Rombalds Moor is an area of moorland in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England, between the

Airedale Airedale is a valley, or Dale (landform), dale, in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. It is named after the River Aire, which flows through it. The upper valley, from Malham Cove to Airton, is known as Malhamdale, named after the vill ...

and

Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated at source in North Yorkshire and then flows into West Yorkshire and forms the upper valley of the River Wharfe. Towns and villages in Wharfedale (downstream, from west to east) includ ...

valleys. The towns of

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within ...

and

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...

lie to its northern and southern edges, respectively. The moor is sometimes referred to as

Ilkley Moor Ilkley Moor is part of Rombalds Moor, the moorland between Ilkley and Keighley in West Yorkshire, England. The moor, which rises to 402 m (1,319 ft) above sea level, is the inspiration for the Yorkshire "county anthem" ''On Ilkla Mo ...

, though technically this refers to the section of moor on the northern flank, above the town of Ilkley.

Geography

Rombalds Moor consists of several moors, usually named after the nearest town or village bordering it. They include (clockwise from north):

, Burley Moor, Hawksworth Moor, Baildon Moor, Bingley Moor, Morton Moor, and Addingham High Moor. There are over 400 examples of stones with

cup and ring marks Cup and ring marks or cup marks are a form of prehistoric art found in the Atlantic seaboard of Europe (Ireland, Wales, Northern England, Scotland, France (Brittany), Portugal, and Spain ( Galicia) – and in Mediterranean Europe – Italy (in Al ...

on them scattered across Rombalds Moor.

Etymology

The moor is said to be named after the local folklore legend of Rombald the Giant. The story goes that Rombald lived on the moor with his wife and one day during an argument, she was chasing him across the valley when he stamped on a huge rock, smashing it in two, which separated the famous Cow from its Calf. Rombald's wife then dropped the rocks she was holding in her skirt, which created the Great and Little Skirtful of Stones formations. An alternative story is that Rombald was prone to fits of rage; he would cause thunder to rumble across the valley and hurled huge rocks across the moor, which is another origin story for the iconic Cow and Calf Rocks. The name Rombald, however, is more likely to be a corruption of ''Romille'', the moors surrounding Skipton having been given to

Robert de Romille Robert de Romille (also de Rumilly) was an adventurer from Brittany who joined the Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Nor ...

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

. Earlier Ordnance Survey maps show an earlier variant of the name as ''Rumbles Moor''.

References

{{Reflist Moorlands of England Keighley