The Dark Past of the Yorkshire Dales
So far, we have brought you the Ghosts of the Yorkshire Dales, the Witches of the Yorkshire Dales, the BEASTS of the Yorkshire Dales!
Now….. It’s time for the Grizzliest Gruesome Tales of the Yorkshire Dales.
Oh yes! Because for all its beauty, the Yorkshire Dales has some reyt old gruesome tales to boast! And you can find them all here! So, we will be delving into the past of the highwaymen, the murderers, the downright unfortunate and the star crossed lovers… So if you want to take a wander into the dark history of the Dales, you are in the right place!
And if you want to walk the tales themselves, check out our accompanying walks!
Exploring Tom Taylor’s Cave at How Stean Gorge
The Highwayman… Tom Taylor
Ever heard of the notorious Tom Taylor?
Well, if the answer is no then you are in the right place.
Tom Taylor was a bandit. A highwayman well known for being brutal, sadistic and without mercy. He was notorious for murder and robbery and was generally one of the baddest-most-baddies of the Dales.
His highwayman hotspot? Upper Nidderdale, on one of the main trade routes over from Kettlewell, running across the aptly named Dead Man’s Hill, next to Scar House Reservoir.
Dastardly Tom was a menace and a thief. When his crime was complete, he would (according to legend) hide his loot in what is now known as Tom Taylor’s Cave at How Stean Gorge and it was in this cave, that Tom met his fate.
The story goes that the thoroughly pissed off villagers formed a vigilante group to track down the man responsible for terrorising their local highways and after being given the slip several times by the wily Tom, they eventually managed to follow him into his cave. They found him and hanged him right there and then serving him with the justice he had long evaded.
You can take a little mosey along Tom Taylor’s Cave at How Stean Gorge as part of their gorge experience. The keyhole tunnel leads to a larger cavern which is said to be the place where Tom stashed his loot and met his grizzly end.
If you are lucky enough to have a guide like ours, you might also be shown the place where Tom’s rough justice was reportedly carried out…. And if you believe the press, somebody caught old Tom on camera… as his ghost is said to haunt the cave… OOOOOOOOH!
Gruesome eh?! Thought we’d kick it off with a classic!
Mill Gill force in all it’s glory!
The Star-Crossed Lovers of Mill Gill Force
Located in the stunning village of Askrigg in Wensleydale, Mill Gill Force is a Yorkshire Dales waterfall of epic proportions. Standing at around 70 feet tall, it is as spectacular as it is little known. If you look at the photograph above you will see the dramatic falls are surrounded by a rocky outcrop and the water runs into a rocky wooded ravine, which was the location of a ritualistic murder back in the 1500’s.
Sadly, the bodies of two lovers were found with their hands tied with the hacked off lengths of their own hair. Why? With the murderer never convicted nobody will ever know, but the ritualistic style of the killing was thought to have been done by a local farmer due to rivalry between opposing families in the area. The motive? An alleged ‘gypsy’ curse….
Seems a tad harsh a punishment for what was in fact curdled milk.
The walk to Mill Gill Force is a fabulous walk, check it out by tapping the link!
You can still see Tom Lee’s old Smidy in Grassington
Tom Lee of Grassington
Notorious Tom Lee.
The perpetrator of a terrible murder back in 1766, local blacksmith Tom Lee murdered Dr Richard Petty in Grass Woods after returning from a cock fight over in Kettlewell. He reputedly fled the scene of the murder and hid in a nearby cave (now called Tom Lee’s cave, located in Cove Scar).
He was caught, tried and convicted of the crime and his body was then hung from chains in Grass Woods for 4 years afterwards (so the sources say…)
And with such a grim tale associated with him of course his ghost is said to haunt the cave where he once hid.
And you know what? We have a walk that heads through Grass Woods and STRAIGHT past Tom Lee’s Cave (although, you can’t enter it without the landowner’s permission, you can still see it!)
Thornton Force, part of the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail
The Gatenby Sisters of Ingleton
Let’s turn away from grisly murders, to misplaced poison plots.
Ingleton, home of the famous Ingleton Waterfalls Trail, was also the home of the Gatenby sisters. Back in the 1600s these rival siblings both had their greedy eyes on their inheritance. However, rather than divide it all between them, they wanted it alllll to themselves.
The plan? To poison the sibling, therefore leaving the remaining sibling the sole benefactor of the estate.
The problem? They both independently came up with the same idea, unbeknown to each other and at their mother’s funeral, they both executed their plan.
The result? They BOTH died within minutes of each other.
Doh!
The story goes that after their ill executed plan failed, the two sisters were doomed to haunt the streets of Ingleton in some kind of weird game of hide and seek. The haunting lasted for 7 years and 7 days, which was exactly the length of time it took to settle the legal battle surrounding the estate the two had their eyes set on in the first place.
*sigh.
Find out more about the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail by tapping the link!
The lead mine level where Buckden Bill was found
Buckden Bill
Heard of Buckden Pike? It’s one of the top ten highest peaks in the Yorkshire Dales, and it is riddled with a network of old lead mining levels underneath its surface.
In fact you can ascend the peak, passing one of the entrances to one of the old lead mines and it was inside the depths of Buckden Pike, where Buckden Bill was found.
Back in the 60’s, a team of University Students were exploring the network of tunnels that lies beneath, when they happened upon the skeleton of a man.
The skeleton was complete with felt hat and walking stick, some spare change and a card from a funeral over in Settle.
The skeleton was a mystery, but after investigation there have been some strong conclusions drawn that old Bill was once a lead miner in the area, before the industry collapsed in 1870 and that some 20 or so years later, this chap ventured back, perhaps for old times sake whilst he was in the area.
When the tunnels were investigated after the discovery of Bill, it was said that the boot marks of the old lead miners were still visible in the mud….
Want to check it out? Head to our Buckden Pike walk!
The epically proportioned Ribblehead Viaduct
Ribblehead Viaduct
Grizzly ghouls as a result of hardcore history this time!
The Ribblehead Viaduct is a veritable behemoth. The huge achievement in terms of structural engineering was completed in 1875 after 5 years of hardcore construction. The navvies responsible for the building of the viaduct numbered in their thousands and were stationed in camps across Blea Moor.
If you’ve ever been to Blea Moor, you will know that it is bleak, desolate and at the mercy of the elements. Located near the lower slopes of Ingleborough and Whernside, the Moor would have been a pretty grim place to live (cracking views though...)
And so, you will not be surprised to hear that the Navvies had an equally as grim life up there. The camps were rife with smallpox, and disease and if that didn’t get you, you might meet your doom in one of the regular brawls. Camp-life was tough for the Navvies and their families who joined them, but so was the hard graft involved in creating the viaduct and the railway tunnel where many others met their grim fate.
Blea moor and tunnel is said to be haunted by the unfortunate souls of those who perished there back in the 19th Century and a plaque was installed in nearby Chapel le Dale where many of those who died were buried.
The place of the camps is now designated as a historic site of interest and if you go, you will be able to find out more. Check out our walk that heads to Force Gill on the side of Whernside, it takes you past the viaduct and Blea Moor tunnel
Hardraw Force after heavy rainfall
Hardraw Force
Yes, it’s the location of THAT waterfall scene in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves… ahem.
But it also has a far less Hollywood reputation, and a far more gruesome one!
The story goes that one stormy night (the perfect setting for every grizzly tale!) A brawl took place at the top of the cliff from which Hardraw Force drops, the victim was pushed over the edge by his attackers, falling to his doom.
It was believed that this tragic ending was as a result of a suicide, which resulted in the chap not receiving a burial in consecrated ground, and perhaps that was the reason that this horrible crime resulted in the haunting of Hardraw Force.
It wasn’t until further investigation found the remains of a melted dagger that the truth was uncovered. Weird eh?
Find out the details of how to get to Hardraw Force by tapping on the link!
All the ruined buildings in Lodge are given a plaque to say what they once were
Scar House Reservoir
Back to that road that Tom Taylor used to terrorise…
The trade route that ran from Kettlewell, would cross over the coincidentally titled Dead Man’s Hill, the hill that overlooks Scar House Reservoir.
Half way down, you’ll find the village of Lodge, a once bustling village and Inn, right on the well-used trade route. It is the Inn at the now ruinous village where there was reportedly the murder of three Scottish pedlars, who are said to haunt the hill above. Back in 1728, their bodies were found buried in the peat, with their money and goods gone.
If I were a Scottish Pedlar, I’d just avoid this road!
But in case you don’t want to…. walk to it on our Scar House Reservoir walk!
Robin Proctor’s Scar is featured ahead
Robin Proctor
Oh dear, Robin Proctor.
If you take a little trip to the Norber Erratics, it’s likely you’ll encounter Robin Proctor’s Scar. But why is it named after old Robin?
Well, Mr Proctor was a famer from Crummackdale Farm. He was very partial to a tipple (or seven) at the local pub, an establishment that he regularly frequented on his trusty old horse. He would ride to the pub, get absolutely smashed, then mount his horse, more ofter than not falling asleep on his way back. Fortunately, his horse had done the journey to and from the pub so many times, he didn’t need to be told what to do and would safely bring Robin back home to sleep off the beer!
Clever Horse!
Except one night, one particularly stormy night (of course) he couldn’t resist the draw of the pub…. He braved the weather and made it there safely. He stabled his horse with all the others. As the weather was so bad, there were many horses under the shelter (can you see where this is going?!) The evening took its usual course and he ended up blind drunk. So drunk, he mounted the wrong horse… a horse who had NO idead where he was going.
Old Robin passed out drunk as usual and his horse having no idea where it was going, blindly wandered onto the top of the scar.
Then? Well they plummeted over the edge on to the rocks below. The ghost story goes, that the sound of the horse's hooves can still be heard on stormy nights.
Want to walk it (no… NOT off the top!) Head to our Norber Erratics walk.
If you love a Yorkshire Legend…
Check out the rest of our series of Tales of the Yorkshire Dales!
Sources:
There are so many different sources for all of our beastly tales!
Telegraph and Argus, Craven Herald, Haunted Yorkshire Dales by Summer Strevens