YORKSHIRE. 
YORKSHIRE, a maritime county of England, inhabited, 
prior to the Roman invasion, by the populous and powerful 
Brigantes, and far exceeding in magnitude any of the other 
counties in the kingdom. It extends 100 miles in length 
from east to west, 75 in breadth from north to south, and 
380 in circumference. It is bounded on the east by the 
German ocean; on the south by the river Humber, which 
separates it from Lincolnshire, and by the counties of Not¬ 
tingham and Derby; on the west by a small part of Che¬ 
shire, by Lancashire, and by Westmoreland; and on the 
north by Westmoreland, and the county or bishopric of 
Durham. It is divided into 29 wapentakes, exclusive of the 
Ainsty of the city of York ; contains one city and 59 market 
towns, of which latter 13 are boroughs; and sends 32 mem¬ 
bers to parliament. Its superficial content is computed at 
3,698,380 acres; and its population is estimated at 1,175,251 
persons. 
This county has three subdivisions, called the North, 
East, and West Ridings. The North Riding contains 
1,311,187 acres, of which about one-third (442,565) re¬ 
main uncultivated, and the rest are distributed into inclosed 
lands, open fields, woods, and roads. The face of the coun¬ 
try from Scarborough northward is bold and hilly, the cliff 
being generally from 60 to 150 feet high. At Stoupe or 
Stow Brow, about 14 miles north of that place, it is stated to 
rise to the stupendous height of 893 feet. Inland from these 
lofty crags, successive bills rear themselves one above an¬ 
other, into the elevated and dreary tract of the Eastern 
Moorlands, occupying a space of about 30 miles from east 
to west, by 15 from north to south, and penetrated occa¬ 
sionally by romantic and fertile dales; but in their ordinary 
character bleak and desolate, and in many instances nearly 
covered with huge freestones, or rendered hazardous by vast 
beds of peat and morass. Their western extremity, called 
the Hambleton hills, consists generally of a loamy soil, upon 
a limestone rock, producing large quantities of coarse grass 
and bent, in some cases, particularly towards the south-east, 
mixed with heath. Of the dales which they embosom, se¬ 
veral contain from 5000 to 10,000 acres, and Eskdale and 
Bilsdale much more. Their width, indeed, at the bottom, 
is often inconsiderable, not exceeding 200 or 300 yards; 
but they are frequently cultivated from half a mile to a mile 
and a half up the hill sides, though the surface is occasion¬ 
ally extremely irregular. In these dales alone, throughout 
the Moorlands, is any wood to be found. In journeying 
from Whitby to Guisborough, Stokesley, and Pickering, the 
traveller sees around him a vast and wild solitude, enlivened 
only by a few straggling sheep. Some of the heights, how¬ 
ever, near the edge of this rugged region, command pic¬ 
turesque and magnificent prospects. The most striking 
object is the singular peak called Roseberry Topping, which 
serves as a landmark to sailors. Its base is composed of im¬ 
mense strata of alum rock. Iron-ore is also found in various 
parts of the district. 
The Vale of York, with some irregularities of surface, slopes 
southward from the Tees, as far as York, where it sinks into 
a nearly perfect flat. Of this tract, the northern part is 
bounded on each side by the Moorlands, except where it 
opens into Cleveland, or is divided from Ryedale by the 
Howardian hills. Within 10 miles of York, however, it 
expands into a wider breadth, extending eastward as far as 
the Wolds in the East Riding, and to the Humber on the 
south. The Western Moorlands form a part of the long- 
range of mountains stretching northward from Staffordshire 
to Scotland. These being chiefly calcareous, surpass in fer¬ 
tility those in the eastern part of the Riding, which have 
been already described. First, among the rich and roman¬ 
tic valleys by which they are intersected, stands Wensley- 
dale, a tract of fat pasturage, through which the Ure winds 
its way, forming in some places beautiful cascades. It is 
bounded by hills rising irregularly on each side to a consi¬ 
derable height, and inclosed to the distance of a mile, or a 
mile and a half, from the banks of the river. Several small 
dales open into it from the south. The soil near the river is 
generally a rich loamy gravel. 
Next to Wensleydale in extent, and not much inferior to 
it in fertility, must be placed Swaledale; though, from the 
circumstances of its being much narrower, and bounded by 
hills of a much steeper ascent, it is by many deemed more 
romantic. The smaller dales, which are numerous, exhibit 
the same general appearances. Even the mountains are in 
few instances deformed by those marks of unconquerable 
sterility which characterise the Eastern Moorlands. Many 
of them are covered with a short sweet grass, or with bent; 
and the heath growing upon others is generally mixed with 
verdure of various descriptions. 
Of the different minerals of the North Riding, few are 
converted to any considerable advantage, if we except the 
alum-rock on the east edge of the Eastern Moorlands, and 
the lead in the district of Richmondshire. A mine of fine 
copper, near Middleton Tyas, was worked for a few years, 
about the middle of the last century. Several parts of these 
Moorlands appear to contain large quantities of iron-stone, 
of which beds also exist in the vicinity of Whitby; but 
whatever is produced from them, in consequence of the want 
of coal, is smelted in the works of the north. A narrow 
ridge, likewise, of limestone, producing a lime peculiarly 
valuable for agricultural purposes, extends for nearly thirty 
miles along the Moorland edge above mentioned ; and free¬ 
stone, admirably adapted for building, is found in several 
parts of the Riding. The Western Moorlands consist almost 
wholly of limestone, which abounds also in the Hambleton 
and Howardian bills. Their marbles, though in many in¬ 
stances they surpass, in closeness of texture, and distinctness 
of colours, those of Derbyshire, are chiefly applied to the 
making of lime, or the mending of roads. In some places 
near the north-western extremity of the Riding, vast blocks 
of a light red granite lie scattered over the face of the coun¬ 
try ; but they are not employed in any way as materials. 
The coal, which is found in the district in small quantities, 
is of a very inferior kind. 
The climate, in consequence of the different elevations of 
different parts of the country, and other topographical cir¬ 
cumstances, includes considerable varieties. In the Vale of 
York it is mild and temperate, except near the Moors, where 
the influence of the winds is sometimes severely felt. On 
the Howardian hills, which, from their height, as well as 
their vicinity to the Eastern Moorlands, are bleak and cold, 
the harvests ripen more tardily. Ryedale, and the marshes 
on the skirt of the Derwent, enjoy a softer temperature ; but 
the want of a more effectual drainage, though above 11,000 
acres, between Hurmanby and Malton, have recently been 
converted from swampy to solid grounds, renders them still 
less healthful than other parts of the Riding. This coldness 
of climate, arising chiefly from the great elevation of the 
Eastern Moorlands, presents an insurmountable bar to all 
attempts at improvement, otherwise than by planting. Their 
highest parts are computed to be between 1400 and 1500 
feet above the level of the sea, an altitude at which, between 
the latitudes of 54° and 55°, corn will not ripen. About 
the end of August, the morning clouds, in the form of dense 
fogs, impinge against their sides, and rise above them, or 
remain upon them, during the day, as the sun has more or 
less influence in rarefying the atmosphere. In the advanced 
autumn they hang lower upon the hills; and if they ever 
leave their summits uncovered, it is usually for a very short 
period. The country is then for some months, with little 
interruption, enveloped in mists, chilled with rain, or locked 
up in snow, and can of course be applied to no other pur¬ 
pose than that of supplying a scanty pasturage for a few 
dwarfish cattle and sheep. 
With these Moorlands on the south-east and east, the sea 
on the north-east and north, and an extensive and moun¬ 
tainous country on the west, the Vale of Cleveland has a 
climate somewhat severe; but from the dryness of the soil, 
and the frequent use of lime, its harvests are nearly as early 
as those of the warmer parts of the Riding. The same re¬ 
mark may be made upon the narrow tract extending along 
the coast, from Whitby to Scarborough. 
The Western Moorlands, though, from their calcareous 
composition. 
