Rosedale, North Yorkshire

Rosedale is a valley located almost in the centre of the North York Moors national park in North Yorkshire, England. The nearest town is Kirkbymoorside, some 7 miles (11 km) to the south. Rosedale is surrounded by moorland. To the north-west sits Blakey Ridge at over 1,300 feet (400 m) above sea level. At Dale Head is the source of the River Seven,which flows down the valley to join the River Rye at Little Habton near Malton. At its southern end Rosedale is squeezed between Spaunton Moor and Hartoft Rigg, where the river flows out through Forestry Commission woodland before passing the village of Cropton to reach the plains of the Vale of Pickering.

View towards Rosedale Abbey

Ruins of calcining kilns near Rosedale East Ironstone Mine

Few inhabitants of Rosedale work in farming. The majority of houses are bought as second homes and as such the permanent local population has been significantly reduced. In the late 19th century the valley quickly became a major centre for iron-ore extraction, which gave rise to the modern village of Rosedale Abbey, built around the site of a former Cistercian Priory^[1] and now the only settlement in the valley. Mining took place from 1857^[2] to 1928.^[3] The ore was pre-processed by calcination, for which special kilns were built.^[2] The mines were served by the freight-only Rosedale Railway from Battersby, which closed in 1929 after the last of the calcine dust extracted from the kiln waste had been sold.^[3]

Rosedale Chimney Bank, one of the steepest roads in the United Kingdom,^[4] provides a popular entrance point into the valley. A row of disused kilns and a former Royal Observer Corps Underground Monitoring Post^[5] are both situated yards from its summit. In the adjacent Farndale Valley wild daffodils bloom around Easter time.^[6] In mid-August Rosedale Show is held at Rosedale Abbey and attracts some 5,000 people from all parts of Britain. The show dates back to 1871 and is one of the oldest in North Yorkshire.^[7]^[8]

The Frank Elgee memorial was erected in 1953 at Blakey Ridge on The North York Moors, overlooking Loose Howe at Rosedale Head.^[9]

References[]

^ "Rosedale History". Rosedale Abbey. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Abandoned Communities. Rosedale. One". Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Abandoned Communities. Rosedale. Five". Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^ "Taking on the chimney climb". Darlington and Stockton Times. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
^ "Rosedale ROC Post". Subterranea Britannica. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
^ "Weekend Walk: Farndale Daffodils Walk". The Yorkshire Post. 16 April 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
^ "Our Rosedale Abbey". rosedalaeabbey.com. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
^ Blackburne, Linda (15 August 2008). "Village searches its history for the 'women of steel'". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
^ "Frank Elgee Memorial, Blakey Ridge". Hidden Teesside. Retrieved 13 April 2014.