ROSEDALE, deep in the North York Moors, is famous for three things that are no longer there. One is the priory, second is the iron ore mining industry and third is the chimney that gave name to the steep hill at the southwest of the village.

It was that chimney (in fact, the absence of it) that gave rise to a query from a friend.

She asked: “Why is that hill called Chimney Bank?

There’s no chimney there.”

The answer is there used to be a chimney at the top of that famous hill. It was a relic of the Klondyke-style iron-ore boom of the 19th century that brought industry to those moors, Rosedale in particular. Iron ore mining also affected other moorland villages including Glaisdale, Grosmont and Beck Hole.

The chimney was no ordinary one. It was a massive brick-built structure which was 100ft tall and it stood at the top of the bank where it became a distinctive landmark.

It was part of the massive industrial scene that had been created in Rosedale, but in 1972 the chimney was declared dangerous and so was removed.

There are still other signs of the massive changes iron ore mining brought to Rosedale.

The boom began in the 1850s with the discovery of rich seams of high-quality iron ore, although centuries earlier the dale had witnessed the mining of iron ore. It is believed Iron Age men mined ore in this valley, and Rosedale had forges in 1209, then later in 1328 King Edward II gifted land to the nuns so they could abstract the ore.

That early industry did not continue due to the poor quality of the ore, but when fresh deposits were discovered in the 19th century, they were found to be of high quality, with a huge amount available to anyone who could abstract it.

The first mine was opened in 1851 by George Leeman, of York, the MP and railway magnate. At the time, Rosedale’s population was around 550, but once the mining got under way it rose to almost 3,000 as workers flooded into Rosedale seeking employment. That first mine yielded over three million tons of top quality iron ore between 1856 and 1885.

The ore was sent to Durham for processing.

Further mines followed and so accommodation and leisure facilities were required for the huge influx of workers. Soon Rosedale was transformed into a bustling industrial community with miners’ cottages, chapels, a hospital, engine sheds, warehouses, coal depots, workshops, a lecture hall, school and shops.

An amazing railway line was constructed around the rim of the dale, where its route can still be seen. Its job was to carry ore over the moors via Ingleby Greenhow to Teesside for processing, and this helped with the creation of that area’s huge industrial success. That mineral line provided such outstanding views that the proprietors allowed passengers to be carried – it was probably one of the earliest passenger-carrying railways.

At the peak of its success, Rosedale housed more than 5,000 miners and other workers and this continued into the 1920s, although by that time output was declining.

It ended in 1926 following the General Strike and the last train ran along the Rosedale mineral line in 1928.

Many reminders of that industrial upheaval can still be seen, but the valley is now peaceful once more, along with Glaisdale and other villages where iron ore was mined and processed.

However, Rosedale paid a price for its sudden and violent success.

There was a good deal of social unrest due to the shortage of facilities for the miners and their families. There were fights over women, disturbances due to grievances or a lack of entertainment and there was also damage to existing premises so new ones could be built.

One target was the amount of stone that formed the ruined Rosedale Priory. It had been founded in the 12th century by Robert de Stuteville as a Cistercian nunnery and was dedicated to Our Lady and St Laurence.

He also founded a nunnery at Keldholme, near Kirkbymoorside. Neither of these were abbeys.

Destroyed and left in ruins by Henry VIII’s Reformation, the priory’s old stones were recycled during the mining boom and used in new buildings, including a lecture room and school built in 1822. All that can be seen of Rosedale Priory today are the meagre remains of a spiral staircase and two buttresses.

One final comment concerns its name. Rosedale suggests a place of great beauty, but the name derives from a landowner of ancient times whose name was Russi. In 1130, it was called Russedal – Russi’s valley – but changes in folk speech have given us Rosedale.

AN INTERESTING puzzle centred on Great Ayton has arisen due to some correspondence with a gentleman called Postgate who lives in America. It concerns a building that is now the Captain Cook Schoolroom Museum.

This was formerly a school where the famous explorer was taught as a child from 1736 or thereabouts, but the school was built in 1704 by a local landowner called Michael Postgate. He donated the land and arranged construction of the school, and it also appears he paid £4 per year for a schoolmaster to teach eight poor children.

Michael Postgate is described as a widower with no children, but late in life he remarried and had a son, Thomas. Apart from this, little is known about Michael Postgate except that he was a landowner and appears to have been both wealthy and philanthropic. It is known that he died in 1726.

What interests both me and my American correspondent is whether Michael Postgate was related to Father Nicholas Postgate of Egton, known as the Martyr of the Moors. The parents of Nicholas were James and Margaret Postgate, of Kirkdale Banks, Egton, and they had three sons, Matthew, William and Nicholas, although there is a suggestion there was a fourth child.

It is known Matthew inherited the family smallholding at Kirkdale Banks upon his mother’s death in 1624 (James, her husband, had died in 1603). Nicholas went off to Douai in the Spanish Netherlands to study for the priesthood. Records suggest William married Joanna Mylott and they went to live in Oxfordshire, having a son named Ralph who became a noted Jesuit priest.

My American correspondent has a family tree produced some years ago by an aunt who visited this area from which it appears Michael may be descended from Nicholas Postgate’s Uncle William, who went to live in Oxfordshire. My correspondent appears to be a descendant of that same Michael, which means he may be a blood relative of the Martyr of the Moors who was executed at York in 1679.

I am working on this!