Saturday, March 22, 2008

Bolton Castle

Leyburn Shawl is a wooded area near the pretty little Dales town of Leyburn in North Yorkshire. From time to time, I am asked by visitors if I know why Leyburn Shawl is so-called.
There is a wonderful legend that seeks to provide an explanation although detractors would probably stress that the word shawl comes from shaw meaning a wood. Alternatively, it might derive from a very ancient Norse word schalle or skali that mean huts or shelters. Indeed, on the land below the Shawl there are said to be some remains of pre-historic dwellings that used to be occupied by early dales folk.
Certainly, the vista from the Shawl is splendid even if much of it is viewed through trees. Penhill is very prominent on the horizon, with several small villages in a fine expanse of Wensleydale plus, if conditions are right, the mighty sound of Aysgarth Falls, particularly when the River Ure is heavy with flood water. Access to the Shawl is easy – you leave the top of Leyburn market place and go through Shawl Mews to the right of the Bolton Arms Hotel, and then follow your nose.
Not far away is Castle Bolton, not to be confused with Bolton Abbey, and it was this mighty stronghold that gave rise to the legend of Leyburn Shawl. It was home to the Scropes from 1284, a family that produced two earls, twenty barons, four High Treasurers and two Chief Justices.
There was also a Lord Chancellor and an archbishop, with many family members being honoured as Knights of the Garter. It is a formidable record. Although they clung tenaciously to their Catholic faith, they were trusted by Queen Elizabeth I at a time when she was persecuting so many members of that church. But it was she who imposed a difficult task upon the Scropes and their famous castle.
Elizabeth was worried that Mary Queen of Scots might make a bid for the English throne and so she ordered that Mary be held in safe custody, possibly for her own good. The Scrope family of Castle Bolton was entrusted at least temporarily with that task.
Mary arrived in the middle of July, 1568, coming from Carlisle via Appleby and crossing the Westmorland border near Kirkby Stephen. She crossed Mallerstang Moors to Hawes, and travelled down Wensleydale to Castle Bolton. She was accompanied by six personal attendants, twenty carriage horses, twenty-three saddle horses and forty men to look after the horses and deal with other matters during the journey. All had to be accommodated in and around the castle and many of the men were boarded in nearby farms and cottages.
Even though she was technically a prisoner, Mary was not placed in the awful dungeon but had her own suite of rooms within the castle along with some servants. She remained for about six months. It is said she inscribed her name Marie R on one of the windows, using a diamond ring, although that pane of glass was eventually broken in an accident.
During her stay, Mary was allowed out of the castle to go hunting and she was also an honoured guest at some of the mansions in the area. It is said she spent one night at Nappa Hall, with the bed she used being kept for many years afterwards.
But, according to the legend, Mary became quickly bored with this controlled existence and wanted her freedom. Her opportunity came one day when she managed to dodge her guards and climb out of a window at the castle from where she managed to flee into the surrounding countryside. There are stories that she was aided by friends, but she wanted to reach the nearest town – Leyburn.
Having hunted in the area and travelled around the castle, she knew her way around and fled along the high path through the woods leading to Leyburn. Not surprisingly, the alarm was quickly raised, with men, horses and dogs being mustered to mount a search. As she ran through the trees she could hear the baying of the hounds behind her but, so the story goes, in her desperate flight her shawl caught on some briars and was dragged from her body. With no time to halt and retrieve it, she ran on but the shawl confirmed her recent presence.
Mary, who would be only 26 at the time, was caught and returned to Castle Bolton where she remained until January, 1569. That incident, so the story tell us, is why that part of Wensleydale is known as Leyburn Shawl, while some say it is the place where Mary Queen of Scots finally lost her freedom.

Posted by Peter N. Walker @ 05:54 PM GMT [Link]

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

My son has unearthed a lovely story involving the historic Saxon church of St Andrew at Bolam in Northumberland. It stands just off the A696 between Ponteland and Otterburn and dates to around AD 1000. Much of this small but delightful church was re-constructed during Norman times and there are other parts from the 12th and 13th centuries.
Among its many interesting aspects is the array of St Andrew’s crosses that are reminiscent of the witch posts about which I recently wrote on this page. Perhaps this is not surprising as the church is dedicated to St Andrew, and they can be found on the chancel arch and on pillars within the church. Like X-marks or saltires on our North York Moors witch posts, they also have scrolls, albeit in stone.
One of the curious features of this ancient church is a fairly modern window in one wall. It looks out of place against such ancient surroundings but this is a memorial to an incident that occurred on May 1, 1942. A German Dornier 217 bomber dropped four 500kg bombs in the vicinity of the church but it survived that onslaught. However, one of the bombs smashed through the church wall and came to rest after sliding across the floor. Fortunately, that one failed to explode. The fact that the church was only slightly damaged was seen as an Act of God, but the hole in the wall was later transformed into that memorial window.
Few could understand why the Germans would want to bomb such an ancient church in a very remote locality. However, it transpired that the bomber had been on a mission to bomb the north-east but was returning in haste to Germany due to flight problems resulting from hot pursuit by British Spitfires, albeit with bombs still aboard. To avoid crashing, the pilot made a split-second decision to jettison the bombs in a remote area of moorland with no intention of hitting the church.
It was the author and war-time air expert from Guisborough, Bill Norman, who wrote to the editor of the Morpeth Herald in June, 2004 in an effort to find anyone with memories of that incident and thus sparked off a remarkable tale. The pilot of the bomber was a friend of Bill’s called Willi Schludecker, and as people came forward with their own memories of that event, so Willi decided to revisit the church, this time without his bombs!
Willie returned to the church in July 2004, writing in the church’s visitors’ book "Sorry I bombed your church" and since then he has made an annual pilgrimage to Bolam. In July last year, his entry reads, "Willi Schludeker, Germany. I am the pilot dropping my bombs 65 years ago. Target was railway nearby. My age will be 87 in May. With the help of my friend, Bill Norman, I was able to come back to this place. I am happy the church did not get destroyed and that it is in good shape today."
Willi’s annual pilgrimage from Germany to Bolam has sparked off other memories. One lady has written that her grandfather, Rev. A.W. Hutton, was the incumbent. He was there when the bombs dropped outside and blew all the windows out and her family still possess a table with shrapnel marks upon it. Mrs Hutton wrote to her son, Flying Officer J.A. Hutton of the RAF to give a graphic account of the bombing and her letter now features on the sill of that memorial window.
Since returning to Bolam, Willi has met people who recalled the incident, including an 86-year old lady who was 24 at the time, sleeping in her home only a hundred yards from the church when the bombs dropped. Clearly, Willi did his best to avoid the church and the survivors acknowledge that it was an unfortunate accident, and they have forgiven Willi.

Posted by Peter N. Walker @ 08:42 PM GMT [Link]

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