Peculiarity of Character by Clair Shields Planning Officer (Building Conservation) with the North York Moors National Park Authority

The majority of the 3,000+ Listed Buildings across the North York Moors form traditional houses, cottages or farmsteads constructed of local stone with pantile or slate roofs. However there are some other unusual and peculiar structures listed for their special interest and historic value.

Standing in front of Robin Hood’s Bay’s Old Coastguard Station at the top of the slipway, which was formerly used by the village’s lifeboat and fishing fleet, is a curious cod structure which is in fact an RNLI collecting box, donated by the family of a local ship owner Isaac Mills in 1886. The cod was ‘fish-napped’ by local pranksters in 2006 and its brief absence galvanised local feeling towards the fishy curio. On its return the Parish Council successfully applied to English Heritage to consider the structure for listing. It is thought to be one of the oldest collecting boxes still in service for the RNLI. A partnership scheme funded by the National Park and English Heritage paid for the collecting box to be restored and the traditional sign, which was missing, to be remade based on historic photos of the structure.

Whilst the traditional red telephone box is an iconic English feature, a green one – such as that at Fangdale Beck - is perhaps less so. It is a classic K6 type, designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and made by Macfarlane of Glasgow. We think its green colour was the result of a competition for local school children who were given the opportunity to choose its colour.

The shooting box situated at the foot of Roseberry Topping was built for Captain Wilson to shelter members of the local gentry who visited this romantic spot for picnics or for shooting. Providing far reaching views northwards on a clear and sunny day you won’t find many places as idyllic as this. The National Park recently managed the restoration of the building in partnership with Natural England who funded the repairs. Anyone who has ‘sheltered’ here will know that the wind whistles through the building and the ensuing microclimate had caused severe erosion of the internal walls. Deeply eroded joints between stones were galletted (packed out with slips of stone) and then lime pointed and a damaged section of the cornice was replaced.

If you own a listed or heritage building in the North York Moors and would like advice on how to care for it, you can contact the Authority’s building conservation team on 01439 772700 or email building@northyorkmoors.org.uk. Pictures of the structures mentioned above and others can be found on the National Park blog at: http://northyorkmoorsnationalpark.wordpress.com