The Vale of Mowbray (sometimes mistakenly referred to as the

Vale of York The Vale of York is an area of flat land in the northeast of England. The vale is a major agricultural area and serves as the main north–south transport corridor for Northern England. The Vale of York is often supposed to stretch from the R ...

) is a stretch of low-lying land between the

North York Moors The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a National Park in 1952, through the National Parks and A ...

and the Hambleton Hills to the east and the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954. The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills rising from the Vale of York ...

to the west. To the north lie the

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

lowlands and to the south the Vale of Mowbray becomes the Vale of York proper. The Vale of Mowbray is distinguishable from the Vale of York by its meandering rivers and more undulating landscape. The main characteristic of the Vale of Mowbray is the fertile agricultural land used for crops and permanent grassland, though isolated pockets of woodland remain. The roads in the Vale of Mowbray are characteristically contained by low hedges with wide verges. The villages are often linear following the major through road, the houses are generally brick built with

pantile A pantile is a type of fired roof tile, normally made from clay. It is S-shaped in profile and is single lap, meaning that the end of the tile laps only the course immediately below. Flat tiles normally lap two courses. A pantile-covered ro ...

roofs.

Description

The vale takes its name from the family who were granted the rights to the land after the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

of 1066.

Robert de Mowbray Robert de Mowbray (died 1125), a Norman, was Earl of Northumbria from 1086 until 1095. Robert joined the 1088 rebellion against King William II on behalf of Robert Curthose, but was pardoned and later led the army that killed Malcolm III of Sc ...

, whose family had a stronghold at Thirsk Castle, was given the land by

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 Norman king of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, ...

in 1086. The

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna ...

definition of the boundaries of the Vale of Mowbray are the edge of the

in the east up to the A19/A172 junction; directly across to the junction at Scotch Corner on the A1(M), then straight down the A1(M) for a western boundary and the rough line from the A168 at Dishforth to

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England known for its racecourse; quirky yarnbomber displays, and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological ...

in the east. Geological surveys list the Vale of Mowbray being bounded to the west by the River Ure, and in the east by the foot of the Hambleton Hills.

Features

Settlements

* Bedale * Brompton * Catterick * Crakehall *

East Cowton East Cowton is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It is north west of the county town of Northallerton. History The village is mentioned twice in the ''Domesday Book'' as ''Cottune'' in the Alle ...

* Kirkby Fleetham * Kirkby Wiske *

Middleton Quernhow Middleton Quernhow is a settlement and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. The parish is included in the Wathvale Ward with a population of 3,479 (at the 2011 census). North Yorkshire County Council estimated tha ...

Northallerton Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It had a population of 16,832 in the 2011 census, an increas ...

Romanby Romanby is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. Romanby is situated just south-west of Northallerton, and at the 2001 UK census had a population of 6,051, increasing to 6,177 at the 2011 Census. ...

* Scorton * Theakston *

Major roads

* A1(M) motorway North-South * A19 North-South * A167 North-South * A684 East-West

Railways

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain runni ...

* Northallerton–Eaglescliffe line * Scruton–Redmire *

Eryholme–Richmond branch line The Eryholme–Richmond branch line was opened in 1846 by the York and Newcastle Railway Company. The original section of the line ran from between a point in between Darlington railway station, Darlington and Northallerton railway station, North ...

(closed) * Leeds–Northallerton railway (closed)

Rivers

* River Swale * River Wiske * Cod Beck

References

Sources

* *{{cite report, last=Lake, first=Jeremy, title=Vale of Mowbray, Eastern Arable , date=November 2020, format=PDF, url=https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/reports/8041/ValeofMowbrayEasternArable, website=historicengland.org.uk, access-date=31 October 2021

External links

Vale of Mowbray pdf
Valleys of North Yorkshire Natural regions of England