Busy Day

I had planned a tight schedule for a flying visit to Yorkshire and it mostly worked out.

I arrived into Leeds just after nine and rushed up to Parkinson Court to drop off postcards and a fake geocache for the book fair. It was a very windy day and I was blown to my next appointment at the county archives in Sheepscar. The staff here were very helpful and had got all the documents out that I had requested.

I had several documents to look at. As so often happens I lost myself in a tithe map! These are usually beautiful and informative items and the 1881 version for Buckden (BD113) was also large in scale taking up about 4 tables. Much was the same then as on current OS maps particularly the field shapes and using the apportionment book it was good to see some of the names that were associated with Upper Wharfedale 130 years ago... Hammond, Bastow, Macauley, Ramsden, Beresford, Lodge and Falshaw. I wonder if any of their relatives are still in occupation today.

There were new terms too: 'stinted pasture', 'sheep gaits' and 'turbary ground'. Much of the map was 'blank' with open hill as you may expect but there were also exquisite details such as individual gates and trees.

Of the 13,224 acres of recorded land in 1881 just under two-thirds was cultivated land and the major landowners were Hon. Isabella Ramsden with about 1,000 acres and John and Robert Charnley with just over 900 acres. Further out Beckermonds was named 'Beggarmans' and none of the present day forest around the hamlet was in existence.

A particularly interesting document was the 1879 sale particulars for the estate of Buckden (WYL500/710). Accompanied by beautiful, hand-coloured plans the document provided a wonderful picture of the various aspects (and assets) of the estate. Of particular interest was the section on the deer park and plantations with its exotic specimens. I also noticed that what is today the National Trust office in Buckden was once the Cock Inn... unless I wasn't reading the map right.

Next I struggled back into the wind for a very quick visit to the Yorkshire Archaeological Society to look at a couple of documents in their care. Again the helpful staff had the documents waiting for me. One was a lovely simple little survey plan of Yockenthwaite stone circle from 1928 the other was a rather ragged bundle of field notes and skecthes for a survey of Thomas Foster's land around Buckden carried out by John Greenwood in May 1848.

Back out into the blustery weather and a dash to Leeds station to get to Wakefield. Unfortunately the trains were disrupted so I took the opportunity to grab some lunch and wait for the line to clear. After much toing and froing I eventually got a train to Kirkgate leaving me with a 15 minute walk across town in which I was nearly blown into the road by a gust but managed to grab a lamppost in time!

Again, more helpful staff had prepared my documents at the county archives here. I spent a couple of hours looking at documents relating to Wharfedale's industrial past as well as a quick look at a bundle of papers relating to a 17th century criminal act which was written in impenetrable hand.

Then it was a quick walk down to Westgate station for my train back south. A useful day that will provide lots of material to my artists book and may also inform the hiding place for a couple of the caches.