Rombalds Moor is an area of moorland in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England, between the

Airedale Airedale is a geographic area in Yorkshire, England, corresponding to the river valley or dale of the River Aire. The valley stretches from the river's origin in Aire Head Springs, Malham which is in the Yorkshire Dales, down past Skipton ...

and

Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is the valley of the upper parts of the River Wharfe and one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated within the districts of Craven and Harrogate in North Yorkshire, and the cities of Leeds and Bradford in West Yorkshire. It ...

valleys. The towns of

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...

and

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west o ...

lie to its northern and southern edges, respectively. The moor is sometimes referred to as Ilkley Moor, though technically this refers to the section of moor on the northern flank, above the town of Ilkley.

Geography

Rombalds Moor consists of several moors, usually named after the nearest town or village bordering it. They include (clockwise from north): Ilkley Moor, Burley Moor, Hawksworth Moor, Baildon Moor, Bingley Moor, Morton Moor, and Addingham High Moor. There are over 400 examples of stones with

cup and ring marks Cup and ring marks or cup marks are a form of prehistoric art found in the Atlantic seaboard of Europe (Ireland, Wales, Northern England, Scotland, France (Brittany), Portugal, and Spain (Galicia) – and in Mediterranean Europe – Italy (in Alp ...

on them scattered across Rombalds Moor.

Etymology

The moor is said to be named after the local folklore legend of Rombald the Giant, though the name is likely to be a corruption of ''Romille'', the moors surrounding Skipton having been given to

Robert de Romille Robert de Romille (also de Rumilly) was an adventurer from Brittany who joined the Normans in their Conquest of Britain. After 1086 King William I made him lord of the estates of Bolton Abbey. Romille built the first Skipton Castle in 1090 to repe ...

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

. Earlier Ordnance Survey maps show an earlier variant of the name as ''Rumbles Moor''.

References

{{Reflist Moorlands of England Keighley