Troutsdale
| Troutsdale | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Floor elevation | 96 m (315 ft)[1] |
| Geography | |
| Location | North Yorkshire |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 54°17′0″N 0°35′7″W / 54.28333°N 0.58528°W [2] |
| River | Troutsdale Beck |
 Interactive map of Troutsdale | |
Troutsdale is a narrow valley that lies on the south-eastern edge of the North York Moors National Park, in North Yorkshire, England. The water flowing through the valley, Troutsdale beck, feeds eastwards into the River Derwent at West Croft. The valley is 9 miles (14 km) west of Scarborough, and 10 miles (16 km) north east of Pickering.[3][4]
History
[edit]Troutsdale is mentioned in the Domesday Book as being part owned by Arnetkil and in the wapentake of Dic (later known as Pickering Lythe); by 1086, it was owned by King William.[5] The name was recorded in the Domesday Book as Truzstal meaning Trut's valley or Trouts Pool.[6][7] The first named reference to the stream in the valley comes in 1355 as Troucedalebek.[8] A corn mill situated on Troutsdale Beck was first mentioned in 1621.[9][10] The current mill building was built in the early 19th century, being last used for corn-milling in 1938/1939, and is now grade II listed private dwelling.[11][12]
The valley has a mixture of geology; the escarpment along Troutsdale which takes the valley towards the River Derwent is composed of mudstone, Osgodby sandstone and cornbrash.[13] The stone quarried on Troutsdale Moor was known to be of "excellent quality".[14] Troutsdale Beck flows for 8.4 kilometres (5.2 mi) and drains an area of 13.3 square kilometres (5.1 sq mi). It flows southwards then turns eastwards, before running mostly in a north-easterly direction and entering the River Derwent at West Croft.[15] The valley lies at the south-eastern edge of the North York Moors and along with similar dales nearby (Deep Dale, Stain Dale and Thornton Dale), it has a deep-stream valley.[16][17] This area of the North York Moors has seventeen narrow valleys spanning a distance of only 8 miles (13 km) between them all; the distance between the head of Troutsdale and that of Givendale (which leads directly south), is only 0.5 miles (0.80 km), demonstrating the compact size of the valleys.[18] The road through Troutsdale connects Hackness in the north, with Snainton in the south, which is on the main Scarborough to Pickering road (A170 road).[19] Due to its twists, turns and up-and-down nature, the road used to be known locally as "the Little Switzerland of the north."[20]
The western edge of Troutsdale Beck and a feeder stream into Rosekirk Dale, are designated as an SSSI (Troutsdale and Rosekirk Dale Fens). The SSSI is noted as being a rare Corallian limestone fen which only occurs in three other regions besides North Yorkshire (Anglesey, Norfolk and Oxfordshire), and for being home to limonia occidua, a type of cranefly which is commonly found in Scotland, but very few places in England.[21]
The valley was used for warrening (rabbit farming) well into the 19th century. Maps show a 400-acre (160 ha) area dedicated to raising rabbits.[22]
The surname Troutsdale (and derivatives of that; Trowsdale, Truesdale, Trowsdall) all stem from the names of occupants of the valley.[23]
Population and administrative history
[edit]Historically, the area was in the wapentake of Pickering Lythe, the Poor law Union of Scarborough, and it was its own township in the parish of Brompton-by-Sawdon.[24][25] In 1974 it was moved from the old North Riding of Yorkshire into North Yorkshire, and it now straddles various civil parishes; Brompton, Broxa-cum-Troutsdale, Darncombe-cum-Langdale End, Ebberston & Yedingham, Snainton and Wykeham.[26]
| 1801 | 1811 | 1821 | 1831 | 1841 | 1851 | 1861 | 1871 | 1881 | 1891 | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | 60 | 45 | 59 | 96 | 69 | 67 | 62 | 60 | 67 | 55 | 50 | 50 | 47 | 42 | 33 | 27 |
References
[edit]- ^ "OL27" (Map). North York Moors - Eastern area. 1:25,000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. 2017. ISBN 978-0-319-24266-7.
- ^ The Ordnance Survey Gazetteer: Great Britain (3 ed.). Southampton: Ordnance Survey. 1992. p. 727. ISBN 033357897X.
- ^ Hammond, Reginald (1966). Bridlington and the Yorkshire Coast. London: Ward Lock & Co. p. 70.
- ^ "Genuki: Brompton By Sawdon, Yorkshire (North Riding)". www.genuki.org.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
- ^ "Troutsdale | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
- ^ Smith, A. H. (1979) [1928]. The Place Names of the North Riding of Yorkshire. English Place Name Society. p. 98. OCLC 19714705.
- ^ Rennie, P. J. (1966). "Yorkshire villages in Domesday". North Yorkshire forests. London: HMSO. p. 103.
- ^ Ekwall, Eilert (1928). English River-Names. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 419. OCLC 230704197.
- ^ Page 1968, p. 425.
- ^ "Troutsdale Mill, Troutsdale". millsarchive.org. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
- ^ Rutter, J. G. (1969). "Industrial archaeology in North-East Yorkshire list of sites; area 1, Scarborough". Transactions of the Scarborough and District Archaeological Society (12). Scarborough: Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society: 32. ISSN 1474-1229. OCLC 2324885.
- ^ Historic England. "Troutsdale Mill, Millers House and attached outbuildings (Grade II) (1148838)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
- ^ Yorkshire Forest District Wykeham Forest Plan FDP 23 2017 (PDF). forestryengland.uk (Report). 2017. p. 5. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
- ^ Page 1968, p. 424.
- ^ "Troutsdale Beck from Source to River Derwent | Catchment Data Explorer | Catchment Data Explorer". environment.data.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
- ^ Elgee 1912, p. 175.
- ^ "North York Moors National Park Landscape Character Assessment Update 2021" (PDF). northyorkmoors.org.uk. December 2021. p. 80. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
- ^ Elgee 1912, p. 218.
- ^ Bell, Howard (1966). "Tours around Allerston Forest". North Yorkshire forests. London: HMSO. p. 103.
- ^ The North Yorkshire village book. Newbury: Countryside Books. 1991. p. 225. ISBN 1853061379.
- ^ "Troutsdale and Rosekirk Dale Fens" (PDF). designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk. 6 March 1992. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
- ^ Harris, A. (1991). "The rabbit warrens of the Tabular Hills, North Yorkshire". Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. 63. Leeds: Yorkshire Archaeological Society: 182. ISSN 0084-4276.
- ^ Bardsley, Charles Wareing (1901). A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames. London: Henry Frowde. p. 766.
- ^ Guide No. 6: North Yorkshire Gazetteer of Townships and Parishes. Northallerton: North Yorkshire County Council. 2021 [1986]. p. 31. ISBN 0 906035 29 5.
- ^ Gibson, Jeremy Sumner Wycherley; Rogers, Colin Darlington; Webb, Cliff; Youngs, Frederic A. (1993). Poor Law Union records. Birmingham, England: Federation of Family History Societies. p. 60. ISBN 1872094600.
- ^ "Election Maps". www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
Click on the boundary tab on the left and activate Civil Parish and Westminster Constituencies
- ^ Page, William, ed. (1907). The Victoria history of the county of York. vol 3. London: Constable & Co. p. 519. OCLC 500092527.
- ^ "Troutsdale Parish". visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
Sources
[edit]- Elgee, Frank (1912). The moorlands of North-Eastern yorkshire. London: Brown & Sons. OCLC 11432454.
- Page, William, ed. (1968) [1923]. The Victoria history of the county of York, North Riding volume II. London: Dawsons of Pall Mall. ISBN 0-7129-0310-0.