The Lowna Quakers Cemetery

cycling small

It never surprises me that the non-conformist religious views espoused by George Fox caught the imagination of Yorkshire's country people living in splendid isolation on the North York Moors after the English Civil War.

Fox's faith came from from his realisation that God was not above the sky but inside the inner man as a living spiritual presence in the soul.

From this belief, Fox's followers built a new religeous movement that he called the Society of Friends.

We know the movement today as the Quakers.

I think it was probably the solitude, peacefulness, quiet, and supreme beauty of the Moors that led so many Moorland Folk to adopt simple Quaker ways.

Aine Howe Snow 2

I think the very Landscape of the North York Moors - Rugged and peaceful - has led People towards Non-conformism in Religious Matters.

And evidence of the Quakers can still to be seen across the North York Moors even today.

If you head off from Rosedale Abbey to Gillamoor, you can discover for yourself an old Quaker Burial Ground at Lowna - tucked away in a quiet place in the middle of the Moors.

It's only a short drive and can also be easily cycled on a nice day.

The burial ground is there because the Quakers were severly persecuted for their non-conformist views.

One punishment was that Quakers were not permitted to bury their dead in consecrated ground surrounding the established Church's.

So Quakers had to use private land for funerals.

Lowna was one such place that was used as a cemetery for Quakers between 1675 and 1837.

There were others at Pry Hills in Rosedale and a graveyard at the top of Castleton High Street still survives.

And around 114 members of the Society of Friends made Lowna thier final resting place.

The Quaker cemetry at Lowna is in a peaceful setting close to Hutton-le-Hole.

There is even a lovely bench where you can sit and soak up the peace and quiet of the Moors.

And it is still easy to imagine the local Quakers intering their Friends in the Earth surrounded by the meditative silence offered by the high Moors.

Please enjoy and respect this spiritual place if you get to pay a visit.

Getting to Lowna Cemetery

From Rosella Cottage here in the centre of Rosedale Abbey, take the famous Chimney Bank road which sets off uphill from the South side of the village green

At Bank Top, continue downhill across Spaunton Moor on the narrow tarmac road (great views towards the South).

At the T-junction with Moor Lane, turn right.

You'll soon arrive at another T-junction at the village of Hutton-le-Hole.

You can visit the village if you like, but turn right again and head off uphill towards Castleton and Farndale.

Cross over the cattle-grid at the edge of the village and take the first turn on the left which is Lowna Road.

Lowna Road undulates across the moorland a little before dropping down into lower Farndale to cross the River Dove at a stone bridge.

Head uphill again for a short-way and take the first turn on the right.  

You'll soon arrive at the Quaker Cemetery as you enter the first wood.

Insider's Tip

Surprise View from Gillamoor - Tracey Phillips 2

The Surprise View as seen from Gillamoor.

Continue on Lowna Road from Hutton-le-Hole to the pretty village of Gillamoor.

Just before entering Gillamoor, make sure to turn round and take in the famous "surprise view".

Like the Quaker cemetary at Lowna in the valley below, it really is something special!

cycling small