Cross Keys – Barnaby Side – Upsall Wood – Upsall Intake – Normanby Intake – Eston Moor – Oxen Hill – Lighthouse Fields – Moorgate Bog – Osborne Rush










Eston
Astun(e) 1086
Eston(a) 1160-72
v. east, tun. Eston is in the east of the parish
The storms have blown through, apart from a large Barn Owl patrolling the field margins, the industrial estate is deserted
Kirkleatham 16 C 2
Westlidum – lid(e), Weslide, Westlidum, Westude 1068 DB
Livum 1221 Guis
Lisum 1268 Ebor
Kyrkelidun 1181 P Kirkledom 1491 Sanct
The Place-Names of the North Riding of Yorkshire by A.H. Smith 1928
The background to this post is a proposal by Craig Hornby to build a new monument on Eston Nab. Craig had posted his plan on the Friends of the Eston Hills (FOEH) Facebook page and invited comments. I recently posted a link to a blog on the page which prompted Craig to directly address me on the FOEH facebook page. My response to him is rather long-winded so I thought a blog post would be an appropriate reply.
Craig’s proposal can be see here
Hi Craig,
the linked blog isn’t mine, it belongs to Mick Garratt. I posted it as I thought it would be of interest to the group.
Regarding your comments
As the proposed developer I’m sure you have read the schedule for this area and understand the level of protection that has been placed on this National Monument, but for those who haven’t, here’s an excerpt
Eston Nab is the only surviving hillfort of any date in the county of Cleveland; it is very well preserved and, although it has been subject to partial excavation, the extent of disturbance is limited and its archaeological deposits remain largely intact. Evidence relating to its construction and to the complex history of the entire hilltop as well as the nature and duration of its use will be preserved within the archaeological deposits. Evidence relating to the Bronze Age environment around the monument and of the wider landscape will also survive. The importance of this monument is enhanced by the survival of contemporary settlements and funerary monuments in the vicinity; such evidence provides a clear indication of the extent of Bronze Age settlement and activity in the area and has the potential to increase greatly our knowledge of Bronze Age society.
NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 20870
NAME: Eston Nab hill fort, palisaded settlement and beacon
SCHEDULING REVISED ON 16th February 1993
You are proposing the construction of a structure with a footprint , I’m guessing here because it is not fully detailed on your plans, of approximately 4 x 11m. The structure, railings and footpaths will all require foundations, that is an area of destruction covering approximately 44+ square meters on a regionally important, archaeologically sensitive, National Monument. That to me is a far worse case of vandalism than anything that currently happens on the moor. Litter & burned-out cars can be removed, the moor regenerates after a fire but the deliberate and irreversible destruction of our archaeological heritage is unforgivable.
Previous excavation has shown that the land below your proposed development was occupied by people in the Bronze Age, the first Teessiders. They lived, farmed and buried their dead on this land. These were our ancestors and the moor not only carries archaeological value, it carries spiritual value, your plan you will be deliberately desecrating this ground for what? Their monument is the moor.
You’ve stated that a ‘new dig’ will be undertaken, will this dig cover the whole site? who has agreed to undertake it?
Any excavation may well reveal new findings but the process of excavation involves the destruction of the materials you are excavating, what will be left for future generations? some old dig reports and a box of finds? Over Five thousand years of intact archaeological deposits will be lost for the sake of a monument that commemorates a period of a hundred years. You talk about legacy, if your development were to go ahead, I believe it will be viewed by future generations as an act of vanity at best, ignorant and wilful vandalism at worse.
So what else can be done?
Ultimately Craig, this is all talk, the decision whether this development should go ahead does not lie with you, me or FOEH, it lies with the people who are charged with protecting our finite, irreplaceable, fragile national monuments.