The Gypsey Race and the Great Wolds Valley Sacred Landscape

The best-known of these Gypsey streams is the Gypsey Race, which winds its way through the Great Wolds Valley to the North Sea at Bridlington. During the Neolithic period, this stream was the focus of an extensive ritual landscape.

The source of the legend-haunted watercourse is a quiet but numinous spring surrounded by a thicket of bushes and nettles.It is located at the side of a ploughed field near the edge of the tranquil Wolds village of Wharram-le Street. The gentle stream then flows east towards the modern village of Duggleby and past the ancient burial mound of Duggleby Howe. This is the first of a number of important Neolithic monuments along the valley of the Gypsey race.

Duggleby Howe is one of the largest remaining monuments to be found in the Wolds. Like many apparently simple monuments, it had a long and complex history. The earliest phase of the site was an inhumation at the base of a shaft grave, along with a decorated bowl and some flints. Two further burials and a separate skull were incorporated into the infill of this shaft. After the infill had settled, two more persons were buried with a few prestigious items in the hollow left by the settling. Another hollow was cut alongside the shaft-grave, into which went another inhumation, again with relatively rich grave goods. Next, a round barrow was built over these graves, incorporating six infant, one adolescent and one adult burials. The crest of this round barrow was used as a cremation cemetery for fifty-three deposits. Later, everything was sealed under a layer of clay and a large mound of chalk rubble built over it.

Duggleby Howe, Willy Howe, Southside Mount and other large barrows scattered about the Wolds form a group of monuments known as the Great Yorkshire Barrows. It has been suggested that they could be the ancestors of the great mound of Silbury Hill in Wiltshire, though other candidates have been suggested13.

At some point during the development of the site, a huge ditched enclosure was built, enclosing 10.5 hectares centred on Duggleby Howe. The ditch is visible today only on aerial photographs. It forms a single segmented circuit around the barrow and is reminiscent of other causewayed enclosures of that time. Only the major Wessex henges of Marden, Durrington Walls and Avebury were larger². From the Howe the source of the Gypsey Race is clearly visible and its bed can be seen sweeping round outside the enclosure.

From Duggleby, the stream flows through the villages of Kirby Grindalythe, West and East Lutton and Helperthorpe before it comes to Weaverthorpe, where traces of a cursus have recently been discovered³. The Race proceeds towards Boythorpe, but unusually disappears between these two villages at some point which depends on the water table. It takes a subterranean way to the village of Wold Newton, where in former times it would bubble to the surface again via a number of small springs^l. The bed of the stream then carries on past an ancient burial mound on the edge of Wold Newton. This circular mound was reconstructed after being excavated in 1894. Recent aerial photographs show that it is surrounded by a 'henge type' causewayed ditch which merges with the present course of the Gypsey Race at its northern edge.

From Wold Newton, the stream bed pushes onwards towards the enigmatic mound of Willy Howe; once again, the Gypsey Race passes an important Neolithic monument located on a spur of land above the stream (although prior to the seventeenth century, it apparently flowed a little further to the north). Willy Howe is about 36.5 metres across and about 7.5 m. high. It is thought by some archaeologists to be of the same general date as Duggleby Howe, which is similar in size. It was excavated in 1857 and 1887, but no burials or datable objects were found. However, a pit 1.3 m. long, 0.8 m. wide and about 3 m. deep was discovered^3,4. Although nothing was found in this, its resemblance to the shaft-grave under Duggleby Howe is surely not a coincidence.

Willy Howe also has an interesting piece of folklore attached to it. It is said that long ago, in the darkest part of the night, a lone horseman rode past Willy Howe. As he drew near, he heard music coming from the mound, so he pulled up his horse and approached the ancient tumulus. He found that the music issued from a door in its side. When he looked inside, he was amazed to see a brightly lit room filled with gaily-attired fairy folk making merry. Suddenly, he was spotted by one of the host, who offered him a cup of wine. The traveller knew that if he drank it, he would be enslaved by the fairies, so when he took the cup he dashed its contents to the ground and leapt astride his horse. He then rode off as fast as he could, still clutching the fairy cup. The fairies gave chase, but the horse galloped like the wind and easily outstripped them. This picturesque tale was collected by a monk called William of Newburgh, who was born in Bridlington in 1136. He later became a canon at Newburgh Priory near the village of Coxwold. It is further recorded that the traveller presented the fairy cup to King Henry 1, who then passed it on to King David of Scotland. It was later given to King Henry II after he expressed an interest in it, but then disappears from the annals of history⁵.

Willy Howe and the Wold Newton barrow form part of a large Neolithic ritual centre along with the nearby henge on Paddock Hill, near Thwing³.

After passing Willy Howe, the Gypsey Race flows through the village of Burton Fleming. In the distant past, it was the custom of the young people of the village to go down to the banks of the stream to "meet the Gypsey" whenever it rose in flood¹.

From Burton Fleming, the stream changes course and heads south towards another important Neolithic complex at Rudston, passing on its way the evocatively named Maidensgrave Farm. As it journeys onwards, it glides past another important Neolithic monument, the Maidensgrave Henge. This is a Class 2 Henge, i.e. it has a symmetrical oval bank with two opposing entrances. A small scale excavation in 1964 revealed that there was no berm between the banks and internal ditch. A line of four post-holes across the centre was also discovered^3,6.

Apart from the famous monolith, there is little to see at Rudston today, but at its zenith it was one of the most important and complex sites in the north. A cursus is a major undertaking for any Neolithic society, but the Rudston complex boasts no less than four, the greatest concentration in the country. It has been suggested that the most likely use of a cursus was as a processional way to lead people through a variety of landscape experiences⁷. All four cursuses start on high ground some distance from the monolith and then cross the landscape in the direction of the monolith (or vice versa). At least two of them crossed the Gypsey Race and the longest seems to have run roughly parallel with it; the present course of the Race cuts through the remains of this cursus, though, owing to alterations in the course of the stream, I do not know whether this was so in ancient times. A cursus could also have functioned as a barrier. One extends 2.5 km. south of Rudston, while another stretches away to the north for about 4 km. Together, these act to cut off the Great Wolds Valley from an 'industrial' area to the east; the cliffs around Flamborough Head were one of the most important sources of flint in the north, which resulted in a large area of settlement and artifact production between Rudston and the sea.

The Monolith is the largest standing stone remaining in England^3,6, standing 7.5 m. high, 2 m. wide and 0.75 m. deep. In 1861 the churchyard near it was raised 1.5 m., indicating that it was even higher above ground in the past9,10. The hills around the ritual centre are dotted with tumuli which have been carefully placed so as to be visible from the stone. The valley changes course here, forming a natural amphitheatre with the spur at its focus.

The most famous legend involving Rudston concerns the link between the huge standing stone and the Devil⁸. It is said that Old Nick picked it up and flung it at the church, hoping to destroy the Christian temple. As usual, his aim was not too good and he missed.

Archaeologists note that the stone is made of grit and originates from the Cayton or Cornelian Bay areas about 16 km. to the north⁹. Some have suggested that the stone was pulled here by Neolithic people, but others think it may have been pushed by the same glacier that carved out the Forge Valley⁹. Sir William Stickland of nearby Boynton excavated here and found as much of the stone below ground as there is above! It is also said that he found a great quantity of skulls^l0,11.

From Rudston, the Gypsey Race heads east. past another large barrow known as Southside Mount7 Like the other monuments, it is situated on high ground, overlooking the valley of the Gypsey Race, but this site also lies the east of the "Cursus Barrier" (though not very far. The mound is 30 m. across and today stands 2.7 m. high. It consists of an inner earthen mound covered with a layer of heavy chalk rubble. A large number of burials were found here, all but one being later insertions. The primary burial over which this great edifice was raised was the body of a child about one year old. This child was buried along with some bones of a young woman; it has been speculated that these bones belong to the child's mother who died first, perhaps in childbirth, and was buried elsewhere, later to be dug up and reinterred with the child at its death".

The Race now continues east until it meets the North Sea at Bridlington Harbour. Rudston seems to be the last major complex in the Great Wolds Valley Ritual Landscape. Since there are no comparable sites known either in the Vale of Pickering or the North York Moors, it appears that this area was the ritual centre for a considerable distance round about. The nearest comparable ritual complex is that along the course of the River Ure in the Vale of York³.

Today, a hint of the awe that the Gypsey Race once inspired still lingers on. Even now, most people are aware of the stream's supposed prophetic properties. William of Newborough, writing in the eleventh century, noted that there was widespread belief that when the Gypsey waters ran there was likely to be a famine the year after. This belief was later recorded by Drayton and Defoe in the eighteenth century, who further noted that the Race also prophesied plague. Local tradition affirmed that the Race was in full flow before the Great Plague of 1665. Later, the flooding of the Gypsey Race was felt to presage a variety of local and national calamities, including the fall of the great meteor at Wold Newton, a great storm in the North Sea in 1880 and the First World War. It has been pointed out, however, that the Race was also flowing in 1844, 1900 and 1910, when no great calamities were recorded1.

Today, the Gypsey Race has lost much of its ancient power and mystique. It now runs mostly through artificial channels alongside field boundaries and roads instead of choosing its own course along the floor of the Great Wolds Valley. Human interference has led to a lowering of the water table and nowadays little flows through the channel of the Race. The valley itself is given over to intensive modern agriculture and the guttural roar of the tractor constantly assails the ear of the modern seeker after mystery. However, a few evocative legends have survived the years. It is still possible to catch a faint echo of the ancient magic if you walk between the hedgerows along the valley floor and gaze up at the gentle swell of the enigmatic mounds. Feelings of awe still rise up in the hearts of those who stand on the high ground above Rudston and look down on the church and monolith. A quiet magic yet lingers here...

1. Smith, Rev. W. Ancient Springs & Streams of the East Riding of Yorkshire. London, 1923.

2. Kinnes, I., Schadla-Hall, T., Chadwick, P., ~ Dean, P. 'Duggleby Howe Reconsidered', in Archaeological Journal Vol.140 (1983), pp. 83 108.

3. Manby, T. (ed.). Archaeology. in Eastern Yorkshire. 1988.

4. Longworth, Ian. Regional Archaeologies: Yorkshire. Heinemann, 1966.

5. Walker, P.N. Folk Tales from York & the Wolds. Hale, 1992.

6. Mclnnes, I.J. 'A Class 2 Henge in the East Riding of Yorkshire', Antiquity, 1964.

7. Bradley, Richard. Altering the Earth., 1993.

8. Thomas, N. Guide to Prehistoric Britain. Batsford, 1976.

9. Fargus, Maxwell. The Monolith & All Saints Church at Rudston. Priv., 1992.

10. Dodds, G. The Rudston Monolith'; Waller, T. 'The Rudston Monolith'.l891. In Smith, W. (ed.), Old Yorkshire, Longmans, Green & Co.

11. Greenwell Rolleston. British Barrows. 1877.

12. 'Garton Station'. Current Archaeology 103, Jan. 1987.

13. See Hutton, Ronald. The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles, Blackwell, 1991.

For a general text on ritual landscapes, see Devereux, Paul, Symbolic Landscapes, Gothic Image, Glastonbury 1992.

In 1985, there was a major excavation at the Iron Age cemetery known as Garton Station on the Yorkshire Wolds. Many important finds were made, but the most important for this connection were four graves along the course of a 'gypsey stream' (though not the (Gypsey Race itself) which flowed through the cemetery. Most of the Iron Age graves there were inhumations, surrounded by a square ditch. The infill from each ditch was then heaped over the grave to form a barrow. However, the four graves differed from this norm - the bodies were placed in a crouching position in a deep pit and had a number of spears thrown at them. One had the remains of eleven spears stuck in it. Another was found with seven spears in the corpse and another seven thrown into the grave as it was filled. Archaeologists speculate that this was an attempt to 'kill the ghosts' of dead warriors. Each of these burials was then surrounded by an atypical round ditch and a barrow thrown over it. The most significant aspect for,this study was that the water from the gypsey stream would inundate these graves when it ran¹².

This site is located some miles south of the ritual landscape described in the main article, but it does indicate that later people considered gypsey springs to have some special property.