Skeeby Beck

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Gilling Beck in the bushes

Skeeby Beck, as it is known in its lowest reach, is a small river 28 miles long in Richmondshire in the North Riding of Yorkshire, and a tributary of the River Swale: the beck joins the Swale just below Richmond.

The Dalton Gill rises on Barningham Moor, the source reckoned at Silver Hill, west of Newsham at an elevation of 930 feet, becoming Dalton Beck below Dalton, and the Holme Beck somewhere around Ravensworth, then the Hartforth Beck. Approaching Gilling West, having swallowed the Smelt Mill Beck, the river is known as Gilling Beck, and settles into that name until it reaches Skeeby, where it takes the name of the latter village for its last two miles or so.

The source waters of the beck drain the moorland to the north of Richmond and south of the A66 road, flowing eastwards. Thereafter the resultant river flows in a south-south-easterly direction until it runs into the River Swale just above Brompton-on-Swale.

Artificial modification of the beck to enable draining of surrounding fields has straightened the channel in its lower courses, and the bricking up of at least one arch on Gilling Bridge is thought exacerbate flooding when the area is subjected to high rainfall.

An Anglo-Saxon sword, known as the Gilling Sword, was found in the river in 1976.

Course

Palaeogeographers have determined that the course the beck takes from its source down to the Swale was originally the main stem from the River Tees into the Swale before the Tees was diverted towards the end of the Ice Age. The route of the original river (known as either the Proto-Swale or Proto-Tees) was through a hill which now reaches to 442.9 feet (135.0 m), and on its southern flank, is drained by Holme Beck.[1]

The course of the beck between Gilling and the rivermouth at Brompton-on-Swale is the dividing line between Gilling West and Gilling East wapentakes.[2]

Skeeby Bridge, a grade II listed structure, carries the A6108 road over Skeeby Beck to the east of the village of Skeeby.[3] The bridge has four unevenly-spaced arches, with the northernmost being almost sunk completely into the ground.[4] In 1973, an Army armoured vehicle crashed through a parapet in the bridge, and entered the beck. The vehicle could not be driven out, neither could it be craned back onto the bridge, but the local landowner refused access to the army to retrieve it. The army had to go to the High Court to effect an order for the recovery of the Saladin, which was at risk because of water damage and the danger of its secretive equipment "falling into the wrong hands".[5] In 1976, a stone carved with an Anglian Cross and a hogback tombstone were discovered in the beck at Gilling, evidence of early Christianity in the area,being dated to the 9th century; all other sculptures found in the vicinity relate to a later Anglo-Scandinavian period.[6][7]

Flora and fauna

Historically, the beck has been noted for the presence of native white-clawed crayfish (austropotamobius pallipes).[8] Otters were noted on the beck in the 19th century, around the Skeeby Bridge area. The land was owned by the Earl of Zetland, who had the hunting rights for the animal.[9] Whilst fish have been observed in the beck, a concrete ford between Gilling West and Skeeby is a barrier to fish passage. A bridge exists at the same location, so the ford has been cited as able to be removed, thereby improving migratory fish patterns.[10]

Bridges

Hartforth Bridge over Hartforth Beck

Several structures over the watercourse are listed buildings. From north to south (all are grade II listed):

  • Dalton Mill[11]
  • Footbridge over Holme Beck[12]
  • Holme Bridge[13]
  • Whashton Bridge[14]
  • Hartforth Bridge.[15] This is the course of an old packhorse route.[16]
  • Gilling Bridge.[17] This has three arches, but shows evidence of at least one more arch on the right bank, which seems to have been filled in. It has been suggested that the lack of egress for water during high rainfall periods, causes flooding in Gilling West itself.[18] The bridge extends for 28 yards.[19]
  • Skeeby Bridge, carries the A6108 road
  • Brompton Bridge, carries the B6271 road;[20] a bridge has been recorded here since the 12th century.[21]

Outside links

References

  1. ↑ Evans, Dinnage & Roberts 2018, p. 99.
  2. ↑ Whitaker, Thomas Dunham (1823). An history of Richmondshire, in the North riding of the county of York : together with those parts of the Everwicschire of Domesday which form the wapentakes of Lonsdale, Ewecross, and Westmoreland. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Browne, Hurst, Robinson, and Co. p. 231. 
  3. ↑ National Heritage List 1131550: Skeeby Bridge (Grade II listing)
  4. ↑ Hatcher 1990, p. 221.
  5. ↑ Rees-Mogg, William (17 March 1973). "Farmer told to hand over armoured car". The Times (58734): p. 2. SSN 0140-0460. 
  6. ↑ Hatcher 1990, p. 95.
  7. ↑ Lang, James T; Morris, Christopher D (2008). "Recent finds of pre-Norman sculpture from Gilling West, N Yorkshire". Mediæval Archaeology 22: 130. doi:10.5284/1071621. 
  8. ↑ Howes, C. A.. "A historical gazeteer of white-clawd crayfish in Watsonian Yorkshire" (doc.). p. 5. https://www.ynu.org.uk/images/Crayfish_Gazetteer_to_2005.doc. 
  9. ↑ "North country news - otter hunting". The Northern Echo (Column B) (5813): p. 3. 10 October 1888. SSN 2043-0442. 
  10. ↑ Grey 2021, p. 28.
  11. ↑ National Heritage List 1318357: Dalton Mill (Grade II listing)
  12. ↑ National Heritage List 1166547: Bridge over Holme Beck North-West of Mill Farmhouse (Grade II listing)
  13. ↑ National Heritage List 1318394: Holme Bridge over Holme Beck (Grade II listing)
  14. ↑ National Heritage List 1131899: Whashton Bridge over Hartforth Beck (Grade II listing)
  15. ↑ National Heritage List 1131931: Bridge over Hartforth Beck (Grade II listing)
  16. ↑ Hatcher 1990, p. 102.
  17. ↑ National Heritage List 1316940: Gilling Bridge over Gilling Beck (Grade II listing)
  18. ↑ Grey 2021, p. 19.
  19. ↑ Jervoise, E (1931). The ancient bridges of the North of England. Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. p. 86. OCLC 1112787206. 
  20. ↑ National Heritage List 1131590: Brompton Bridge (Grade II listing)
  21. ↑ A History of the County of York: North Riding - Volume 1 pp 51-64: Parishes: Easby (Victoria County History)
  • Evans, David J. A.; Dinnage, Matthew; Roberts, David H. (December 2018). "Glacial geomorphology of Teesdale, northern Pennines, England: Implications for upland styles of ice stream operation and deglaciation in the British-Irish Ice Sheet". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 129 (6). doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2018.05.001. 
  • Grey, Jonathan: 'Gilling Beck, R. Swale'; Gilling West Fly Fishers, April 2021 (The Wild Trout Trust)
  • Hatcher, C. J. (1990). Richmondshire architecture. Richmond: C.J. Hatcher. ISBN 0951588001. 
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