Bilsdale

Bilsdale is the most westerly of the steep sided dales of the North York Moors. The dale stretches for 10 miles from Clay Bank on the Cleveland side south to meet Ryedale near Hawnby – now a very popular area for walkers, cyclists and tourists. The B1257 runs its length and there are several bridleways leading on and off to the surrounding hills. The dale is divided between two civil parishes and districts: the upper part comprises of Bilsdale Midcable in the district of Hambleton and the lower part is the civil parish of Hawnby in the district of Ryedale.

Following the Romans, Angles, Saxon, and Jutes, Danish and West Nowegians settlers moved into the area in the 9-10th century where they penetrated into the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire. Some 28% of place names in the North Riding are of Scandinavian origin. It has long been thought that the name Bilsdale was derived from ‘Bildr’s valley’, but recently it has been suggested that it could be of Celtic Gaelic origin of ‘baile’ – dale of the homestead.

There is no entry for Bilsdale in the Domesday Book, but William l‘Espec, Lord of the Manor of Helmsley, held lands here and his son, Walter, gave the southern half of the dale to the Cistercian monks of Rievaulx Abbey. They owned large flocks of sheep which were the source of their wealth. The existence of present day farms named Wether Cote, Ewe Cote and Woolhouse Croft echoes this importance in the history and economy of the dale. At the northern end of the dale were settlements including Town Green, Seave Green, Kyrkflatt (Cockflat & Akitt). Following the Dissolution of the Monastries, lands passed to the Manners family who were, subsequently, Earls of Rutland.

St Hilda’s church was founded in 1122 by Lord William l’Espec but was demolished in 1851 and replaced by one built in the Victorian Gothic style. The only remains of the original building are a Norman font, a carved head, some masonry and a stone with a Latin inscription which states that ‘Lord William dedicates this church to the chaste virgin St Hilda I ‘. [It is interesting to note that on many of the headstones in the churchyard are inscribed not only names of families but the farms where they had lived].

A Methodist Society was begun in 1749 with their first services being held at Hall Garth & Holme farms and a Sunday School was in operation in 1852. Thomas Leng sold them a small plot of land behind the Tiger Inn on which they built their chapel, now partially hidden behind cottages fronting the main road. The Wesleyan chapel was opened for worship in 1858 and a second chapel completed at Fangbeck in 1927 but is now a private dwelling. There were a number of Quaker families in the 18th century who congregated in the Friends Meeting House at Laskill which was built in 1734 and served the community for over 100 years but, after 1840, it was hardly used. It still exists, perched on the hillside opposite Lanskill Farm.

There are several small centres of population in the dale, the most prominent being Chop Gate (pronounced ‘Chop Yat’) which stands on the Stokesley to Helmsley road. There is some uncertainty about the origin of the name though it has been suggested that it is derived from ‘Chapman’s Gate’ ie ‘Pedlar’s Path or Pass’. In Chopgate are the Church of England school, the Wesleyan chapel, the Buck Inn and the old forge but recent housing development has almost doubled the population of the village.

The most northly hamlet is Urra under the rim of Urra Moor which boasts the highest point on the North York Moors and so it’s difficult to imagine that it once housed 70 inhabitants on a busy ancient bridleway. If one follows this route, now a metalled road, one arrives at St Hilda’s church, Bilsdale Hall and Seave Green. Along the Stokesley to Helmsley road, one passes farms high up on the dale’s sides where several are paired; High and Low Ellermire, High and Low Orterly, High and Low Cow Helm. Beyond the towering Bilsdale transmitting mast, erected in 1969, is Grange, a small conurbation of houses. Close by is St John’s Church serving the southern area known as Bilsdale Midcable which includes the hamlet of Fangdale Beck.

Bilsdale has had several inns over the centuries; The Beehive, The Tiger, The Shoulder of Mutton, The Fox and Hounds, but only two survive today – The Buck Inn which is recorded as standing on the site of Chop Gate Farm that also served as a public house and garden in 1826. Shooting parties were catered for in the season with meals being taken out on the moors by sledge. Famous champion ploughmen stayed there with their horses accommodated in the farm stables. In 1852, Michael Johnson who came from Helmsley, was licensee of the inn and became secretary of the local branch of the Oddfellows Society, known as ‘Flower of the Dale’. In 1855, another Friendly Society was founded named the ‘Inkerman Free Gift’, doubtless after the Crimean battle fought the previous year. Members paid an annual subscription so that sickness or widows’ benefits could be paid when appropriate.

The old Sun Inn half a mile from Fangdale Beck, was first built around 1550 and is a fine example of a thatched, cruck-framed farm cottage. Originally it was single storeyed, but three rooms were created in the loft space to accommodate travellers, and later licenced as an ale house in 1714. It is now referred to as Spout House, a name taken from the cottage backing it. Stephen Hoggard became licensee in 1765 and remained there for 57 years. Beer was supplied from York and Tadcaster via Thirsk and Sutton Bank using horse drawn dreys which must have been no mean feat as occasionally the barrels had to be unloaded and rolled uphill by hand! The first William Ainsley took over the tenancy in 1823 and there has been an unbroken line of Wm Ainsleys until the present day, the inn being famous in the region for fox hunting meets and its cricket. This building fell into disrepair but was refurbished and opened as a museum across the farmyard from the new Sun Inn built in 1914. The present inn, run by Richard & Audrey Wilson, continues to have strong associations with the Bilsdale Hunt and Spout House Cricket Team and is a popular eating place for visitors to the dale.

It is known that Bilsdale Overseers of the Poor were paying 14d rent for a schoolhouse in Chop Gate in 1781. By 1863, it had become known as ‘Lord Feversham’s School’, attended by children from Ainsley, Armstrong, Barr, Boys, Bentley, Biggins, Burton, Cook, Featherstone, Garbutt, Haggard, Helm, Hugill, Hunton, Johnson, Kitching, Knaggs, Noble, Sunley, Ventress, Ward, Weatherill, Worthy, Wright families amongst others. Another school at Fangdale Beck survived from 1814 – 1958 when falling numbers necessitated an amalgamation with the replacement school at Chop Gate which was opened in 1909.

Despite its dependence on agriculture, Bilsdale had other industries in the past based on seams of low grade ironstone. This was mined either by driving a drift mine into the seam or by digging a bell pit. John Wood opened a foundry in Fangdale Beck to make ploughs, using ironstone from above the village until the late 1890s. All three forges were powered by water and the first cast iron plough was produced in 1874.The output was about 100 ploughs per year with each being designed or modified to cope with different types of land. The foundry ceased operations in 1898 but John Wood continued to live in Fangdale Beck until 1925 having put Bilsdale on the map by his initiative and enterprise in producing first class ploughs. His company continues business now based in Kirbymoorside.

The shale tips which scar the hillsides provide evidence of the extensive jet mining here during the 19th century. Up to 100 men from Broughton and the surrounding area would walk up to the dale and barrow the jet away by the hundredweight. This was sent to Whitby, the centre of the jet working industry where it provided employment for over 1500 people where it was used mainly for jewellery making.

Bilsdale Agricultural Society celebrated its centenary back in 1995 and its show has been held every year in August apart from the war years. It is a typical small dale show with sheep, cattle, goat and horse classes, horticultural, agricultural and home produce, vintage farm machinery, rural crafts etc. In the years before WWII, a dance was held in the main marquee in the evening with Bilsdale Brass Band providing the music. It was created in the mid-1800s and is now called Bilsdale Silver Band which has male musicians and a healthy complement of women and children. In years gone by the band would travel around the farms at Christmas time playing carols but now performs at most local functions.

In the 17th century, George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham who was in residence at nearby Helmsley Castle, was responsible for the creation of the famous Bilsdale Hunt. The hounds were brought from France to Bumper Castle in Ladhill Gyll and divided into two packs, one for stag and the other for fox hunting. The latter were kept at High Thornhill farm with Robert Foster as huntsman, but one name stands out in the Bilsdale hunting fraternity, that of Bobby Dawson. He was huntsman between 1853-1867 when Squire Barr took over, and Bobby served as whipper-in for more than 40 years. He was buried in June 1902 in St Hilda’s churchyard around 90 years of age. The headstone subscribed to by friends aroused controversy, having a fox’s muzzle and a whip carved on the cross. It was rejected by the vicar so was erected outside the Sun Inn where it can be seen to this day.

Abridged version of the article written by D W Tyerman, Member 1636

Sources
Urra photograph- Stephen McCulloch / Urra / CC BY-SA 2.0
Spout House – Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
Ploughs – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aratro_1849.jpg
Census
CFHS Monumental Inscriptions for St Hilda church, Bilsdale
Ainsley Genealogy – http://www.the-silk-route.co.uk/ainsley/index.asp . Associated names on this excellent site are Atkinson, Featherstone, Garbutt, Hill, Raine and Spink.