436 LE STING HAM. 



honour of the chaste virgin St. Hilda. Whether 

 this Lord William was the son of Walter d'Espec, 

 who founded Rievaulx, &c., cannot be ascertained. 



LESTINGHAM, 



tfhich is supposed to mean lasting retreat, is situa- 

 ted in the wapentake of Ry dale, 4 miles N. w. of 

 Kirkby-Moorside, population 225 ; having in its 

 parish Appleton le Moor, containing a population 

 of 276, Famdale east 455, Farndale high quarter 

 286, Hutton le hole 304, Rosedale west 179, and 

 Spaunton 109 ; amounting in the whole to 1834. 



The village lies at the foot of a steep descent, 

 which forms the southern boundary of it, and sepa- 

 rates it from that beautiful country which lies be- 

 tween it and York. From the summit of this bank 

 the village looks as if it were built in a capacious 

 bason ; beyond it are the moors, presenting a blue 

 black hue, and assuming an undulating appearance, 

 reminding a stranger of the appearance of the waves 

 of the sea, when heaved by powerful winds, raising 

 one after another, ready to fall in confusion on the 

 approaching shore. The principal part of the village 

 lies north and south. 



The church stands on the western extremity of it 

 on raised ground, catching the eye of the visitor ; 

 and to the antiquary is an object of great interest. 

 It exhibits a specimen of the true Saxon architec- 

 ture ; the only one in this part of the country. The 

 east of it terminates in a semicircular recess for the 



