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Kevin Cale from Community Archaeology - next visits - Wed 9th and Wed 30th November. Meet Hinderwell Village Hall 10am. Weather permitting we will be continuing our field surveys in Mickleby.

 

Field Survey, Bog House Farm, Mickleby

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and the results of our survey this month are very much improved.  It does sometimes depend on actual field conditions, and as they seem to be favourable in this location, we will probably extend our survey area next month (weather permitting).  If you would like to join us please email admin@jetcoast.co.uk or Tel 01947 844100

Flagstones were uncovered in this field during field drainage excavations, and on old maps, this section of the A174 is known as High Street.  A pre C14th spindle whorl was also found close by.

The survey data map could reveal the presence of a range of buildings.

Group Members have recently undertaken surveys in a field between Ellerby and Runswick and at High Farm Hinderwell.

The 2006 Google image showed an interesting anomaly which gave us another opportunity to practice our field surveying skills, using the resistance meter.
This is an active geophysical technique which detects features in terms of resistance to the passage of an electric current. Most dry soils and rocks are insulators but, when moist, electric currents can flow through the movement of dissolved ions.  Hence electrical resistivity surveying actually maps archaeology in terms of an associated variation in ground moisture.
To record the resistivity, a weak alternating current is injected into the ground through a pair of metal electrodes and the surface voltages are detected between a second pair.  The presence of anomalous resistivity modifies the current flow (dotted lines) and the pattern of potential (solid lines). The instrument thus senses a maximum (or minimum) resistance which is centred over the feature.

Through good instrument designs, resistivity surveying is a rapid technique, although the need for soil contact and cables makes this a slower method than undertaking magnetometery surveys.
However, one benefit is that the user can control the sensing depth by changing the electrode spacing on the moving frame.

Measurements are taken at regular intervals on a grid.  Both parallel and zig-zag traverse schemes can be used.  Only about 0.5ha (1.2 acres) can be surveyed per day by one team, and the technique is physically demanding (as we all discovered!).

Measurements are collected by a data logger on the machine, downloaded onto a computer and processed to create a map of the readings. 
We are new to mastering the art of field surveying, and the map results were not too clear.  We will need to return to carry out a second survey next year.

  

Next visit from Kevin Cale Community Archaeology - Wed 5th October 10am - 4pm. Meet Hinderwell Village Hall.

Mills in Hinderwell Parish

Two group members recently attended a two day WEA Special Day School on Mills and their Development.  The course covered topics such as the nature of grain and how man overcame the problem of extracting its nutritional components, the start of arable farming, the development of querns, harnessing water power and development of water mills, overcoming the problems associated with windmills, the role of the millwright, and the impact of the roller mill.  The second day was spent visiting Bilsdale Mill where a complete restoration is planned, and the working Tocketts Mill at Guisborough.

Royal George Mill, Hinderwell
Built by Isacc Moon in 1820, also miller at Dalehouse Water Mill.
Seven storeys high, powered by four sails, later by steam engine in 1870.
Machinery dismantled in 1915, stone removed from site in 1960's.

 

Dalehouse Water Mill
Two millstones were powered by water carried across a wooden aqueduct (race)
from Newton and Roxby becks.  Used as a flour mill and for grinding meal.
Ceased working in 1927.

Horse drinking from Dalehouse Mill race.

Foreshore Walk, Staithes

As part of this term's project on Oceans, Seton School pupils, accompanied by John Buglass, Kevin Cale and group members, enjoyed an informative walk along the foreshore at Staithes in search of relics relating to the fishing and ironstone industries, and as well as looking at marine life, fossils and the geology of the cliffs.

Fossils from millions of years ago

Man-made feature - a Hully - used for storing live bait for the next day's fishing

Pupils stand in the post holes of the old Staithes Dock, to show it's length and direction

Exploring an old ironstone mining location







Heritage Walk, Roxby - 5th July 2011

This was the fourth heritage walk round villages in the Mulgrave Ward.  Previously the group has visited Mickleby, Hinderwell and Dalehouse.  It is proving to be a very popular and well attended activity, which also encourages different people to get involved.

Outside St.Nicholas' Church

All that remains of Roxby Manor

Turton Cottages - workshops and cottages built especially for the estate's blacksmith, carpenter and stonemason

Nineteen people attended in Roxby, which included Clive Welford who has lived in the village all his life.  He passed on his extensive historical knowledge and anecdotal stories about the village.

Publications Now Available

Whitby Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway 2012 Calendar £5.99
Anglo Saxon & Scandinavian Mulgrave                                        £4.95
Hidden Heritage Trail, Hinderwell Parish                                        50p
A Walk round Staithes                                                                      50p

email admin@jetcoast.co.uk  for your copy

All Profits to be spent on print re-runs or new publications

Railway Lecture

East Row Viaduct, Sandsend

On Friday 20th May, Dr. Michael Williams gave a lecture in Hinderwell Village Hall, on the Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway.
Over 90 people attended, with some people travelling from as far away as Leeds, which shows the amount of interest that still exists in this historic line, which passed through the MulgraveWard between Staithes and Sandsend.
Dr Williams has gathered together new information for his dissertation in Railway Studies, and also showed a short video clip of a journey on a steam train between Sandsend and Loftus.  Only one member of the audience had seen this previously.
The MCRP group will publish Dr Willaims' work before the end of 2011.

Hinderwell Station



Viaduct at the bottom of Lythe Bank
ALL THESE PHOTOS AVAILABLE ON OUR 2012 CALENDAR



Village Heritage Walks

In April members organised a visit to Mickleby to have a walk round the village and take a closer look at the architecture of old buildings and other points of historical interest.  A similar event was organised in Hinderwell in May.
There were fifteen people at each event.  This type of activity is attracting interest from different people who can pass on their local knowledge to residents from other villages.


Our next Heritage Walk will be in Dalehouse on Tuesday 7th June - meet 6pm near the Bridge.
Please come along - it's good fun!

If you would like to join in our activities, please contact us through our website www.mcrp.org.uk

Various surveys have been undertaken - most recently to record WW2 sea defences and anything that still remains along the Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway that closed in 1958.

Pillbox on Runswick Beach

Pillbox on top of the cliffs above Sailing Club

Entrance to Kettleness Tunnel

Underpass near Kettleness Tunnel

One of the bridges between Runswick & Kettleness - still in excellent condition

Groups members have been working with Kevin Cale from Community Archaeology on mini projects with Lythe, Hinderwell and Staithes primary schools. This has included a heritage walk around Hinderwell and Port Mulgrave and various classroom activities.

Classroom "Dig"

Kevin and schoolchildren on Hinderwell Beacon

St. Hilda's Churchyard, Hinderwell

Group members have had the opportunity to learn lots of new things - how to undertake interviews for oral history, where to research local history on the internet and in local museums and records offices. Web design, family history and social media I.T. courses have also been very well attended.

We've been fieldwalking, and found some very interesting bits of pottery, some dating back to the 1600's.

We also found some very interesting shells in the field near Cliff Farm Staithes.
This could be a prehistoric shell middin.  One of the shells is not
native to this part of the world, so further investigation may be required.

The supposed site of Seton church was marked on a mid 19thC map, along with the claim that three stone coffins and human remains were also found there. Folklore suggests that one of the coffins is still being used as a field trough. Group members cleared the undergrowth surrounding the trough, but there were no markings on it to show that it was Anglo Saxon. A second trough discovered quite close, was considered to be too small to be a coffin.

Metal detecting on the Seton Church field only revealed finds relating to agriculture and the old railway. We also survey a field in Newton Mulgrave - lovely day out, stunning views but didn't find any gold coins or treasure!

Couple of finds from Seton Church field

We've had a go at augering to take soil samples to a depth of 1m to see if there was any evidence of a building in the Seton Church field, and also a possible Roman Road. The results were inconclusive.

Then we tried other field survey techniques - using a magnetometer and resistance meter. We also showed pupils from Seton and Lythe primary schools how to use the equipment.

Our project is managed by Jet Coast Development Trust and funded by LEADER and Your Heritage Lottery, and aims to encourage people to be more aware of our local history and heritage. Residents and community groups from all the seven parishes in the Mulgrave Ward can get involved. So, what do we get up to? Firstly, we learnt dowsing, to try and locate the site of Seton Church, supposedly in a field between Hinderwell and Staithes. If you are interested in being involved, please contact us through our website - www.mcrp.org.uk