The White Horse was designed and financed by Thomas Taylor, a Victorian businessman, and was cut in 1857. A native of Kilburn, he worked for a London merchant. He had seen the famous chalk hill figures of southern England and wanted to create something similar for his home village.
The village schoolmaster, John Hodgson, and helpers did the work. He marked out the figure of a horse on a hillside high above the village. A team of thirty-one volunteers did the actual cutting. When the shape of the Horse was complete, they deposited 6 tons of lime on the naturally greyish rock beneath to whiten it.
The White Horse is 314ft long and 228ft high and about 20 people could stand on the grass island, which forms the eye, though walking on the horse is now strongly discouraged.
Unlike the horses in the South of England which are cut into chalk and are therefore naturally white and virtually self-preserving, the Kilburn white horse is cut into limestone, which is the wrong colour and needs artificial whitening. This was first done using gallons of whitewash, but now chalk chippings from the Yorkshire Wolds are used. Its conspicuousness hasn't always been considered a benefit; during World War II the Horse had to be covered over to stop it becoming a target for German bombers !
The North York Moors National Park have published a short walk around the White Horse and Sutton Bank. This walk skirts the nearby Yorkshire Gliding Club.
Emley Moor Transmitting Station is a telecommunications and broadcasting facility on Emley Moor, 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Emley. The station's most visible feature is its 1,084-foot (330.4 m) tall concrete tower, which is a Grade II listed building. It is the tallest freestanding structure in the United Kingdom.
The tower's official name "Arqiva Tower" is shown on a sign beside the offices at the base of the tower but it is commonly known as "Emley Moor mast". It is the 3rd tower to have occupied the site since 1956. The preceding tower collapsed during bad weather in March 1969. The photo above shows the new tower (1971) from the top of Holme Moss.
On my travels around Yorkshire I occasionally found great eateries and shops. This remote location on the moors has one of the best butchers/delicatessens around. It's worth a trip out for the scenery alone ! I regularly stopped for their home made pies and scotch eggs. They even sell that fancy continental food as well. J Brindon Addy's comes highly recommended by those in the know.
Seabrook Crisps was founded by Charles Brook in 1945. The trade name originated with some confusion about the spelling of Mr Brook's name. Seabrook's original factory was on the site of a liberal club in the Allerton area. In 1979/80 a larger factory was built nearby at Princeville. All the production has been at the Princeville premises since 2004.
The crisps are available throughout the UK and the company remains a family concern. The crisps are cooked in sunflower oil and are MSG free. The company employs about 150 people and mostly uses Yorkshire grown potatoes in it's main product.
Mitchell's Wool Fat Soap was first produced in the early 1930's by Bradford chemist Fred Mitchell who realised that the natural lanolin content of wool fat, which kept the hands of local sheep shearers and wool sorters so exceptionally soft, could also be beneficial to delicate complexions and sensitive skins.
A simple and natural product, Mitchell's Wool Fat Soap is still made to Mr. Mitchell's original formula, based on a recipe from the turn of the century and incorporating lanolin from the wool fat as the key ingredient.
Although no medical claims are made for it, this very gentle soap is particularly soothing to sensitive skins and has often been recommended by members of the medical profession to help alleviate certain skin complaints.
From its early loyal following of mainly local customers, the reputation of Mitchell's Wool Fat Soap has grown and it is now in great demand not only in the British Isles but in Europe, Australia, Japan and the USA.
Again in response to customer demand, other products developed from the original recipe, such as shampoo and bath foam, have now been added to the Mitchell's range.
