Village Pump Collection

Continuing my occasional series of "Great Village Pumps of Our Time",  this is a fine effort from Sherburn.

Built in 1867.

Marvellous!

Weaverthorpe Box at Sherburn

The railway line from York to Scarborough passes the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds on the outskirts of Sherburn.

The level crossing on the Sherburn to Brompton By Sawdon road has a signal box which controls the rather splendid semaphore signals.

The box displays the name Weaverthorpe, which is a village some 4 miles away in the Wolds.

Not sure why the signal box isn't christened Sherburn as that is the nearest place.

Unless, of course, the railway came before the village and, when it was constructed, Weaverthorpe was the nearest location to it?

Gansey Girl

New to Bridlington Harbour.

A 'gansey' is a woollen jumper worn by the men of the fishing fleets from along the Yorkshire Coast.

Knitted by the womenfolk of the home ports, they included intricate designs and patterns which were unique to their particular community.

In the event of disaster at sea any washed up bodies could, therefore, be identified to the town from which they came.

National Railway Museum, York

Blue one = "Mallard", LNER A4 Pacific. World Speed Record holder for Steam Locomotives.

Red one = "Duchess of Hamilton", LMS Coronation Pacific (some say Duchess Pacific). Photographed in streamlined casing.
The most powerful British steam engine ever built. Rated at 3300hp they were more powerful than the diesel and electric locomotives which have replaced them.

Green one = "Evening Star", BR Standard 9F. The last steam locomotive built by/for British Railways.

Animals (Three Different Ones).

Recent wildlife observations have been:
a squirrel at Peasholm Park,
a snake on the path at Scalby clifftops and a llama at Sewerby (admittedly the last one was in a zoo.....).

Dying for a Pint.

The waiting to be served at The Golden Fleece in York can be a long process...

Landed at North Landing

Once you finally arrive at North Landing, a trip to the beach is obviously required. It is, however, a fairly sharp descent as the photos from the top and bottom of the old Lifeboat house slipway show.

The small bay is still used for fishing by cobles, which are put to sea in a more modern method using tractors.
The one on the beach was waiting for a boat to return, whilst the other one seemed to be life expired and was rusting away half way up the cliff.

Down on the bay there are caves to explore, notably the two which are called "Ladies" and "Gents".

The Road to North Landing

A walk along the clifftops to North Landing from Flamborough Lighthouse, a distance of around 1¾ miles.

The path meanders between the edge of the cliff and Flamborough Golf Club whom, it seems, have some volatile members....... never mind the dog, watch out for the bloody golfers!

The Golf Club is built on the land that was once a wartime radar station. Forming part of the Chain Home System, the giant radar masts (now long gone) once provided advance warning of incoming air raids.

Just to the landward side of the footpath are a series of concrete slabs which have metal rings embedded into them. These are the remaining anchor points of the barrage balloons that used to defend the site.

Most of the cliff facings were quiet, as the summer bird population had largely migrated by this time.

End of the Line #2

Scarborough Railway Station is a slightly larger terminus than the one at Pickering.

It is also still in current main network use, as opposed to the preserved NYMR.

They still name modern stock though and this provided a link to the old home town with one of the units being called "Barbara Castle", the formidable former Member of Parliament for Blackburn.

This is East Yorkshire. Sorry about that.

Almost every boundary marker sign that you come across seems to triumphantly announce, with pride, the place that you are about to enter.

From "Welcome to Blackburn with Darwen, The Proud Home of Blackburn Rovers FC" to "Welcome to Lancashire, The Historic County Palatine".
Even "Rotherham, Birthplace of the Chuckle Brothers" seems to be able to find something to say about itself.

However, the East Riding of Yorkshire appears to be almost apologetic for its existence. A boundary marker that could almost be a traffic cone and which is hidden in the hedgerows.

"East Yorkshire. Hope You Don't Mind Too Much".

Humber on Holidays!

The Pay and Display at Bridlington Pier is currently hosting the RNLI lifeboat "The Pride of The Humber" which seems to have come for a short holiday.

Actually it seems that use is being made of the Pier boat lift to allow a bit of hull painting and maintenance to be undertaken.

The usual home base for this craft is Spurn Point which is a long stretch of the country that tapers into the North Sea and forms the northerly bank of the River Humber.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a volunteer maritime lifesaving service funded entirely from public donations.
The team at Spurn Head are the only professionally paid crew in the RNLI and have accommodation near to the boathouse.

All the other crews are volunteers who often have to rush from their normal occupations in order to launch for an emergency.

"The Pride of The Humber" carries the registration 17-05.
The RNLI mark their All Weather Lifeboats with two sets of numbers.
The first set refers to the length of the craft in metres which the second set indicates the number of the boat in the series for that class/length.

So in this case "The Pride of The Humber" is 17m long and was the 5th boat put into service.

Other RNLI AW Lifeboats on the East Coast are,
Bridlington, 12-12
Filey, 12-13
Scarborough, 12-18
Whitby, 14-14

End of the Line

Pickering railway station.
Southern terminus of the preserved North York Moors Railway.
There is no more.

It's a strange place, is Beverley.....

Most towns you have heard of achieve their recognition due to their sporting teams.
Usually this takes the form of football or rugby.
In Beverley's case, however, the sporting prowess came via the 1970's TV show "It's a Knockout". Along with Swanage and Cwmbran, Beverley seemed to be on every other week.
I think they may even have qualified for the International version, representing GB in "Jeux Sans Frontièrs".

Being within the catchment area of Kingston upon Hull, Beverley is connected to the local, independent telecommunications service that Hull has always had.
The rest of the country being supplied by British Telecom, with their red telephone boxes, Humberside underlined their independence with white ones.

I'm not sure why the signpost at the top of the town has a jesters hat on top (the only one which seems to be decorated with one).
Possibly a nod in the direction of the achievements in "It's a Knockout"?
Or maybe the joke is that the directions are all pointing the wrong way??

Beverley Minster

Beverley is like a mini version of York. Even down to having a smaller Minster.
Unlike the larger version in York, however,  Beverley Minster is free to enter and have a look around (as opposed to £15 to go through the doors at York).
They do tend to be very keen on prevention of photography inside at Beverley though, unless you pay for a permit (£3).
I wasn't sure if this related to 'proper' cameras (SLR & tripod, etc.) or if they wanted payment for my pitiful attempts with the Oneplus.
So I only managed to sneak a couple in whilst they weren't looking......
The Gift Shop was placed inside the Minster and, as well as having gravestones inlaid in the floor, it also contained a couple of stone caskets (of, presumably, previous important members of the Church).
One had his dog carved at his feet too! (although he was tucked away behind a computer desk & out of the way in the corner, so he probably needed the company).

A Tale Of Two Soldiers

Towards the Northern end of Beverley town centre lies the old and impressive church of St Mary's.
Along the Southern wall, there is an inscribed tablet set into the stonework.
It appears to tell the tale of, possibly, a military duel and the consequences thereof?
Some of the letters haven't stood the onset of time and weather too well but, from what I can make out, it reads......

"Here two young (?) soldiers lye
The one in quarrel chanced to die
The others head by their own law
With sword was sever'd (??) blow

December the 25'd 1689"

Fretful in Filey

Filey Bay when the sea frets have descended. Visibility is limited for the duration of the fret which, sometimes, can cloak the coast for up to a week.
Towards the Brigg end of the bay, old cobble launching carriages have been washed up and are slowly rusting away.