Archaeological Sites Near Rosedale

The North York Moors National Park contains more than 20,000 important archaeological or historical sites representing the activities of people living on the Moors over the previous 12,000 years.

Amongst those sites, the North York Moors contains 839 Scheduled Ancient Monuments - representing Nationally-important archaeological locations.

Pickering Castle is a Fine Example of Norman Motte & Bailley.

In fact, almost one-third of all the Scheduled Monuments from the whole of Yorkshire and Humberside are found within the boundaries of the North York Moors NP.

Local highlights for history buffs - within 15-miles of Rosedale Abbey - include:

Wades Causway

Thought to be a Roman road; but possibly constructed up to 6,000 years ago.

A clear section of the ancient roadway can be seen over a mile in length across Wheeldale Moor.

It is thought to extend to the North and South for 25 miles or more.

Pickering Castle

First constructed by the Normans after the conquest of 1066AD.

It is a fine example of a Motte and Bailley Castle and substantial remains still exist for visitors to see today.

Located in our near-by market town of Pickering and just 10-miles from Rosella Cottage.

St Gregory's Minster, Kirkdale

The Saxon-era Minster of St Gregory in remote Kirkdale is worth a visit for its peaceful setting; and to see an ancient sundial.

The sundial is a thousand-or-more years old and can be viewed above the church door.

It is flanked by two panels containing an inscription in Anglo-Saxon that commemorates the rebuilding of the ruined church, about the year 1060.

It reads: "Orm son of Gamal bought Saint Gregory's Minster when it was all ruined and collapsed and he caused it to be made new from the ground for Christ and St. Gregory in the days of Edward the King and in the days of Tosti the Earl".

King Edward was "the Confessor"; and Tostig held the Earldom of Northumbria from 1055 to 1065 fixing the date of the church's reconstruction to that decade.

Closer to Rosedale Abbey

There are at least a dozen Scheduled Ancient Monuments on the Moors immediately surrounding Rosedale Abbey.

They include:

+  Loose Howe Round Barrow (about 100 yards off the road, and 300 yards short of the Millenium Stone on the road out of Rosedale towards Ralph's Cross);

+  Round Barrow between Thorgill High Farm and the Rosedale Mineral Railway;

+  Little Blakey Howe Round Barrow (Rosedale West Side);

+  Cockpit Howe (Blakey Howe) - right next to the Lion Inn on Blakey Ridge;

All the Scheduled Ancient Monuments Above Rosedale Can be Reached on Foot.

+  Bank Top Calcinating Kilns (on the right from the carpark at the top of Chimney Bank);

+  Hollins Mine (on the left from the carpark at the top of Chimney Bank);

+  Shunner Howe Round Barrow (near Hartoft);

+  Rosedale East Calcinating Kilns; and

+  White Cross known as "Fat Betty" between Rosedale and Danby High Moor.