Rievaulx is one of the most atmospheric and beautiful places in Yorkshire. I’ve been wanting to mention its enchanting loveliness for some time.

If you can’t get there, here instead is one of my classic amateurish ‘made on my phone and edited a bit’ recordings from a similar event last Sunday at Rievaulx. It’s mainly music (by, I think, Peter Bull), with added sheep and rooks/crows.

(if the widget doesn’t show above, you can find it here)

Fountains Abbey is our most famous Yorkshire abbey and I assume, by the size of the car park and the coachloads of visitors, that it’s also the most visited. Rievaulx is I think less well-known. This place, quieter, in a beautiful setting, is so evocative and special I don’t quite have the words to do it justice.

The wider views of its most obvious remains are usually shown, but it’s in the more humble parts of the ruins that you get a real sense of the place, on a human scale, the daily lives lived here.

The explanatory signs are subtle and endearing, particularly this one. It’s late now, time for the ‘Night stairs to dormitory’.

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Or rather, to Hornsea Pottery, which was perhaps the only reason anyone went to Hornsea, unless they lived there.

The pottery was really famous in its day. We went there, but I can’t remember anything about it, and don’t remember it being as exciting as this. Perhaps we found the attraction part too crowded and ended up looking at crockery for hours. Anyway, the film is a delight, only short, a couple of ads, viewable via this page on the Yorkshire Film Archive website

The housewife of the 1950s has escaped from the kitchen, only to buy more things for it, as she’s browsing the shelves in the pottery shop. Accompanied by a lovely jolly song — which I now can’t get out of my head — so be warned, the same may happen to you. ‘We’re off to Hornsea Pottery, a wonderful place to go, Hip hip hooray, there’s nothing to pay, for lots and lots of treats you know.’

The 1960s couple look much happier than the 1950s couple in the Wallace Arnold film. This is of course because it’s the 1960s, which were groovy and swinging, with couples sharing long sandwiches in a slightly saucy way in public.

Then on to the 1970s (pictured above). The innocent singing replaced by a confident manly voiceover: ‘This is the place to visit’, and the slick Capri pulling up in the car park. We’re in colour now and in a Capri, but we haven’t yet escaped the traditional roles: ‘Pottery shops for mum to browse round, and a well-stocked garden centre for dad.’

Time to head back to York now, but I hope everyone enjoyed the excursion.

. . . . .

Image used with permission from the Yorkshire Film Archive.

More info, elsewhere on the web

Information on these ads and the history of Hornsea Pottery (sadly no longer in business) on the YFA page for the film linked to above (under Context) and in this PDF.
Hornsea Museum’s pages on Hornsea Pottery

It is now the site of Hornsea Freeport shopping village

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Vintage is much in vogue, but back in the fifties it wasn’t all pretty dresses, handsome curvy cars, and jiving. It was domestic hell from which we ladies had to escape. On a Wallace Arnold bus trip, as depicted in this film, another gem from the Yorkshire Film Archive.

The ironic commentary extols the joys of being a wife and mother while simultaneously depicting various domestic disasters: broken crockery, baby covered in food, TV breaking down. An interesting, amusing, and in its own way quietly subversive depiction of 1950s ‘domestic bliss’.

After you’d folded up all your clean white laundry, which you’d probably just spent the entire week laundering laboriously in the twin tub, hubby would come in with oily hands, drop a bit of car engine on the kitchen table, and rudely shove your laundry out of the way with his big oily mitts.

Only one thing to do ladies – jump on a Wallace Arnold bus to Scarborough. Via York.

We end up in York at around 5 minutes into the film. We drive up Museum St, towards scaffolding on the Minster (west end, rather than east, back then) and presumably travel via Deangate, as you could then, and then we’re approaching Monk Bar, and then we’re at the Hop Grove, where our beautiful curvy bus pulls up in an almost empty car park.

There’s a reference to not having to suffer ‘personal discomfort’, and stops at ‘convenient times and places’, and a shot of a man putting a coin into the palm of a lady. Which I think is indicating, in 1950s style, that they include stops for the toilets.

I’ll have to leave you there to continue the journey should you wish, via the Yorkshire Film Archive. The bus travels through Thornton le Dale and on to Scarborough: “Wallace Arnold takes you right in to Scarborough, to their own bus station”.

Maybe someone else can tell me what happens. I can’t go to Scarborough as I’ve got too many pages to shepherd into some kind of shape. Thankfully I don’t have put a load of oiled laundry in a twin tub washing machine.

. . . . .

Image used with permission from the Yorkshire Film Archive

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I’ve never noticed sheep having a facial expression. Certainly I’ve never noticed one looking happy, apart from that thing lambs do in spring. This is no lamb, but a fully-grown sheep. A laughing one.

Happy springtime everyone :)

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– E E Cummings

Strensall Common is a place I’ve discovered only in recent years. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to make an effort to visit it when I was younger. Possibly because anything called a ‘Common’ sounds a little uninviting and drab. Possibly because I thought it was only there for use by the nearby barracks. Parts of it still are, as these signs indicate. Don’t be put off — it’s nice in here. Let’s have a walk.

As the information signs explain, the fact that it has been used by the military since the late 19th century has preserved it, protected it from development.

This is a small remnant of the Forest of Galtres. If thought of with that title it’s a lot more alluring, isn’t it. Magical even. And in case you were wondering, that’s pronounced ‘Gawl-trees’, apparently.

We weren’t intending to end up here. We went to Skelton garden centre and then had a vague notion of going for a walk in some woods. Normally we plan a route, but hadn’t, and ended up driving around to the north of York, being diverted unexpectedly by a closed road, then sitting in the car for any longer seemed silly on such a beautiful afternoon, so we decided to head back towards town and have a short wander through Strensall Common. It just seemed necessary to be outside and near some trees and open space.

This small area includes a surprisingly varied landscape, perhaps more obvious if you’re taking photos. Pleasing repeated patterns and textures, patches of a particular type of plantlife nestled in next to massive old trees or clusters of slim-trunked birch.

Hidden within all this are creatures great and small. The small includes, according to the information boards, the dark-bordered beauty moth. Also mentioned are minotaurs and tigers … the minotaur beetle and the tiger beetle also live in these parts, scurrying about. In summer you might see a rare golden-ringed dragonfly.

A bit too early for that I think. It’s all just waking up after winter. It’s probably quite handsome here in winter too, with all these handsome-trunked trees.

The larger creatures emerged quietly as we wandered. Spot the fleecy beast across the tussocky vegetation.

Guaranteed to calm the mind and bring peace and tranquility and perspective, standing quietly in a wooded area while sheep or cattle feed on the natural vegetation. Very soothing the sound of these animals nibbling away at the grass under the trees, chewing a bit, moving on, chewing a bit. All placid and focussed only on what was right in front of their noses.

A little further along we met a sheep which deserves a page of its own …

Elsewhere on the web

Strensall Common Nature Reserve – Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. Includes location map.

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Early March 2010, a walk from Coneysthorpe, Castle Howard area. Predominantly brown. This year it still looks predominantly brown in late March. Here’s hoping for green soon.

Here’s some. A walk from Millington to Great Givendale, early March 2007. Beautiful contoured land, beautiful green …

It all wakes up properly in April. A planting of spring bulbs, at the top of Castle Howard Station Road, 17 April 2011

The church at Crayke, April 2011

Handsome 18th century church at Brandsby, April 2011

And a path through the zingy yellow –

Somewhere up near Garrowby Hill, May 2010

And dreaming of this kind of thing: perfect green and a path through the trees. Sledmere, May 2006

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