Rosedale's Industrial Heritage

In the period between 1856 - when iron-ore was discovered - and 1926, iron stone mining transformed the valley of Rosedale.

Rosedale changed from a sleepy rural hollow with a population of 558 in the 1850s to become an industrial centre with a population of 2,839 in the 1870s.

Rosedale's Calcination Kilns and Abandoned Rail Track.

And the valley became linked to industrial Teeside by a new railway; now long-since abandoned but still a mecca for walkers or cyclists now wanting to get-away fom it all amongst the beauty of the North York Moors National Park.

The walkers, cyclists and other visitors today can now make use of many of the old miners cottages which have been transformed in recent times into lovely Yorkshire holiday homes.

Rosella Cottage in the village of Rosedale Abbey is one such cottage.

The old cinder-track can be ridden or walked from Chimney Bank Top just above the village or Rosedale Abbey all the way around the vally to North Dale. 

It can even be used to cross Blakey Ridge and then be followed across the high moorland plateau above Farndale to Ingleby Incline.

As you travel the route, you'll come across some giant industrial structures that look like long-abandoned Roman ruins.

The Old Kilns are Huge and Look LIke Roman Ruins.

They are in fact industrial-age kilns which were constructed to allow the raw iron-stone to be "calcinated" prior to transporting the partially refined ore to Middlesbrough.

Calcination involved "cooking" or "roasting" the iron-stone in these giant kilns to remove impurities, slightly refine the ore, and reduce the amount of waste stone before transportation.

This process performed in Rosedale reduced the costs of transportation and made the mines more profitable.

The huge piles of calcine dust which was generated from 1860 onwards was discovered to have a commercial value, and it was, itself, "re-mined" and removed in the 1920s.

The iron-stone mines and the railway from Rosedale were all closed in 1926 and time and the passing seasons have gently softened the industrial scars back into the lovely landscape.

But the industrial-age archeology make interesting places to visit for holiday-makers even today.