128 FOX-HUNTING RECOLLECTIONS 



place was intended for the '' Ry dings " near 

 BirstaU. 



In that interesting book, the Bronte Country, 

 Mr. Ersk^'ne Stuart expresses his conviction that 

 Charlotte Bronte had Norton Conyers in her 

 mind, and he gives many reasons for his opinion 

 in the following words : — '' There are also the 

 rookery and the gardens; but this is not all, 

 the interior of the hall oak, panelled and covered 

 with portraits of men in armour, the brass 

 handles and the double doors, the untenanted 

 upper storey, the position of the housekeeper's 

 room, and the broad oak staircase, all answer 

 to the description in Jane Eyre'' 



Halfway between historic Ripon and the old 

 Marmion Tower at Tanfield, in the picturesque 

 valley of the Yore, in a country rich in natural 

 beauty and full of history, there stands the old 

 gabled house of Norton. The adjacent lands 

 and woods, following the course of the river, are 

 situated on the south side of what is known as 

 the Bedale country. 



The Bedale Hunt lies almost entirely in the 

 North Riding ; on the north it adjoins Lord 

 Zetland's territory, on the east the Hurworth, 

 and on the south the York and Ainsty. 



The country originally formed part of the 

 immense Raby Hunt so long hunted by the Earl 



