The Church of St Andrew at Kirby Grindalythe retains its 12th-century tower and incorporates some earlier Saxon fabric, but much of the building dates from a major Victorian restoration carried out between 1872 and 1875 by George Edmund Street for Sir Tatton Sykes. The work

After this morning's post I was asked what is a Canaba? Canabae and vici were civilian settlements outside Roman forts, but they differed in scale and association. A canaba grew up beside a large, permanent legionary fortress, say York and was usually substantial in size. A vicus was

What we now know has Colliergate lay outside the Roman city walls but within the canabae of Eboracum, a mixed residential and industrial suburb. In the Viking period it probably formed the eastern edge of a large open area. The name first appears in 1303, derived from the charcoal merchants who

Do you need a card for Saturday? This card is a classic example of a greeting card design produced in the 19th century. The poem is a sentimental verse common to "To One I Love" cards of this era. While often used for Valentine's Day, they were also exchanged as general romantic

The lost medieval village of Whorlton, overlooking Swainby, was once part of a carefully managed estate centred on its castle. Although little of the village now survives above ground, the Church of Holy Rood (Holy Cross) and the castle gatehouse mark its former heart, while 1/3

Shibden Dale has drawn visitors from Halifax since Victorian times, when it became a popular destination for countryside walks and fresh air. The Shibden Brook runs through the valley before becoming the Red Beck at Brookfoot downstream, its name reflecting the water’s

The 19th century saw growing concern over poverty and poor living conditions, prompting social reform. Philanthropists such as Titus Salt created model communities like Saltaire, providing better housing and amenities for workers. Yet this reforming impulse was contested. Many Victorians believed

St Nicholas stands on the site of a Benedictine hospital which was founded before 1171 by the earl of Richmond. In 1448 it was granted by Henry VI to William Ayscough who renovated the buildings and founded a chantry chapel on the site. The hospital was probably intended

"And trade and business guide the living scene, Roll the full cars, adown the winding Aire. Load the slow-sailing barges, pile the pack On the long tinkling train of slow paced steeds." (Dyer 1757) This passage is taken from "The Fleece" (1757), a four-book poem written by the Welsh poet John

The last I heard Gilling castle is to be turned into apartments. The current building dates back to the 14th century and is probably on the site of an earlier Norman construction as there is evidence that the Etton family lived on the estate from at least the late 12th century.

The FV Gaul was a Hull-based stern trawler that went down with all 36 hands in the Barents Sea on 8 February 1974 during a violent storm, making it one of Britain’s worst single-vessel fishing disasters. No distress call was ever sent, and for years rumours ranged from Cold War espionage to a

The Gauxholme Viaduct and locks are a historic industrial site in Todmorden, where the 1840s Manchester and Leeds Railway crosses the Rochdale Canal. The Grade II listed, 4 arch stone viaduct is often confused with the more decorative castellated skew bridge below and the area also contains a flight

Some of the more interesting residents of the Church of St Mary the Virgin and St Germain better known as Selby Abbey including King George V and Queen Mary, a lady on a balcony, and a minstrel and chorister on the balustrading of the chancel together with a longship sailing

Could Yorkshire be home to Town of Culture 2028? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Barley Hall in York is a hybrid of major reconstruction and restoration, where over 75% of the original timber frame was replaced during a 1980s-90s project by the York Archaeological Trust. While it utilises surviving medieval structures (dating back to the 1360s), many

Joseph Priestley, born in Fieldhead, Birstall died OTD, 6 February in 1804. The profoundly influential 18th-century intellectual's work in theology and politics was considered as radical, and often more significant, than his more well known scientific 1/3

The first known picture of Pontefract is of the castle. It comes from a 1590 survey undertaken for Elizabeth I. The next is again the castle, Charles I commissioned the famous Alexander Keirincx painting (below) in the 1640s A super morning out thanks to

Lancelot “Capability” Brown, who died on this day in 1783, was remarkably prolific in Yorkshire, with around 20 sites linked to his work. He transformed rigid, formal gardens into naturalistic parkland, defined by sweeping lawns, serpentine lakes and carefully placed clumps of trees. His 1/3

To the best of my knowledge there is only once church in the country dedicated to St. Ricarius (or St. Riquier), which is the Parish Church of St Ricarius in Aberford, West Yorkshire. The 7th-century Frankish saint Ricarius of Centula (St Riquier), is traditionally reportedly 1/3

In principal I am very much in favour. The Kirkgate area is a disaster zone. It has struggled for years, the high-street model no longer works, and done well mixed-use regeneration could bring homes, green space, leisure and life back to the city centre while 1/2 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

In principal I am very much in favour. The Kirkgate area is a disaster zone. It has struggled for years, the high-street model no longer works, and done well mixed-use regeneration could bring homes, green space, leisure and life back to the city centre while improving the setting of the cathedral.

During the night of 12 April 1812, hundreds of Luddites marched silently to William Cartwright’s mill at Rawfolds, beside the River Spen (a mile from me), determined to destroy newly installed cropping machines. Croppers were skilled cloth-dressers who finished woollen cloth by hand using 1/3

Some ten thousand snowdrops and aconites are on view at Sewerby Hall and gardens, Bridlington. Admission to the grounds is free of charge until Friday 27th March 2026 (excluding the school holidays) Snowdrops, Sewerby Park woodland by JThomas CC BY-SA 2.0 #Snowdrops

Street House Farm in Ainderby Miers with Holtby, North Yorkshire, was a notable Georgian model farm completed around 1768 and attributed to Horbury architect John Carr. It was one of several architecturally ambitious farmsteads Carr designed for the Hornby Castle

Built in 1788 by actor manager Samuel Butler the Georgian Theatre Royal In Richmond Yorkshire closed in 1848. Some 115 years later it was restored and reopened 1963 before being extended in 2003. It is the most complete Georgian theatre in the country.

At 1am tonight, the 5th of February in 1852 the Bilberry reservoir flood devastated the Holme Valley when its embankment collapsed following heavy rain. It released 86 million gallons of water down the River Holme, killing 81 people and destroying homes, mills, shops, and

A blind arcade at Bolton Priory. A blind arcade is one that is comprised of a series of arches that has no actual openings and is applied to the surface of a wall as a decorative element. Image courtesy of Fr Lawrence Lew. CC BY-NC 2.0

The horrific M62 coach bombing in West Yorkshire occurred OTD 4 February 1974 when an IRA bomb exploded on a coach carrying off-duty British soldiers and their families. Twelve people, including nine soldiers and three civilians, including children, were killed, and 38

Helmsley Castle by Samuel Bough (1822–1878). He was born in Carlisle to a poor family, but one who encouraged his interest in art. He is best known as a painter of maritime scenes. The castle offers a comprehensive chronicle of construction spanning from the 12th to the 16th centuries.

Ice houses, popular from the 17th to late 19th centuries, were specialised, often subterranean, brick-lined structures used to store winter-harvested ice year-round. They were a luxury for the wealthy, allowing them to store food and cool drinks before modern refrigeration was invented. They were

It has been said that the Roman world was governed from wherever the emperor was located even if that was at its most north-western boundary, namely York. It feels like every mile of that to me these days, but I have been re-invited to the Castle Museum and I am determined to go tomorrow. 1/2

Whilst we are looking at Meaux Abbey, this is the nearby church of St Peter at Wawne. What is known of its early history comes mainly from the medieval chronicle of the Abbey. Before 1160, its founder William de Gros granted the monks land in Wawne and the church’s revenues in recognition of

Medieval floor tiles from Meaux (Melsa) Abbey dating back to between 1249-1269. The Cistercian abbey, near Beverley was one of the most important and wealthy in Yorkshire. Although no buildings remain above ground, foundations and earthworks indicating the substantial size of

The Crimple Valley Viaduct spans the valley between Pannal and Hornbeam Park stations in North Yorkshire. Built for the Harrogate–Church Fenton line of the York & North Midland Railway, it crosses Crimple Beck and the Leeds Northern Railway, which opened in 1849. That line 1/2

I was looking through some photographs that I have on I-Cloud. Queen's Mill where I was Centre and Programme Manager had a large collection of Deed Boxes. I don't for certain but I am wondering if this was once the property of colliery owners J&J Charlesworth who owned

The sun sculpture Helios, a touring artwork by UK artist Luke Jerram, will headline the programme at Wakefield Exchange (WX), which runs from 12 June to 6 September. I have seen both his Museum of the Moon and his earth sculpture so this will complete the set. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Bridlington Priory, was founded in 1113 by Walter de Gant, a Norman nobleman. It began as an Augustinian priory, one of the largest and wealthiest monastic houses in the north of England. It was dedicated to St Mary and quickly became a centre of religious learning and 1/2

A bit of fun on a miserable Monday. Tomorrow marks the death of Sweyn Forkbeard, son of Harald Bluetooth and Viking King of Denmark, Norway and England. They probably received their nicknames based on distinctive physical features or personal attributes. What would your ancient Nordic name be?

Detail of J. M. W. Turner's 1816 painting looking northwards from Beeston Hill towards the Holbeck area of Leeds. Field tenters, were vital for drying and stretching woollen cloth during the manufacturing 'finishing' process. They ensured compliance with size standards, pattern

🧵During the night of the 1/2 February 1829, a fire ripped through York Minster’s Quire. The blaze had been started deliberately by Jonathan Martin, a frequent visitor to the cathedral at the time, who had attended a service that afternoon and then hidden inside until 1/3

1930s - mid century labour exchanges in the UK were often designed in a Neo-Georgian or functional, stripped-down style, frequently using brick with stone dressings (such as Portland stone) to project a sense of civic authority and stability during periods of rising unemployment and economic

On tomorrow's date 2 February in 1830 the York Museum Gardens were officially opened. The Yorkshire Philosophical Society itself was formed in 1822. Six years later part of the grounds of St Mary's Abbey were given over to the society. The Yorkshire Museum was built

During the late 18th and the first decades of the 19th century, Sunday schools held at church or chapel became widely popular as a response to widespread child labour and illiteracy. Although Hannah Ball opened an early school in 1769, the movement is most closely associated 1/3

Little remains of the deserted medieval village of Cowlam but a few scattered farms and houses. Its medieval church, restored in the 19th century is though the home of a superb Norman tub font dating to c.1135. The richly carved font features unusually varied

I once saw Staithes (which was locally often pronounced Steers) wonderfully described as a "jumble of whitewashed, pantile-roofed cottages clinging to the hillside, threaded through with narrow ginnels leading to the pretty harbour." and with the the Cod & Lobster, practically

Introduced in 1815, the Corn Laws imposed tariffs on imported grain to protect British landowners by keeping food prices high. While they safeguarded rural interests, they were bitterly resented in industrial areas, where expensive bread weighed heavily on working-class 1/5

An interesting piece in this month's Wakefield District Heritage Newsletter. The government launched a major new initiative to record and protect the nation’s intangible cultural heritage, from traditional crafts and music to long-standing community customs. Led by Historic

🧵In the nave of St Helena’s Church, Austerfield, Bawtry, is a rare Sheela-na-gig, one of only 16 recorded in England. These striking, quasi-erotic stone carvings of female figures are sometimes found in Norman churches, though their meaning remains debated. At St Helena’s, 1/3

On this day 30 January and tomorrow the 31st 1606 York born Guido (Guy) Fawkes and the surviving conspirators from the Gunpowder Plot were executed (The executions took place just outside Westminster Hall, in Old Palace Yard (31st) and in St Paul's Churchyard (30th).

Yorkshire's Green lanes are ancient, unpaved rural routes, often former Roman roads, medieval packhorse routes, or drovers' roads that fell into disuse as modern roads were developed, yet remain as public highways (Byways Open to All Traffic or Unclassified County Roads). Notable