Book celebrates life in God’s own country (From York Press)

Book celebrates life in God’s own country

9:50am Wednesday 4th January 2012 in Books

Teessider-by-birth NATALYA WILSON discovers a pride in her adoptive county through the pages of new book about Yorkshire

ASK any Yorkshireman what he is most proud of and no doubt he will proudly claim his Tyke heritage is top of the list.

One man who has made pride in his home county the purpose of his work is prolific Whitby-based historian and author Alan Whitworth.

His latest literary and pictorial offering, Images of Yorkshire Through Time (Amberley Publishing, £14.99), is no exception.

Celebrating the ‘white rose county and its people’s traits’ is at the heart of this tome which is packed with images old and new of Yorkshire landmarks, people and much more.

The scope of his remit is wide, covering as it does the whole county and all of the former ‘Ridings’, but that in itself is of interest as it broadly divides into sections which are recognisably associated with God’s Own County, including people, places, industry, religious sites and even traditions and legends, many of which are local to Ryedale.

In his introduction to the book, Alan describes what ‘Yorkshireness’ is and where it comes from. As an area of industrial growth during the industrial revolution, many towns and villages became linked with certain industries – mining, steel and wool, in particular – creating the image of the working class ‘Tyke’, summarised as possessing a dry sense of humour, being rough-mannered, independent and always wearing a flat cap and trailing a whippet behind on a piece of string.

The kitchen sink dramas of the 50s and 60s enhanced this ‘gritty’ Yorkshireness and in this book, Alan has attempted to ‘illustrate the ways in which Yorkshire people have, through the centuries, made the great history of the county, and often the nation itself, through its cultural, intellectual, commercial and political life’.

But as Alan also states, what defines Yorkshire for one person may not for another, yet he has nonetheless covered many of the famous sights and landmarks across Yorkshire to give a view from the old mill towns of West Yorkshire to the dramatic North Sea coastlines.

As such, it contains fascinating snippets of traditions that some Yorkshiremen on one side of the county might not know about, such as the Flamborough ‘Climmers’ – men who, during the 19th century, scaled the dizzy heights of the treacherous cliffs with their only aid being a flimsy rope, to collect the eggs of the seabirds which nested there in profusion, which they then sold to visitors.

There’s also the tale of nowderelict Saltergate Inn, and the legend of The Fire That Never Went Out. As the story goes, a body was buried under this renowned fire and if the fire went out, the spirit of this body would haunt the premises.

The peat fire was said to have been kept burning continuously, but now that the building is derelict, it has been either stolen or removed for safe-keeping.

The book also contains interesting images of spectacular natural phenomena, such as the glacial natural amphitheatre of the Hole of Horcum – known as the Devil’s Punch Bowl – and Farndale’s daffodils.

There are religious sites such as St Michael’s Church, Coxwold, one of the most splendid churches in North Yorkshire, the unique Saxon minster of St Gregory’s and a wonderful aerial image of the Whitby headland, showing how the abbey was once a huge complex of buildings surrounded by a precinct wall.

And there are stunning pictures of famous landscapes, such as a fascinating image of the Fylingdales ‘Golf Balls’ under construction in 1964.

Whether Yorkshire is the greatest county in the country would no doubt be questioned by residents of other areas.

But, as this book illustrates, what cannot be denied is its role in contributing to the beauty and heritage of our nation.

The Fire That Never Went Out at The Legendary Saltersgate Inn

The Hole of Horcum the Devil's Punch Bowl

The Whitby Headland