In our June 2021 issue...

Picture

Loftus has received funding to help transform its High Street in an exciting regeneration project... Hearing this good news, we investigated and found plenty of interest going on in Loftus (pages 3–7).
   Also exciting is the news from RAF Fylingdales of a successful funding bid to build a public archive of plans, photos, documents recording 60 years of RAF space heritage. Rich Weeks’ new series on the world of space and objects traced by the early warning station begins this month (page 17).
   Ryedale Folk Museum at Hutton-le-Hole has launched weddings with a difference at their heritage buildings (page 21) and is calling for submissions to an open art exhibition exploring the impact of the pandemic on artists (page 23).
   At Kildale, the Hidden Valleys Community Project is on the hunt for the lost chapel of St Hilda, and no experience is needed if you’d like to join the team (page 29).
   David Wilson shares memories of the Danby and Castleton Church Players (page 35), while John Roberts reviews Chris Scott Wilson’s book The History of Saltburn (page 33).
   And finally, we have two excellent short stories . . . from Joe Watson and Sue Barlow. Thank you so much everyone for your contributions!
   Now, we have an exciting announcement to make... We’ve decided to publish a bumper Summer issue – July and August combined – which will be a special double- length magazine on the theme of Trees, in the shops for the summer and costing £3. We hope you like the idea. Already we have lots of interesting articles promised but we’d love more... So if you have a favourite woodland walk, a tree you stop to admire, a planting project, a story, a poem, a photo or painting you’d like to share, please send it to us before 20 June.
   Looking forward to hearing from you! 
Nicola & Pascal
Community magazine for the Esk Valley, North York Moors and Whitby coastal area
'A very well produced magazine teeming with local information.' – Nicholas Rhea, whose books inspired the TV series Heartbeat
'... a slice of life in the Esk Valley, Whitby and North York Moors National Park'
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Esk Valley, Whitby, North York Moors Events & Activities.
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Buying the Magazine at Local Shops

Printed copies of Esk Valley News magazine are available at Castleton Old Chapel Tea Rooms, Danby Health Shop, Danby Moors National Park Centre, Lealholm Shop, Lealholm Service Station & Post Office, Glaisdale Shop, Grosmont Co-op, Grosmont Bookshop, The Dispensary on Whitby's Skinner Street, Lythe Community Shop, Chapter One Loftus and Goathland PO.
​   If you can't get to a shop, you can order printed (or digital) copies via the Store on this website... or call us on 01947 897945 and we can send you a copy.

Local Covid-19 Support Groups

Stronger Together Whitby District
Stronger Together Danby, Ainthorpe & Fryup
Stronger Together Castleton
Glaisdale Community Group
Ley Hall Lealholm
Goathland Village News

Other Support for Vulnerable People:
Esk Moors Caring Ltd – 01287 669357
Debbie Swales, Revival North Yorkshire – 07970 955407  

June Skylights

The summer solstice in the northern hemisphere falls on June 21st this year, when the Sun reaches its greatest altitude in the sky on the ecliptic, the path it takes across the sky during a year. [Read more from Mark Dawson ]
PICK OF THE PAST

Shackleton Bridge, Danby

‘Shackleton Bridge, Danby’, John Freeman’s beautiful painting on the cover of the October 2020 issue, is from his book Meander Down the Esk – which continues to sell well!  The picture also appears in local historian Alastair Laurence’s new book Danby: Three Views of a History, now on sale and full of fascinating facts about the people of Danby Castle and surrounding farms, the ministers of Danby and the development of Ainthorpe. 

​Memories of a Wartime Signaller 

​The most impressive contribution to the recent D-Day 75th Anniversary celebrations were those of the surprisingly large number of survivors. Their personal memories gave reality and validity to the whole event. Few readers of Valley News may have realised that Glaisdale has its own survivor in the person of Mary Heron, who was a fully trained Signaller during the War. In Glaisdale she is chiefly known for her farming at Bank House and for the ‘Glaisdale Singers’, the choir she created and conducted for some thirty years.  Her wartime stories are serialised in the July–September 2019 issues of the magazine.

Land of Iron

A three-part series published in Esk Valley News magazine introduces readers to an exciting project in the Esk Valley and North York Moors National Park to preserve the Victorian ironstone landscape. From 1830 to 1930 the area was a thriving hub of mining industry. 'This Exploited Land of Iron' aims to record, conserve and improve the historic and natural beauty of remains that are slowly being reclaimed by nature.

Alice's Adventures in Whitby

Lewis Carroll’s famous book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was first published on 4 July 1865. Born Charles Lutwidge Dogson, Lewis Carroll visited Whitby in 1854 as a 22-year-old student of Christ Church College, Oxford. He stayed at number five East Terrace (now La Rosa Hotel) and lodged there on another six occasions, the last time being in 1871. On one of his visits he was seen sitting on a rock on the beach telling stories to young listeners. It is thought that ideas for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and his poem ‘The Walrus And The Carpenter’ (in the sequel book Through The Looking Glass) were inspired by his walks around the town and along Whitby beach. 

Exhibition Highlight 

John Freeman’s exhibition marking 50 years as a professional artist in Whitby (1969–2019) was held at the Pannett Art Gallery in Whitby in November and December 2019. John estimates that over 50 years he has created more images of this area (original and print form) than any other living artist, an estimated 20,000 in total. 

Whitby & District War Memorial Cottage Hospital 

As plans progress for the refurbishment and part-demolition of Whitby Hospital, Joyce Stangoe of the Whitby Civic Society reminds us that the first hospital on the site was built as a War Memorial following the First World War, funded by donations from the people of Whitby and surrounding villages. Can you help in a project to gather information on the hospital’s history and people lost through war?  ​

Lythe's Link to Beethoven

Two hundred years ago, in the Spring of 1818, a Broadwood grand piano arrived at the home of Beethoven in a village near Vienna. It was a gift from Broadwood & Sons of London.
   Today, the Broadwood company continues to make, tune and repair pianos at its rural craft workshops in Lythe near Whitby. The firm has held a Warrant for the supply and maintenance of pianos to the various Royal Households since the reign of George II, and can name among its illustrious customers the composers Haydn, Chopin, Brahms, Liszt, Elgar, Holst and Vaughan Williams.
​   Present-day directors of the company, which is an independent enterprise, include three members of the Laurence family, whose ancestors worked for many generations in a technical capacity in John Broadwood & Sons’ Soho factory. 
   We are fortunate to have such an illustrious company on our doorsteps offering skills honed over generations in piano tuning and manufacture.  
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