Vale of Pickering - History and Settlement

History and Settlement

The earliest known evidence of human presence in the area dates back to the Mesolithic period, around 7000 BC. The most important remaining settlement of this period is that at Star Carr near Scarborough, where, due to waterlogged conditions, a considerable quantity of organic remains as well as flint tools, have survived. This is Britain’s best-known Mesolithic site. The site, on the eastern shores of glacial Lake Pickering, was surrounded by birch trees, some of which had been cleared and used to construct a rough platform of branches and brushwood. Lumps of turf and stones had been thrown on top of this construction to make a village site. The site was probably visited from time to time by about four or five families who were engaged in hunting, fishing and gathering wild plants as well as manufacturing tools and weapons and working skins for clothes. On the southern edge of the vale lies West Heslerton, where recent excavation has revealed continuous habitation since the Late Mesolithic Age, about 5000 BC. This site has revealed a great deal of dwelling and occupation evidence from the Neolithic period to the present day.

The development of farming during the succeeding Neolithic period is evident in the distribution of earth long barrows throughout the area. Bronze and Iron Age remains have been found on the fringe of the vale. There are sections of Roman roads and Roman villas, which indicate economic activity in the vale at the time. The vale is rich in the remains of the English medieval period, between the 11th and 15th centuries. There are castles, such as those at Helmsley and Pickering, as well as fortified manor houses and churches of the period. There is also a notable example of medieval strip fields at Middleton. In the 17th and 18th centuries wealthy landowners created fine buildings and estates such as those at Wykeham Abbey estate, Nunnington Hall and Ebberston Hall.

The settlement pattern of the Vale of Pickering is striking. There are two types of settlement, both relating to the topography. The first group is the villages and towns on the northern and southern fringes of the area. These settlements were established in close proximity to each other on the approximate shoreline of the glacial lake. They were built along the spring line, where the underlying aquifers met less porous rocks. Many of the parishes associated with the settlements are linear running from the vale bottom upwards to the higher ground, meaning that the long narrow parishes each had an amount of different types of soil and elevation. The second type of settlement is on the valley floor. These are small more widely spaced villages in areas of rising ground. These villages result from the relatively late enclosure of the carr lands following their drainage at the beginning of the 19th century. Long narrow lanes and tracks with wide grass verges link these settlements and solid well managed hedges.

Building materials vary from soft limestones and sandstones to harder gritstones. The steep slopes of the roofs suggests that the older buildings had thatch coverings but these have been mostly replaced by red pantiles.