"I’VE been fascinated with your articles about binks and boles,” says Tony Hutchinson, of Askrigg, referring to our fascination with stone benches for milk churns (or binks) and stone niches in sunny walls for bees (boles).
“I returned to the UK five years ago after 47 years overseas and have settled in upper Wensleydale. I walk extensively in the area and have seen many of these items but my interest has been caught by stone field gate posts.
“Sad isn’t it!
“I’ve come across many different designs, but usually one of the gateposts would have holes right through it to allow wooden poles to be threaded through it and then inserted into the female post. All I can find is that they can date from Saxon times, although now they are usually only found singly, because as the width of field entrances increased, one post has been discarded.
“A number of single posts have been relocated to peoples’ gardens.
Tony Hutchinson has become interested in these carved gateposts in Coverdale. A huge amount of time must have been invested in hollowing out the holes for the wood of the gate to slot into. Is there a local name for them? How were they made?
“Is there a local name for them, I wonder?”
A similar thought crossed our mind only this weekend as we were out walking in Arkengarthdale, admiring a higgledy-piggledy line of stone posts that once held handrails to help miners descend to Arkle Beck, near Eskeleth Bridge. A huge amount of work had gone into hollowing out the recesses where the handrails once sat.
Any information on stone posts, or pictures of other good examples, is, of course, most welcome. Please email chris.lloyd@nne.co.uk
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