Mosaic Monday #68: 15 Miles on a Skipton Canal

A market town is a settlement that obtained the right

in the Middle Ages to host markets, which distinguished

it from a village or city.

As many times as I have traveled in Northeast England, I am still pleasantly surprised we can locate new places to explore.  This post is about one of those spots, and continues the documentation of our visit to the UK in October 2019 (see previous posts here, here, and here).  On a glorious autumn day, our destination was Skipton, a market town in North Yorkshire that is only 90 minutes from my in-laws' house.  Despite its proximity, this was a first visit even for Spousal Unit!  

We began with Skipton Castle, built in 1090 as a wooden motte-and-bailey, and strengthened with a stone keep in the 12th century to repel attacks from the Kingdom of Scotland.  The Castle elevated Skipton from a poor dependent village, and its protection attracted families to the area.  The Castle is now one of the most complete and best preserved medieval castles in England.

We were greeted by a friendly and knowledgeable docent just under the entry to the castle.  He explained the self-guided tour, and sent us on our way.  Immediately, we were struck by the sweep of the grounds leading to the central castle, and the towering beech trees clothed in fall colors.

Shortly, we entered a Tudor courtyard, the Conduit Court, which contains a yew tree, reputedly planted by Lady Anne Clifford in 1659.  Yes, that means it is 361 years old!  I have to say this is the first castle I have seen (and I have visited many) that has a tree growing in the middle of it!

The castle contains no furniture, and on this autumn day, it was easy to imagine how drafty and cold it must have been back in the day.  No surprise, then, that each room had its own fireplace, including this oversized beast in the banquet hall.

Most castles stand on hilltops or perch on rocky outcroppings, chosen for their defensive properties.  In the modern day, this translates into fine views in all directions, particularly since no skyscrapers rise into the sky to block the vistas.

In 1645, the Castle was "slighted" when it was taken by Parliament.  Slighting is the deliberate damage of a building; in this case, the walls were shortened, disabling the height advantage and the means for the Castle to fire cannon.  Lady Anne soon gained permission from Oliver Cromwell to rebuild - on condition that the walls were weaker and the roof unable to bear the weight of the cannon.  In the picture at left, her new wall can be seen on top of the "slighted" original.  She is said to have given Skipton special care because it was her birthplace.

Under the protective gaze of the Castle, Skipton became a prosperous market town, trading sheep and woolen goods; its name derives from the old English sceap (sheep) and tun (town).

Having thoroughly explored the Castle and grounds, our rumbling tummies sent us in search of a tea shop.  We soon located The Three Sheep - its bustling atmosphere suggested good food could be found within.  How right we were!

Fortified once again, we set off to explore the town.  During one of the periods when we lived in the UK, our house was near a canal system, and I fell in love with the walkways that always parallel the waterways.  So it was deeply appealing to me when I learned that Skipton has an extensive set of canals.  We encountered this map and used it to guide our wandering feet for the next few hours.

As we returned to the town center, we found a canal boat waiting to get through a bridge.  Check out this video - after some initial difficulty, the bridge was opened.  You may be surprised how it works!

No visit to a UK town is complete without stopping in at least one ancient church.  This day, our outing led us to Holy Trinity, a church that has stood at the top of the High Street for more than 6 centuries.

The magnificent oak choir screen dates from about 1533 and may have originated from Bolton Priory.

Upper left: Altar with Great East Window - depicts the crucifixion of Jesus

Lower left: the Clifford Tombs - this structure, along with a vault below the altar, contains the remains of

12 members of the Clifford family

Upon leaving the church, we briefly re-connected with the canal to gain entry to Skipton Castle Woods.

We had taken the above picture of the map in the car park when we first arrived, and it was a handy reference as we sauntered through the Woods back to our vehicle.

This wonderful, rare, ancient woodland has been a feature of the landscape for at least 1000 years.  It was once part of Old Park, a great medieval hunting forest.

Rich hunting, fishing, timber and an easy to defend location made this an ideal place for Norman baron Robert De Romille to build his castle 900 years ago.

Fast forward to the 1700s and the wood helped power Skipton's industrial revolution, supplying building stone, timber and water to the mills nearby, all aided by the newly built canal network.

Eller Beck

In the 19th century, Skipton emerged as a small mill town connected to the major cities by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.  One of the oldest mills in North Yorkshire, High Corn Mill, is powered by the waters of Eller Beck, and dates to 1310 when it was owned by Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford.

The town's economy shifted to tourism in the 20th century, aided by its historic architecture and proximity to the Yorkshire Dales.  After our day-long tour, we can certainly appreciate the attraction and charms of Skipton.  

In fact, as we lingered over coffee and dessert in a nearby village, we made a declaration that we would return for a longer stay on our next trip to the UK.  Watch this space!

Mosaic Monday

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