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Freebrough Hill

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Coordinates: 54°30′16″N 0°56′11″W / 54.5045°N 0.9363°W / 54.5045; -0.9363
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Freebrough Hill
Freeburgh Hill
Freeborough Hill
A moorland landscape with a distinct rounded hill in the distance
Highest point
Elevation250 metres (821 ft)[note 1][4][5]
Coordinates54°30′16″N 0°56′11″W / 54.5045°N 0.9363°W / 54.5045; -0.9363[6]
Geography
CountryEngland
CountyNorth Yorkshire
DistrictRedcar and Cleveland
OS gridNZ689126[6]

Freebrough Hill is a small peak south of the village of Moorsholm, in Redcar and Cleveland, England. The hill sits just south of the A171 road and when viewed against the landscape, it has a conical-shape effect akin to Roseberry Topping. Suggestions have been put forward that the hill is man-made, but geologists state that it is a natural hill despite its appearance.

Location and description

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Freebrough Hill (also Freeburgh Hill or Freeborough Hill),[note 2] is a conical hill 1-mile (1.6 km) south of the village of Moorsholm in Redcar and Cleveland, previously County Cleveland (and before that, it was in the North Riding of Yorkshire), and is just within the North York Moors National Park, being at its northern boundary.[8][9][10] John Leyland suggests that the name stems from a Danish inflection of Frith-Borh meaning a meeting place (frank pledge), and that the Angles gathered at Freeburgh Hill, much like people did at the wapentakes in the later Middle Ages.[11] The Frith-Borh was a court of ten men who gathered at the site to settle disputes.[12] Others state that the name is of Viking origin, being named after the Norse god, Freya,[13] or that it means a fairy meeting place.[14]

Many writers have postulated that the hill had some sort of druidical or Viking burial connection and that the hill was man-made. According to Ord, the area and height of the hill is proof that it is not man-made, as that would mean it would have taken "...many thousands of Britons, hundreds of years [to build]."[15] However, geologists assert that the hill was naturally sculpted by ice during the Devensian period, and shares a similarity with nearby Roseberry Topping in that it is of a conical shape, and is hard rock (oolitic) which has been eroded to form the shape that it is now.[16][17][1] Its conical shape has led it to being described as a "..visible outlier in the landscape with a similar shape [to Roseberry Topping]."[18] Whilst its origins have been debated between natural and man-made, it has been suggested that it was still part of religious ceremonies through time; a cup-marked rock on the moor 800 metres (2,600 ft) to the south-west, points to the summit of the hill.[19] Due to it being a prominent hill shaped by ice, Freebrough Hill is a Local Geological Site in the North York Moors.[20] The hill is composed of oolite (also known as the upper estuarine series), cornbrash, and Kellaways Formation at the top.[21][22]

The hill is listed as having several different heights, the most popular being that it is 250 metres (821 ft) above sea level, and the base occupies an area of 2.8 hectares (7 acres).[5][2] One of the local legends is that the hill is the resting place of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, who are waiting to be awoken in a time of national crisis for Britain. However, many locations throughout England lay claim to being the resting place of Arthur and his knights.[10][23]

The landowner of Freebrough Hill permits people to ascend to the summit, though there is no defined path on mapping, and it remains private land.[24] The hill has the A171 road to the north and a minor road, Dimingdale Lane, running to the east. Buses provide a near-hourly service on the X93 and X94 routes between Guisborough and Whitby. The bus-stop is at the crossroads just to the north-east of the hill.[25]

The hill featured on a set of stamps issued in 2021 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the opening of the first 15 national parks in the United Kingdom.[26] Freebrough Academy, a secondary school located in nearby Brotton, takes its name from the hill.[27]

Notes

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  1. ^ Many references to the height of the hill state that it is 265 metres (871 ft), however, the Ordnance Survey map shows its highest contour to be 250 metres (820 ft).[1][2] Brown states the height to be 242 metres (794 ft).[3]
  2. ^ Some writers list it as Freeborough, but mapping shows it to be Freebrough.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Burning Quesions [sic]". The Northern Echo. 31 July 2000. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b "94" (Map). Whitby & Esk Dale. 1:50,000. Landranger. Ordnance Survey. 2018. ISBN 978-0-319-26192-7.
  3. ^ Brown, Paul M.; Chappell, Graeme (2005). Prehistoric rock art in the North York Moors. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus. p. 164. ISBN 0752433482.
  4. ^ "OL26" (Map). North York Moors - Western area. 1:25,000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. 2017. ISBN 978-0-319-24265-0.
  5. ^ a b Horton, Minnie C. (1979). The story of Cleveland. Middlesbrough: Cleveland County Libraries. p. 382. ISBN 0-904784-09-6.
  6. ^ a b "Freebrough Hill map | England". themountainguide.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  7. ^ White, Stanhope (1979). The North York Moors: an introduction. Clapham: Dalesman Books. p. 143. ISBN 0-8520-6522-1.
  8. ^ "Genuki: Skelton In Cleveland, Yorkshire (North Riding)". genuki.org.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  9. ^ The Cleveland Village Book. Newbury: Countryside Books. 1991. p. 109. ISBN 1-85306-139-5.
  10. ^ a b Rhea, Nicholas (1985). Portrait of the North York Moors. London: Hale. p. 85. ISBN 0-7090-2276-X.
  11. ^ Leyland, John (1892). The Yorkshire coast and the Cleveland hills and dales. London: Seeley & Co. p. 46. OCLC 1158554549.
  12. ^ "Genuki: Skelton In Cleveland Parish information from Bulmers' 1890., Yorkshire (North Riding)". genuki.org.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Village with docks but no ships - ProQuest". Middlesbrough Evening Gazette. 25 February 2010. ProQuest 351321439. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Smugglers, a stolen tank and bomber wreckage: Last week we shared some of Teesside's urban myths with you. Some of the outrageous stories that have become the stuff of legend are actually founded in truth - ProQuest". Middlesbrough Evening Gazette. 24 September 2016. ProQuest 1822548828. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  15. ^ Ord, John Walker (1846). The history and antiquities of Cleveland : comprising the wapentake of East and West Langbargh, North Riding, County York. London: Simpkin and Marshall. p. 266. OCLC 1048899800.
  16. ^ Brown, Mike (14 April 2019). "Myths, legends and folk stories on the origins of Freebrough Hill". Teesside Live. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  17. ^ "East Cleveland Landscape Area Designations" (PDF). teesvalleynaturepartnership.org.uk. p. 2. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  18. ^ O'Donoghue, Heather; Voyha, Pragha, eds. (2014). The Vikings in Cleveland. Nottingham: University of Nottingham. p. 35. ISBN 9780853583011.
  19. ^ Historic England. "Cup marked rock on Moorsholm Moor, 280m west of Dimingdale Farm (1018797)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  20. ^ "LCT 4: Coastal Hinterland Landscape Character Type" (PDF). northyorkmoors.org.uk. p. 86. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Geological survey of England and Wales; section of the Yorkshire coast at Redcar, across the ironstone measures at Upleatham, and the lower oolites of Skelton, Stanghow and Danby, with the outliers of Kellways Rocks at Freeborough [sic] Hill..." largeimages.bgs.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2024. Freebrough Hill is located on the second diagram down from the top, underneath the bearing latitude and longitude coordinates
  22. ^ Elgee, Frank (1912). The moorlands of north-eastern Yorkshire : their natural history and origin. London: A. Brown and Sons. p. 210. OCLC 1049672145.
  23. ^ Rhea, Nicholas (19 November 2010). "Farmer's knight to remember". Darlington and Stockton Times. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  24. ^ "Plea after sheep savaged by dogs". The Evening Gazette. 10 February 2009. p. 4. ISSN 2056-6131.
  25. ^ "X93 - Middlesbrough - Guisborough - Whitby - Scarborough". bustimes.org. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  26. ^ Lloyd, Chris (3 January 2021). "The Norse goddess and the enigmatic landmark which is to be featured on a new stamp". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  27. ^ "Heads in place for new college - ProQuest". The Northern Echo. 10 October 2000. ProQuest 328956842. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
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