Tall Guy
Young Ralph......
The symbol of the North York Moors, Young Ralph, stands erect near Rosedale Head. This cross is probably 18th Century, but is not the first.. it is believed there has been a cross here since 1200AD. Not far away is another cross, Old Ralph, it is smaller and I have just realised I haven't got a photo of it... yet :-)
A tale about Young Ralph’s Cross….
“Ralph was a guide for the nuns at the Cistercian Priory of Rosedale when they needed to journey across the moors. One cold, snowy day whilst out walking on the moors, he saw a hand sticking out of the snow. At once he stopped and dug down into the snow, to find the frozen dead body of a man. Ralph recognized the man as a traveling workman – he used to travel from farm to farm, looking for jobs to do. Unfortunately, this time the man had made the fatal mistake of stopping for a rest and falling asleep in the snow.
Ralph was so upset about the death of this man that he erected a big cross, with an ‘R’ carved onto the front of it. Only a few miles further on was an inn called The Lion Inn (which is still there today), so if the workman had seen the cross he would have know he was nearly at a place of shelter. Ralph made a hollow in the top of the cross so that rich people could leave money for poor people to take, so they could afford food or even a room at The Lion Inn.
Ralph’s Cross is still there today, on the road between Castleton and The Lion Inn. However, if you’re rich and you take the money then legend has it that you will meet a nasty end. A fog will descend and you’ll start walking, unable to stop until you walk off the edge of a cliff! At the bottom of the cliff lie many skeletons with little piles of money next to them.”
The extract above is from HERE.
The cross is seen here, lit in the evening sun… definitely not taken today :-)
Young Ralph......
The symbol of the North York Moors, Young Ralph, stands erect near Rosedale Head. This cross is probably 18th Century, but is not the first.. it is believed there has been a cross here since 1200AD. Not far away is another cross, Old Ralph, it is smaller and I have just realised I haven't got a photo of it... yet :-)
A tale about Young Ralph’s Cross….
“Ralph was a guide for the nuns at the Cistercian Priory of Rosedale when they needed to journey across the moors. One cold, snowy day whilst out walking on the moors, he saw a hand sticking out of the snow. At once he stopped and dug down into the snow, to find the frozen dead body of a man. Ralph recognized the man as a traveling workman – he used to travel from farm to farm, looking for jobs to do. Unfortunately, this time the man had made the fatal mistake of stopping for a rest and falling asleep in the snow.
Ralph was so upset about the death of this man that he erected a big cross, with an ‘R’ carved onto the front of it. Only a few miles further on was an inn called The Lion Inn (which is still there today), so if the workman had seen the cross he would have know he was nearly at a place of shelter. Ralph made a hollow in the top of the cross so that rich people could leave money for poor people to take, so they could afford food or even a room at The Lion Inn.
Ralph’s Cross is still there today, on the road between Castleton and The Lion Inn. However, if you’re rich and you take the money then legend has it that you will meet a nasty end. A fog will descend and you’ll start walking, unable to stop until you walk off the edge of a cliff! At the bottom of the cliff lie many skeletons with little piles of money next to them.”
The extract above is from HERE.
The cross is seen here, lit in the evening sun… definitely not taken today :-)