From Ituri to Raincliffe -
a brief history of a woodland
By Yasmin Stefanov-King
Photograph of ficus tree from Harrison’s album ©Scarborough Museums and Galleries
When Harrison went undertook his expeditions to the Congo in 1904 and 1908, he was exploring and hunting within the Ituri Forest. This is home to the forest giraffe, known as the okapi, as well as the greatest diversity of primates of any comparable area [1]. The main carnivores are leopards, genets and mongoose, and there are a range of different antelope. There are versions of buffalo, bongo and elephants – all slightly smaller than their savannah based relatives. The area is home to two principle inhabitants, nomadic hunter-gatherers, and village dwelling agriculturalists from four different backgrounds, known collectively as the Bambuti [2], with evidence of settlement in the area reaching back to the Stone Age and Bronze Age [3]. This area, which is home to such a wide base of animals and plants, is in the region of 24,300 square miles, making it half the size of England (50,301) [4]. The sheer scale of this forest is difficult to comprehend, and it would be easy to think that it is something completely removed from our understanding.
Forge Valley, Scarborough, at turn of the 19th century.
Yet whilst this may be true in terms of size, we need to remember that actually, here in Scarborough we have our own planted ancient woodland. There is evidence of human occupancy within Raincliffe Woods since the Bronze Age – around 3500 years ago. Prehistoric burial mounds and boundaries have been recorded in detail by the Ordnance Survey in the 19th century [5] but many sites were levelled after the moor top became farmland in the 20th century [6]. Over the intervening period there are references to various individuals cutting down trees in Raincliffe in the middle of the 16th century [7], and in 1538 ‘Rayn Clyf’ was listed as a place where wood could be found for repairs to Scarborough Castle [8]. The suggestion is that from the Middle Ages onwards, much of the timber that helped to build the ever-expanding town of Scarborough, came from this woodland [9].
Visits to the forest changed over time, from practical trips – to collect firewood or timber – to more recreational, and as Scarborough developed its reputation as a spa town, so those same visitors started to visit the area for rest and relaxation. The first Scarborough guidebook of 1787 advised visitors to take the road along the bottom of the hill on horseback ‘on account of deep and miry spots, which are cut in by the heavy laden wood carriages’ [10].
One of the charabancs which used to collect passengers from Scarborough Train Station and bring them to the woodland.
In 1790 Raincliffe Woods came into the ownership of the Londesborough family through the London banker Joseph Denison. In later generations the Londesborough family were military and social contemporaries of Colonel James Harrison. The second Lord Londesborough, William Denison, created several rides and drives through the woods and named them after his female relatives, such as Lady Edith’s Drive, named after his wife, Lady Edith Somerset. Now the road cuts up from the main Scalby Road, but at the time it was built, this was all woodland, and the private carriageway cut through lower Raincliffe to Forge Valley. Shaw’s guidebook [11] published in 1874 advised visitors ‘not to stray too far into the wood, as the game is strictly preserved here by Lord Londesborough’ and there can be little doubt that he valued the woods more for shooting game than for their scenic beauty [12].
Forge Cottages.
It was not just Lord Londesborough who was making use of the forest though. There is evidence to suggest that there were charcoal burners living in the woods, and the valley itself is named after the forge that used to be there. By Harrison’s time the forge itself was no longer working, but instead it became a popular tourist spot in its own right. Three buildings remained there up until the 1950s, known as Forge Cottages, and these became a favourite stopping off place for refreshments in the later 19th century where ‘they make tea, providing hot water, cream etc.’ [13]. When Lord Londesborough originally built Lady Edith’s drive, it had toll gates at either end, but at Easter pedestrians were allowed to walk there freely, and it became a tradition for locals to walk along and have refreshments at the tea rooms, in the old forge cottages [14]. The setting was beautiful, with gardens to the front, and stepping stones across the river, which were later replaced with a small bridge, which led to the petrifying springs.
Visitors to the woodland now may drive through on their way from Scalby to East Ayton, without really thinking about the historic past of this planted ancient woodland, but it holds a history and biodiversity as interesting as that of any other forest.
Colourised postcard of the bridge at Forge Cottages.
With thanks to Raincliffe Woods for their help, support and guidance. Images from the collection of Robert Peacock
References
ibid
Mercader, J. & Brooks, A. (2001) Across forests and savannas: later stone-age assemblages from Ituri and Semliki, Democratic Republic of Congo, Journal of Anthropological Research, Vol. 57, No. 2 (Summer, 2001), pp.197-217
Ordnance Survey 1854 1:10560 scale map
Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society (2018) An Archaeological Survey of Forge Valley, Raincliffe and Row Brow Woods Scarborough North Yorkshire, Report 49, March 2018, c/o The Street, 12 Lower Clark Street, Scarborough, YO12 7PW
McGeown, S. (2015) A History of Seamer in the County of North Yorkshire. Pickering: Blackthorn Press, cited in: Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society (2018) An Archaeological Survey of Forge Valley, Raincliffe and Row Brow Woods Scarborough North Yorkshire, Report 49, March 2018, c/o The Street, 12 Lower Clark Street, Scarborough, YO12 7PW
Rowntree 1931, 164
Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society (2018) An Archaeological Survey of Forge Valley, Raincliffe and Row Brow Woods Scarborough North Yorkshire, Report 49, March 2018, c/o The Street, 12 Lower Clark Street, Scarborough, YO12 7PW
Schofield, J (1787) An Historical and Descriptive Guide to Scarborough and its Region. York: Blanchard
Shaw 1874 (6th edn.) Shaw’s Tourist’s Picturesque Guide to Scarborough. London: Norton and Shaw, cited in: Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society (2018) An Archaeological Survey of Forge Valley, Raincliffe and Row Brow Woods Scarborough North Yorkshire, Report 49, March 2018, c/o The Street, 12 Lower Clark Street, Scarborough, YO12 7PW
Binns, J. 2002 Heroes, Rogues and Eccentrics: A Biographical Journey Through Scarborough’s Past. Pickering: Blackthorn Press, cited in: Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society (2018) An Archaeological Survey of Forge Valley, Raincliffe and Row Brow Woods Scarborough North Yorkshire, Report 49, March 2018, c/o The Street, 12 Lower Clark Street, Scarborough, YO12 7PW
Shaw 1874 (6th edn.) Shaw’s Tourist’s Picturesque Guide to Scarborough. London: Norton and Shaw, cited in: Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society (2018) An Archaeological Survey of Forge Valley, Raincliffe and Row Brow Woods Scarborough North Yorkshire, Report 49, March 2018, c/o The Street, 12 Lower Clark Street, Scarborough, YO12 7PW