Carr was the architect, Robert Adam the interio r designer,Thomas Chippendale the furniture maker and Lancelot ‘Capab ility’ Brownthe landscaper. As well as the house, there are 100 acres of ga rdens, abird garden, a serpentine lake and remains of a castle in the g rounds.

SPECIAL VISIT TO HAREWOOD HOUSE, THURSDAY 9 th JUNE

There is an exhibition this year to celebrate the tercentena ry of the birth of Capability Brown. Meet at11.00am in the visitor car park . In the morning we shall look around the house and exhibition a nd thenhave lunch (eat in the café or tearoom or bring your own picnic ). At 2.00pm our guided tour of the gardenswill take place . We have negotiated a special price for this event, so the cost will be £10.00 perperson. Numbers are limited to 20 people, so please book your place by the beginning of June.

Visit to the Dutch House, Crayke

Thursday 14 th July, 2.30pm

Join us for a guided tourof the wildlife garden,led by Sjaak Kastelijn(former garden manager,York Museum Gardens).

Situated north-east of Crayke (SE 567716), theDutch House is a fusion of nature and art. The 1.6-acre plot includes a collection of native trees,herbaceous borders, a wildflower meadow andraised vegetable beds, as well as sculptures, an artgallery and a café. The planting is ‘bee-friendly’ andwildlife conservation is a priority.The River Foss meandersthrough the estate. There areplant sales, too. Our guidedtour will take about 45minutes, leaving time to visitthe café afterwards. Cost:£5.00 per person. Meet in thecar park at 2.20pm.

Heather, History and Heartbeat – amoorland walk in the Goathland area

Tuesday 16 th AugustThe Goathland area is rich in prehistoric andhistoric interest and boasts some fine moorlandscenery. Join us for a 5 – 6 mile walk on theNorth York Moors, starting from the car park inGoathland (NZ 833014) at 11.00am. Our routewill include a walk along an old railway line,through woodlands and over heather moorland,starting and finishing at Goathland village (a.k.a.Aidensfield from TV series Heartbeat ). There willbe some uphill stretches, so walking bootsshould be worn. Please bring a packed lunch.Cost: £5.00 per person.

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The Church and Hall are associated with a number of families, notably The Stricklands whowere the ‘movers and shakers’ from the C16 to C19, with large l and holdings, marriages ofconvenience, and political influence. They bought the quar ries at Hildenley in 1565 from whichHildenley Limestone was extracted and used at the Hall for bu ilding stone, gateposts, andflooring. The floors in the former Vicarage and family monum ents in the Church are also madeof this limestone. The Hall has medieval origins with phases of rebuild and modification overthe centuries, while the Church was rebuilt in local brick in 1768 but retaining the originalmedieval tower in Birdsall Calcareous Grit.

The visit will be led by Adrian Green (University of Durham), Richard Myerscough (PLACE),Michael Mortimer (St Andrews Church) and Tim Schadla – Hall ( University College London). Atpresent Adrian and Tim are investigating the Hall and Ground s with a view to publishing theirfinds, whilst Richard is working on the glacial deposits and post glacial human activity. Theleaders will be able to bring the story of Boynton Hall up to da te during the day.

Park in the car park at the Hall (TA 138678) and walk back along the road to the church (TA137680) for 10.00am. After looking at the church we will move on to the Hall and grounds atabout 11.00am. We will have lunch on the lawn – please bring a p acked lunch and a drink withyou. In the afternoon we will walk around the area, including Fishponds Wood, ending about4.00pm. Strong footwear is advisable. The cost of the visit i s £5.00 per person.

Visit to Boynton Hall, Saturday 23 rd JulyBoynton Hall (left) and village are situated in the GreatWold Valley cut along the ‘Wolds Shatter Belt’ by aTertiary Pennine river some 30 million years ago.Locally, tectonic pressure has hardened the Chalk somuch that it is used as a building stone. During the IceAge, an ice tongue and later a glacial lake known as‘Lake Rudston’ occupied the valley, with postglacialarchaeological sites at Willow Garth and FishpondsWoods.

Yearsley Mill archaeological visitWednesday 28 th September

1.30 – 4.00pm

We have arranged tovisit the site of an oldwater mill at Yearsley onthe Howardian Hills,which is currently beingexcavated by a localcommunity archaeologygroup. The water wheelwas deliberately coveredup in about 1730 whenthe owner of GillingCastle was refashioningthe landscape. Its remains (above) should bevisible during the excavation. Meet on the roadbetween Yearsley and Ampleforth, near theforest gate (SE 583752) at 1.30pm. There will bea short drive along forest roads followed by awalk of about 200 metres. Wear strong shoes orwalking boots. Cost: £5.00 per person.

PLACE AUTUMN CONFERENCEThe Yorkshire Wolds Landscape:

Past, Present and FutureSaturday 8 th October, 10.00am – 4.00pm

Wolds Heritage Centre, Warter

Speakers will include:• Rose Horspool - Wolds Heritage Centre• Dr Derek Gobbett - The Geological Landscape• Dr Peter Halkon - The Archaeological Landscape• Jon Traill - The Natural Landscape • Tom Mellor - The Farming Perspective• Helen Wright and Malcolm Hodgson - The Wolds

Perspective• A speaker from the Garrowby Estate - The

Landowner’s Perspective

The full programme for the day will bepublished in the next newsletter but bookingsare open now. The cost (including coffee andtea) is £10.00 per person. Please bring yourown packed lunch.

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Looking further ahead …

Visit to the Drax Power StationWednesday 19 th October

1.00 – 4.00pmPlace has arranged a guided tour of Drax PowerStation, which should provide an unusual andinteresting afternoon. The visit will include a bustour of the site and will last three hours. Securityis tight and no photography is allowed. Hotdrinks will be available at the end of the tour.Numbers are limited to 34, so early booking isadvisable. There is a car park at the powerstation. This trip will be advertised again in thenext newsletter but bookings are open now.Cost: £5.00.

The PLACE Xmas event 2016 will take

place in Bedern Hall, York, on Thursday

8th December, 7.00 –9.00pm. More details

in the next newsletter!

NEW PUBLICATIONThe proceedings of the2014 PLACE conference,Yorkshire’s ReligiousHeritage c.1780 to c.1910 ,have now been published,cost £2.50 + P & P. Pleaseuse the order form on theback of the booking form.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS IN THE PIPELINE• The PLACE Book of Winter Walks (to be

published autumn 2016)• Industrial Legacy and Landscapes of

South Yorkshire• Famous Geologists of Yorkshire

REPORT ON THE SURVEY OF MEMBERS’ SKILLS AND INTERES TSWe sent out a survey form with the last newsletter, asking you to tell us about your skills and intere sts, the PLACE activities you have participated in and a ny issues that regularly prevent you from attending PLACE events. Thirteen per cent of our members kin dly responded. The results are interesting.• Most people avoided admitting to any skills, probab ly lest we put them to work! Of those who did

answer the skills question, several had skills in w riting or editing; a few were skilled in first aid/Health & Safety, office administration, publici ty & media, website design & maintenance, or leading walks. This information will be very useful to us.

• There was support for all our categories of interes ts, with particular enthusiasm for archaeology, history and natural history/nature conservation. Se veral people commented that they appreciated the variety of themes offered in our events, so it seems that we are providing the right mix of topics .

• Our range of activities seems to be supported, with many people ticking most of those listed. Conferences, AGMs, fieldtrips and short courses wer e all very popular, whilst a smaller number of people had taken part in research projects, e.g. th e Market Towns project. A lot of people had bought PLACE publications.

• Several issues were mentioned as preventing people from attending our events. Inevitably, location/distance to venues is a problem in a count y the size of Yorkshire, as is the precise date/timing of events. Availability of public trans port is an issue for some, which we will bear in mind for the future.

Many thanks to all of you who took the time and tro uble to complete the survey.

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REPORTS ON PAST EVENTS

Castle Howard walk, March 2016On a sunny day in early spring, 12 PLACE members and twosmall dogs enjoyed a walk around the Castle Howard estate.The route forms part of one of the walks in the forthcomingPLACE Book of Winter Walks and allowed us to see many ofthe features of the monumental landscape created by theHoward family. We started at Coneysthorpe and walkedsouth through the fields, passing Bog Hall and Low Gaterleyand then west following part of the Centenary Way. Weturned north from there to get good views of the Mausoleumand the Temple of the Four Winds and a more distant view ofthe Pyramid. We noted the line of the former main street ofHenderskelfe, which was destroyed to make way for JohnVanburgh’s grand edifice of Castle Howard itself.

The snowdrops (above) were in full glory and other spring flo wers were startingto emerge, including primroses, wood avens, lords-and-lad ies, dog’s mercuryand butterbur, as well as the red flowers of larch trees (righ t, photo by HelenKitson). Birds were also much in evidence, with a total of 27 s pecies spotted,including skylark, curlew, lapwing and barn owl. The return route took us downthe side of Ray Wood and past some magnificent veteran oak tre es. We roundedoff the afternoon with tea in the Castle Howard tearooms.

PLACE SPRING CONFERENCE IN ILKLEY

Yorkshire Woodlands was the theme of our springconference, held in Ilkley on Saturday 23 rd April inmemory of Oliver Rackham. The morning talks wereheld in the Clarke Foley Centre and enjoyed by 65people. There were five speakers, all of whom gaveexcellent, well illustrated presentations.

Professor Melvyn Jones gave a fascinating talk aboutWalls, Woodbanks and Worked trees , explaining theevidence for past woodland management that can begleaned from archaeological features. Tim Lauriespoke about his research work on the distribution ofrelict limewoods in the north-east Pennines – manyof them recorded from inaccessible locations oncliffs or steep river banks. Tom Lord considered thedocumentary and archaeological evidence for formerwood pasture in Upper Ribblesdale, includingsurviving woodland ground flora and stone wallsdesigned to exclude wolves.

John Weir works for the Forestry Commission andhis provocative but entertaining talk discussed thechallenges of managing woodland in a changingclimate, such as dealing with a large range of newpests and diseases. The last speaker was JohnGrimshaw, Director of the Yorkshire Arboretum atCastle Howard, who demonstrated the importance ofthe tree collection there for future conservation.

We plan to publish the talks in a PLACE book laterthis year.

In the afternoon, Professor Terry O’Connorled a walk around Mount Calvary andMiddleton Woods, on the north bank of theWharfe at Ilkley. The area is part of a majorestate within the former Manor of Ilkley,whose origins go back to the NormanConquest, when the area was given toWilliam de Percy. It remained with hisdescendants for almost 200 years beforepassing through various other owners to theMiddleton family, in whose hands itremained until 1893. Myddelton Lodge is allthat remains of the original buildings today.

The estate had avoided industrialisation,urbanisation and mining whilst in theownership of the Middleton family. However,it was sold to a consortium in 1899 anddeveloped as an exclusive, leafy housingestate for middle-class commuters.

Cont.

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PLACE Board and Officers 2015-16 Chief Executive:

Dr Margaret Atherden

Trustees:Ms Aileen Bloomer (Chair)Ms Christine Handley(Company Secretary)Dr Michael Hopkinson (Treasurer)

Ms Hilary MoxonMr Richard MyerscoughDr Catherine NealProfessor Terry O’ConnorDr George SheeranMr Brian Walker

To contact PLACE:By post: PLACE Office, York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX.

By phone: 01904 766291 (N.B. this is the Chief Executive’s home number. Messages may be left at any time)

By e-mail: place@yorksj.ac.uk

Website: www.place.uk.com

N.B. This is a ‘virtual’ office and is not staffed .

The next newsletter is due in September

Please remember to tell us if you changeyour e-mail address or other contact details!

If you wish to order any of thePLACE publications for sale,please see the list on the back ofthe order form.

You can use the same cheque forevents, books and subscriptions.

We take DATA PROTECTION very seriously. All personal data, e .g. addresses, are kept on asecure database which is updated regularly. We will only use such data for PLACEadministrative purposes and never pass them on to third part ies.

We sometimes take photographs at events for publicity purpo ses. If you do not wish to bephotographed, please tell the event organiser at the time.

Cont. from previous page.The Middletons were an influential Catholic family and the C atholic connection is still evident in theStations of the Cross to be seen at Mount Calvary today (below left) . Having climbed up the valley sidethrough the housing area, we crossed a field of sheep to enter Middleton Woods (below centre). Theseform an important amenity for the people of Ilkley, as shown b y the many family parties we encounteredwalking through the area on our visit. Meandering down the pa ths through the woodland, we were ableto enjoy the beautiful spring flowers, especially the blueb ells, which were at their best (below right). Weemerged close to Ilkley lido, one of the few 1930s outdoor poo ls still in use. A memorable andenjoyable afternoon.

ARE YOU A TWEETER? If you are a user of Twitter,please consider postingoccasional tweets about PLACEevents you have enjoyed. It allhelps to spread the word!

All our events are open tothe general public. Childrenare welcome, provided theyare accompanied by a parentor guardian . Dogs on leadsare allowed on most outings,subject to the agreement ofthe leader.