Roseberry Topping
Encyclopedia
Roseberry Topping is a distinctive hill
on the border between North Yorkshire
and the borough of Redcar and Cleveland
, England
. It is situated near Great Ayton
and Newton under Roseberry
. Its summit has a distinctive half-cone shape with a jagged cliff
, which has led to many comparisons with the much higher Matterhorn
in Switzerland
. It forms a symbolic image of the area and featured as the logo for the now defunct Cleveland County
.
At 1049 feet (319.7 m), Roseberry Topping was traditionally thought to be the highest hill on the North York Moors
; however, the nearby Urra Moor
is higher, at 1490 feet (454.2 m). It offers views of Captain Cook's Monument at Easby Moor and the monument at Eston Nab
.
uplands. It is formed from sandstone
laid down in the Middle
and Lower Jurassic periods, between 208 and 165 million years ago, which constitutes the youngest sandstone to be found in any of the National Parks in England and Wales. Its distinctive conical shape is the result of the hill's hard sandstone cap protecting the underlying shale
s and clay
s from erosion by the effects of ice, wind and rain.
Until 1914, the summit resembled a sugarloaf
until a geological fault and possibly nearby alum
and ironstone
mining caused its collapse. The area immediately below the summit is still extensively pitted and scarred from the former mineworks. The summit has magnificent views across the Cleveland plain as far as the Pennines
on a clear day, some 40 to 50 miles (60 to 80 km) away.
hoard was discovered on the slopes of the hill and is now in the Sheffield City Museum
. It was occupied during the Iron Age
; walled enclosures and the remains of huts dating from the period are still visible in the hill's vicinity.
The hill was held in special regard by the Vikings who settled in Cleveland
in large numbers during the early medieval period and gave the area many of its place names. They gave Roseberry Topping its present name, which is one of only a handful of known pagan names in England. "Roseberry" came from Old Norse
Óðins bjarg ("Odin
's rock or crag"), after the Norse
god Odin
. The name changed successively to Othensberg, Ohenseberg, Ounsberry and Ouesberry before finally settling on Roseberry. "Topping" is a corruption of toppen, an Old Norse
word for a hill. The naming of the hill followed a well-established pattern in continental Europe of hills and mountains being named after Odin or the Germanic equivalent, Wodan. Ælfric of Eynsham
, writing in the 10th century, recorded how "the heathens made him into a celebrated god and made offerings to him at crossroads and brought oblation
s to high hills for him. This god was honoured among all heathens and he is called ... Oðon in Danish."
In 1736, the explorer James Cook
's family moved to Airey Holme Farm at nearby Great Ayton
. When he had time off from working on the farm with his father, young James would take himself off up Roseberry Topping, which gave him his first taste for adventure and exploration, which was to stay with him for life.
Roseberry Topping can be seen from many miles away and was long used by sailors and farmers as an indicator of impending bad weather. An old rhyme commemorates this usage:
The hill was private property for many years, formerly being part of a game estate. An old shooting box can still be seen on its southern flank. Roseberry Topping is now managed by the National Trust
and is open to the public. It is just within the North York Moors National Park whose border runs along the A173 road
below it.
A spur of the Cleveland Way
National Trail runs up to the summit. The path has been a popular sight-seeing excursion for centuries due to the spectacular views of the Cleveland area from the summit; as early as 1700, travellers were recommended to visit the peak to see "the most delightful prospect upon the valleys below to the hills above."
The site was notified as a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1954, with a boundary extension in 1986 bringing the designated area to 10.86 hectare
s. The site is listed as being of national importance in the Geological Conservation Review
.
's "Hat Trick" from the Hat Trick
album. The exact lyric stanza is:
Chris Rea
dedicated the song Chisel Hill from the album Shamrock Diaries
to Roseberry Topping.
Gordon Giltrap
released an instrumental track named 'Roseberry Topping' on his 2010 album Shining Morn.
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
on the border between North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
and the borough of Redcar and Cleveland
Redcar and Cleveland
The borough of Redcar & Cleveland is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England consisting of Redcar, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Guisborough, and small towns such as Brotton, Eston, Skelton and Loftus. It had a resident population of 139,132 in 2001, and is part of the Tees...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is situated near Great Ayton
Great Ayton
Great Ayton is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire on the edge of the North York Moors in England. The name Great Ayton is thought to derive from Ea-tun, tun meaning farm and 'ea' meaning river. It has a population of 4,570....
and Newton under Roseberry
Newton under Roseberry
Newton under Roseberry is a village in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It is on the A173, between Great Ayton and Guisborough and is close to the base of Roseberry Topping....
. Its summit has a distinctive half-cone shape with a jagged cliff
Cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
, which has led to many comparisons with the much higher Matterhorn
Matterhorn
The Matterhorn , Monte Cervino or Mont Cervin , is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Its summit is 4,478 metres high, making it one of the highest peaks in the Alps. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. It forms a symbolic image of the area and featured as the logo for the now defunct Cleveland County
Cleveland, England
Cleveland is an area in the north east of England. Its name means literally "cliff-land", referring to its hilly southern areas, which rise to nearly...
.
At 1049 feet (319.7 m), Roseberry Topping was traditionally thought to be the highest hill on the North York Moors
North York Moors
The North York Moors is a national park in North Yorkshire, England. The moors are one of the largest expanses of heather moorland in the United Kingdom. It covers an area of , and it has a population of about 25,000...
; however, the nearby Urra Moor
Urra Moor
Urra Moor is the highest moor in the North York Moors at 454 metres above sea level, in the national park in North Yorkshire, England. The name applies to the moor as a whole; the summit itself is known as Round Hill....
is higher, at 1490 feet (454.2 m). It offers views of Captain Cook's Monument at Easby Moor and the monument at Eston Nab
Eston Nab
Eston Nab is a local landmark to those who live along the River Tees, in north-east England.A nab is a rocky promontory, or outcrop, and Eston Nab, marking the highest point – at - on the escarpment which forms Eston Hills, appears as a clear sandstone cliff on the northernmost edge of Eston Moor...
.
Geology
The hill is an outlier of the North York MoorsNorth York Moors
The North York Moors is a national park in North Yorkshire, England. The moors are one of the largest expanses of heather moorland in the United Kingdom. It covers an area of , and it has a population of about 25,000...
uplands. It is formed from sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
laid down in the Middle
Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from 176-161 million years ago. In European lithostratigraphy, rocks of this Middle Jurassic age are called the Dogger....
and Lower Jurassic periods, between 208 and 165 million years ago, which constitutes the youngest sandstone to be found in any of the National Parks in England and Wales. Its distinctive conical shape is the result of the hill's hard sandstone cap protecting the underlying shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
s and clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
s from erosion by the effects of ice, wind and rain.
Until 1914, the summit resembled a sugarloaf
Sugarloaf
A sugarloaf was the traditional form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process that saw the dark molasses-rich raw sugar, which had been imported from...
until a geological fault and possibly nearby alum
Alum
Alum is both a specific chemical compound and a class of chemical compounds. The specific compound is the hydrated potassium aluminium sulfate with the formula KAl2.12H2O. The wider class of compounds known as alums have the related empirical formula, AB2.12H2O.-Chemical properties:Alums are...
and ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
mining caused its collapse. The area immediately below the summit is still extensively pitted and scarred from the former mineworks. The summit has magnificent views across the Cleveland plain as far as the Pennines
Pennines
The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
on a clear day, some 40 to 50 miles (60 to 80 km) away.
History
The Roseberry area has been inhabited for thousands of years and the hill has long attracted attention for its distinctive shape. A Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
hoard was discovered on the slopes of the hill and is now in the Sheffield City Museum
Sheffield City Museum
Weston Park Museum, one mile west of the centre of Sheffield, England, lies beside Weston Park and surrounded by the University of Sheffield. It is managed by Museums Sheffield....
. It was occupied during the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
; walled enclosures and the remains of huts dating from the period are still visible in the hill's vicinity.
The hill was held in special regard by the Vikings who settled in Cleveland
Cleveland, England
Cleveland is an area in the north east of England. Its name means literally "cliff-land", referring to its hilly southern areas, which rise to nearly...
in large numbers during the early medieval period and gave the area many of its place names. They gave Roseberry Topping its present name, which is one of only a handful of known pagan names in England. "Roseberry" came from Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
Óðins bjarg ("Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
's rock or crag"), after the Norse
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
god Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
. The name changed successively to Othensberg, Ohenseberg, Ounsberry and Ouesberry before finally settling on Roseberry. "Topping" is a corruption of toppen, an Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
word for a hill. The naming of the hill followed a well-established pattern in continental Europe of hills and mountains being named after Odin or the Germanic equivalent, Wodan. Ælfric of Eynsham
Ælfric of Eynsham
Ælfric of Eynsham was an English abbot, as well as a consummate, prolific writer in Old English of hagiography, homilies, biblical commentaries, and other genres. He is also known variously as Ælfric the Grammarian , Ælfric of Cerne, and Ælfric the Homilist...
, writing in the 10th century, recorded how "the heathens made him into a celebrated god and made offerings to him at crossroads and brought oblation
Oblation
Oblation, an offering , a term, particularly in ecclesiastical usage, for a solemn offering or presentation to God.-Bible usage:...
s to high hills for him. This god was honoured among all heathens and he is called ... Oðon in Danish."
In 1736, the explorer James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
's family moved to Airey Holme Farm at nearby Great Ayton
Great Ayton
Great Ayton is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire on the edge of the North York Moors in England. The name Great Ayton is thought to derive from Ea-tun, tun meaning farm and 'ea' meaning river. It has a population of 4,570....
. When he had time off from working on the farm with his father, young James would take himself off up Roseberry Topping, which gave him his first taste for adventure and exploration, which was to stay with him for life.
Roseberry Topping can be seen from many miles away and was long used by sailors and farmers as an indicator of impending bad weather. An old rhyme commemorates this usage:
- When Roseberry Topping wears a cap, let Cleveland then beware of a clap!
The hill was private property for many years, formerly being part of a game estate. An old shooting box can still be seen on its southern flank. Roseberry Topping is now managed by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
and is open to the public. It is just within the North York Moors National Park whose border runs along the A173 road
A173 road
The A173 is a major road in North Yorkshire, England. It runs from Stokesley to Skelton....
below it.
A spur of the Cleveland Way
Cleveland Way
The Cleveland Way is a National Trail in ancient Cleveland in Northern England. It runs 110 miles from Helmsley to Filey, skirting the North York Moors National Park.-History:The trail was opened in 1969...
National Trail runs up to the summit. The path has been a popular sight-seeing excursion for centuries due to the spectacular views of the Cleveland area from the summit; as early as 1700, travellers were recommended to visit the peak to see "the most delightful prospect upon the valleys below to the hills above."
The site was notified as a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1954, with a boundary extension in 1986 bringing the designated area to 10.86 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s. The site is listed as being of national importance in the Geological Conservation Review
Geological Conservation Review
The Geological Conservation Review is produced by the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee and is designed to identify those sites of national and international importance needed to show all the key scientific elements of the geological and geomorphological features of Britain...
.
In popular culture
A reference to Roseberry Topping was featured in the folk-rock group AmericaAmerica (band)
America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...
's "Hat Trick" from the Hat Trick
Hat Trick (album)
__notoc__Hat Trick is the third original studio album by American folk rock trio America, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1973 ....
album. The exact lyric stanza is:
Newton-Under-Roseberry-Topping
And it's cold and it's wet
And you feel like you're part of all time
Chris Rea
Chris Rea
Chris Rea is an English singer-songwriter, recognisable for his distinctive, husky voice and slide guitar playing. The British Hit Singles & Albums stated that Rea was "one of the most popular UK singer-songwriters of the late 1980s. He was already a major European star by the time he finally...
dedicated the song Chisel Hill from the album Shamrock Diaries
Shamrock Diaries
Shamrock Diaries is an album by Chris Rea, released in 1985.This album represents the beginning of a creative and commercial zenith for Rea. Shamrock Diaries was a huge seller in Europe, reaching the Top 20 in several countries including Germany, The Netherlands and Great Britain...
to Roseberry Topping.
Gordon Giltrap
Gordon Giltrap
Gordon Giltrap is an English acoustic and electric guitarist and composer, whose musical styles cross multiple genres, including folk, blues, folk rock, pop, classical and rock....
released an instrumental track named 'Roseberry Topping' on his 2010 album Shining Morn.