Every year around this time, I re-examine my incoming mail that has been generated by this column during the past year. It is interesting and perhaps significant that few letters now come via Royal Mail; most are transmitted via emails to the D&S Times and are sent along to me from this newspaper’s head office in Darlington.

I thank all who have taken the trouble to contact me as their letters, opinions and knowledge provide a sound base and useful guide for the content of these weekly notes. One thing that has emerged is that many correspondents seem to think I work in the offices of the D&S Times. I do not – I am a freelance writer who works from home, in this case almost forty miles to the south-east of Darlington. The village where I live is on the southern edge of the North York Moors National Park.

I am very fortunate to have around me lots of open countryside, along with distant moorland and forests. Not only do those surrounds offer peace and solitude when required, they also provide the raw material for much of my work in this column. From my study windows, I can see two soaring buzzards even as I write these notes whilst we are awaiting yet another windy storm with rain, one of many this winter.

My wife and I spent Christmas in York at the homes of two of our daughters and we were fortunate to leave on Boxing Day just before the worst of the flooding hit the city. Happily, neither of the girls’ homes was flooded although access to and from York itself was difficult if not impossible in some cases.

Our drive home through the countryside did entail the negotiation of several flooded areas beyond York but we managed to reach our house without getting either my feet wet or the spark plugs damp! Now, as I compile these notes, my local papers show awesome and troublesome flooding around Malton and Norton, Tadcaster and other parts of West Yorkshire not forgetting the Dales of both West and North Yorkshire in addition to yet more flooded areas around the City of York. The night before writing these notes, Tadcaster’s handsome 18th century bridge collapsed into the flooded River Wharfe. Our thoughts and prayers go to all those who have suffered in this dreadful weather.

Returning to the subject of my incoming mail last year, around half my letters referred to the cuckoo. They were expressing the general alarm that this noted herald of spring is becoming increasingly scarce. Cuckoos are migrants that visit us for quite a short period in the spring, returning to their other base in Africa during late summer. Most of us become aware of the cuckoo due to its distinctive call; I think few of us actually see cuckoos in the wild.

Most of us might not recognize this bird if they did spot one in a tree or flying overhead. Some might think it was a sparrow hawk.

Apart from nature, local history is always of interest and our readers do possess a good knowledge of their home area. This spreads into other areas such as the curious names of some villages, the naming of inns or even concern about some of the scarce flowers that grow wild in several localities, Teesdale in particular.

A handful of letters featured the changes in our farming methods and expressed concern that machinery is now taking over the former work of man in the fields. Also I had a few letter that echoed the official history of the Church of England.

In all, it has been a varied and interesting correspondence for which I thank everyone, whether readers or letter-writers. May we discover and learn more during this New Year.

TREES AS A TRIBUTE

A little known fact is that some conifer trees on the slopes of a hill near Whorlton not far from Stokesley on the A172, were planted so that the maturing foliage produced different colours. Those colours produced the initials EIIR in honour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

I have been told by an RAF pilot that they can be seen only from the air, but I have not attempted to check the truth of that. I was told this gem of history more than twenty years ago.

Over time, of course, the trees might have expanded and grown to distort that lettering - or it might still be there to be viewed only from the air.

Whorlton was clearly a village of some importance in the past because it boasts a castle and an historic church. The castle occupies a site of considerable stature because it looks down upon the A172 and over a large tract of countryside. From the castle walls, all likely invaders could be spotted well in advance so that plans for their reception could be produced well ahead of their arrival.

I am not sure who actually owns Whorlton Castle – I don’t think it is cared for by any of our national agencies such as The Department of the Environment and so it is open for all to visit free of charge but it does mean there is no official guide.

It is thought to have been constructed in Norman times although most of its alterations date from the fourteenth century and it may have once belonged to King Henry VIII. It is said he gave it to the Earl of Lennox who, by his wife (a niece of Henry VIII) was father of the Earl of Darnley, husband of Mary Queen of Scots. One story is that the intrigues of that historic and troubled marriage were plotted at Whorlton Castle. Today there is little to see within the castle ruins. However, it does possess a splendid gatehouse bearing four shields carved into the stonework.

Three of the shields represent local families – the Meynells, the Darcys and the Greys with the fourth marking the union of the Meynells and Darcys. It is difficult to imagine that centuries ago, Whorlton Castle was surrounded by a moat with a drawbridge. When I arrived some time ago to look around the castle, I was greeted by the scent of a log fire in one of the surviving twelfth century vaults.

It was three workmen cooking their lunch over a log fire but it added an air of realism to this ancient place.

Nearby is another ancient ruin, this time a crumbling church that probably also dates to Norman times. The approach is along an avenue of ancient yews and some Norman arches have survived. There is also a fifteenth century tower complete with bell and a fifteenth century east window in the remains of the chancel.

And here is something quite remarkable. The chancel still has a roof and is sometimes used for burial services, but inside is a curious stone cross on the window ledge and a rare oaken effigy of a knight. It lies in a canopied tomb and probably dates to 1400. It is a hollow oak figure and depicts a man lying with his legs crossed and a dog at his feet. It is thought to be the effigy of Sir Nicholas, the second Lord Meynell who died in 1322.

The importance of Whorlton ended with a plague in 1428 when its population fell to a mere ten people who moved into nearby Swainby. end