The History of the Parish of Eskdaleside-cum-Ugglebarnby

Although Eskdaleside and Ugglebarnby are both listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, Sleights itself goes unmentioned. The Parish takes its present double name from a much later event: in 1829 the two church parishes of All Saints, Ugglebarnby, and St John the Evangelist, Eskdaleside, were formally brought together. That union endures in the name of the Parish today, even though the familiar name of Sleights has little connection with the church history of the area.

Sleights reappears in the records in 1396, when it is noted in the Rolls of Whitby Abbey. At that time the settlement was no more than a handful of modest cottages, and the shadow of the Black Death still hung heavily over the district. Over the following decades the community recovered, and larger houses began to be built. Esk Hall, raised by the Cockerill family, is mentioned in 1540 as property of the Abbey. Sleights Hall, also dating to the 14th century, was once the residence of the Lord of Ugglebarnby. Though it later fell into ruin, it was rebuilt in the nineteenth century and survives today.

The first comprehensive survey of the land came in 1849 as part of the national Ordnance Survey. Ugglebarnby Parish then covered 2,470 acres, with Eskdaleside close behind at 1,939 acres. Today the combined Parish counts 1,981 residents, with most of Sleights lying outside the National Park boundary.

For centuries, travel in and out of the village was difficult and growth was slow. Life began to change in the mid-eighteenth century with the turnpike roads, and even more dramatically with the arrival of the railway in 1840, which linked Sleights to wider markets and opportunities.

Industry, too, left its imprint. From the mid-seventeenth century until the 1830s, alum was quarried locally at sites including Littlebeck and Eskdaleside. Rows of workers’ cottages sprang up to house the influx of labourers. Later, ironstone was mined and smelted at Grosmont, then part of the Parish, before declining as richer ore was discovered in the Cleveland Hills. The closure of those works brought emigration, with many families sailing from Whitby to Canada and further afield. Since then the village has expanded gently, with agriculture continuing to shape its character.

Education was established with the opening of the first National School in 1834, on land gifted by Henry Walker Yeoman for the sum of five shillings. That building, later known as Inkwells, is now a private home, while the present school, near Coach Road, dates from 1968.

Everyday details still remind us of past generations. The village pump on Coach Road, built in 1859, replaced the old rope-and-bucket well. It last served the community during the floods of 1930, when mains supply failed. The village stocks once stood nearby, though they have long since disappeared.

The River Esk has always demanded its bridges. The first, built in 1190 under an agreement between Abbot Peter of Whitby and Reginald de Rosels, Lord of the western bank, was washed away by flood, as was its 1720 stone successor. Temporary crossings served until the present road bridge was built in 1938, with the Briggswath footbridge following in 1940.

Finally, Sleights has long been a beacon site. Though nothing of the original remains, its position is marked on an Enclosure Map of 1760, high on the moor above Partridge Nest Farm. In 2000, a new beacon was raised there by the Parish Council to mark the Millennium, carrying forward a tradition that has watched over the community for centuries.

This short history of the parish of Eskdaleside-cum-Ugglebarnby was compiled by Cllr E M Preston and updated by Cllr S R Bremner.