Boulby is a hamlet in the Loftus parish, located within the

North York Moors National Park North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

. It is in the borough of

Redcar and Cleveland Redcar and Cleveland is a borough with unitary authority status in North Yorkshire, England. Its main settlements are Redcar, South Bank, Eston, Brotton, Guisborough, the Greater Eston part of Middlesbrough, Loftus, Saltburn and Skelton. Th ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England. The hamlet is located off the A174, near Easington and west of

Staithes Staithes is a seaside village in the borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Easington and Roxby Becks, two brooks that run into Staithes Beck, form the border between the Borough of Scarborough and Redcar and Cleveland. The area l ...

. It was in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...

until 1974, followed by the county of Cleveland until 1996. The village formerly had

alum An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double salt, double sulfate salt (chemistry), salt of aluminium with the general chemical formula, formula , where is a valence (chemistry), monovalent cation such as potassium or a ...

mining activity and is currently the site of Boulby mine, a site by Cleveland Potash Limited which produces half of the UK's

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.

output.

Etymology and history

Etymology

Boulby is an old Scandinavian place name meaning ''"Bolli's Farm"'', constructed from the male personal name ''Bolli'' + -by, an Old Scandinavian element meaning "farmstead, village or settlement". Examples of Bolli from the 10th century are the Norse Bolli Thorleiksson and his son Bolli Bollason from the

Icelandic Sagas The sagas of Icelanders ( is, Íslendingasögur, ), also known as family sagas, are one genre of Icelandic sagas. They are prose narratives mostly based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and early el ...

, although neither were recorded as coming to England. The large number of villages and farmsteads containing a personal name and -by are believed to have been settled by Scandinavian conquerors breaking up the English church and secular estates from the late 9th century. There are high density pockets in parts of Yorkshire corresponding to the Norse Kingdom of

Jorvik Scandinavian York ( non, Jórvík) Viking Yorkshire or Norwegian York is a term used by historians for the south of Northumbria (modern-day Yorkshire) during the period of the late 9th century and first half of the 10th century, when it was do ...

and the subsequent Anglo-Danish

Earldom of Northumbria Earl of Northumbria or Ealdorman of Northumbria was a title in the late Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Scandinavian and early Anglo-Norman period in England. The ealdordom was a successor of the Norse Kingdom of York. In the seventh century, the Anglo-Saxo ...

from 954.

History

In the ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

'' of 1086, Boulby is given as ''Bolebi'' or ''Bollebi'', and appears within the soke of Loftus, held in the

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

’s time by High d'Avranches,

Earl of Chester The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, and a ...

. It states ''"In Bolebi, Chiluert had 1

carucate The carucate or carrucate ( lat-med, carrūcāta or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms ...

of land, sufficient for 1 plough, valued at 8 shillings."'' Chiluert held the manor before the conquest. Some time afterwards Boulby, along with Easington, passed to the

de Brus family Clan Bruce ( gd, Brùs) is a Lowlands Scottish clan. It was a Royal House in the 14th century, producing two kings of Scotland (Robert the Bruce and David II of Scotland), and a disputed High King of Ireland, Edward Bruce. Origins The surname ...

, Lords of Skelton. The estate of Easington and Boulby came to a branch of the family of Conyers by the mid-15th century, who for several generations, were seated at mansion at Boulby. By the early 19th century the mansion was converted into a farm house, which over the door on a square stone bore the arms of the Conyers. The family were sole proprietors until about 1664, when Nicholas Conyers passed the estate to the sons of his second wife, who all died without male heirs. Nicholas Conyers kept possession of the

works at Boulby, which was founded in 1615. By 1890 Boulby was described as a "straggling and ruinous village". In March 2021, archaeologists announced the discovery of an almost 6,000 year-old salt-making complex at a

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

site near the Boulby Cliffs. Researchers revealed three salt-making

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

s and fragments of dozens of ceramic

bowl A bowl is a typically round dish or container generally used for preparing, serving, or consuming food. The interior of a bowl is characteristically shaped like a spherical cap, with the edges and the bottom forming a seamless curve. This makes ...

s used in the process. According to Dr Stephen Sherlock, this discovery plays an important role in understanding aspects of the Neolithic agricultural economy. As there is no local source of

rock salt Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, pi ...

, it is probable that the salt was produced by evaporation or sea water.

Cliffs, quarries and mines

Just north of the village are some of the highest cliffs in England, at above sea level. Boulby Cliff was mined for

and in ''A Picturesque History of Yorkshire'' (1901) the face of the headland is described as being "dotted" with alum-works and miners cottages. This mineral was used as a

mordant A mordant or dye fixative is a substance used to set (i.e. bind) dyes on fabrics by forming a coordination complex with the dye, which then attaches to the fabric (or tissue). It may be used for dyeing fabrics or for intensifying stains in ...

to improve the strength and permanency of colour when

dyeing Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular ...

cloth. This mining was relatively short lived as a cheaper method was developed soon after the boom in alum mining. The ruined remnants of the mines can still be seen from the cliff top when walking the

Cleveland Way The Cleveland Way is a National Trail in the historic area of Cleveland in North Yorkshire, northern England. It runs between Helmsley and the Brigg at Filey, skirting the North York Moors National Park. History Development of the Clevela ...

between Staithes and

Skinningrove Skinningrove is a village in Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. Its name is of Old Norse etymology and is thought to mean ''skinners' grove or pit''. History The village had an agricultural and fishing economy until the opening ...

. To the north-west of the village is Boulby Quarries a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

designated due to its geological interest. Boulby is also home to Cleveland Potash at Boulby mine - Europe's second-deepest mine, where

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.

and

is mined underground. The mine is also the site of the Boulby Underground Laboratory. Boulby used to be served by the

Whitby Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway The Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway (WRMU), the Whitby–Loftus Line, was a railway line in North Yorkshire, England, built between 1871 and 1886, running from Loftus on the Yorkshire coast to the Esk at Whitby, and connecting ...

(WRMU) which ran along the coastline to

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

Town station where it met the

Scarborough & Whitby Railway The Scarborough & Whitby Railway was a railway line from Scarborough to Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. The line followed a difficult but scenic route along the North Yorkshire coast. The line opened in 1885 and closed in 1965 as part of ...

. However the WRMU was closed in 1958. Today the railway line from

Saltburn Saltburn-by-the-Sea, commonly referred to as Saltburn, is a seaside town in Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England, around south-east of Hartlepool and southeast of Redcar. It lies within the historic boundaries of the North Rid ...

has been reopened for goods as far as the mine, and is used for the transportation of potash and rock salt.

References

External links

{{navboxes , list1= {{Geographic location , Northwest = ''

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

'' , North = ''

'' , Northeast = ''

'' , West =

Loftus , Centre = Boulby , East =

, Southwest = , South = Boulby Mine , Southeast = {{Coastal settlements , place = North Yorkshire , settlement = Boulby , anticlockwise =

, clockwise =

{{Redcar and Cleveland {{authority control Places in the Tees Valley Villages in North Yorkshire Populated coastal places in Redcar and Cleveland Loftus, North Yorkshire