The Vale of Mowbray (sometimes mistakenly referred to as the

Vale of York The Vale of York is an area of flat land in the northeast of England. The vale is a major agricultural area and serves as the main north–south transport corridor for Northern England. The Vale of York is often supposed to stretch from the R ...

) is a stretch of low-lying land between the North York Moors and the Hambleton Hills to the east and the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954. The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills rising from the Vale of York w ...

to the west. To the north lie the

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

lowlands and to the south the Vale of Mowbray becomes the Vale of York proper. The Vale of Mowbray is distinguishable from the Vale of York by its meandering rivers and more undulating landscape. The main characteristic of the Vale of Mowbray is the fertile agricultural land used for crops and permanent grassland, though isolated pockets of woodland remain. The roads in the Vale of Mowbray are characteristically contained by low hedges with wide verges. The villages are often linear following the major through road, the houses are generally brick built with

pantile A pantile is a type of fired roof tile, normally made from clay. It is S-shaped in profile and is single lap, meaning that the end of the tile laps only the course immediately below. Flat tiles normally lap two courses. A pantile-covered ro ...

roofs.

Description

The vale takes its name from the family who were granted the rights to the land after the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

of 1066. Robert de Mowbray, whose family had a stronghold at Thirsk Castle, was given the land by

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 House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

in 1086. The

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

definition of the boundaries of the Vale of Mowbray are the edge of the North York Moors in the east up to the A19/A172 junction; directly across to the junction at Scotch Corner on the A1(M), then straight down the A1(M) for a western boundary and the rough line from the A168 at Dishforth to

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England known for its racecourse; quirky yarnbomber displays, and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological ...

in the east. Geological surveys list the Vale of Mowbray being bounded to the west by the River Ure, and in the east by the foot of the Hambleton Hills.

Features

Settlements

* Bedale * Brompton * Catterick *

Crakehall Crakehall is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, approximately west of Bedale. More known as Thomas Barkers home grounds. The village lies along the route of the A684 road, A684 and is split into t ...

* East Cowton * Kirkby Fleetham * Kirkby Wiske * Middleton Quernhow *

Northallerton Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It had a population of 16,832 in the 2011 census, an increa ...

* Romanby * Scorton * Theakston *

Major roads

* A1(M) motorway North-South * A19 North-South * A167 North-South * A684 East-West

Railways

* East Coast Main Line * Northallerton–Eaglescliffe line * Scruton–Redmire * Eryholme–Richmond branch line (closed) *

Leeds–Northallerton railway The Leeds–Northallerton railway is a partly disused railway line between West Yorkshire, West and North Yorkshire, in northern England. History The line was opened by the Leeds Northern Railway, in the 1850s. The Leeds and Thirsk Railway via ...

(closed)

Rivers

River Swale The River Swale in Yorkshire, England, is a major tributary of the River Ure, which becomes the River Ouse, that empties into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. The river gives its name to Swaledale, the valley through which it flows. ...

River Wiske The River Wiske is a tributary of the River Swale in Yorkshire, England. The Wiske gives its name to several villages it passes through. The name Wiske is derived from an Old English word ''wisca'' meaning a water meadow. It was once known as t ...

* Cod Beck

References

Sources

* *{{cite report, last=Lake, first=Jeremy, title=Vale of Mowbray, Eastern Arable , date=November 2020, format=PDF, url=https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/reports/8041/ValeofMowbrayEasternArable, website=historicengland.org.uk, access-date=31 October 2021

External links

Vale of Mowbray pdf
Valleys of North Yorkshire Natural regions of England