(FROM A BOOK BY CYRIL T OXLEY)

PAGE TWO OF TEN

"BELIEVE IT OR NOT"

Who was the hermit of Rombalds Moor?

A certain Job Senior, the illegitimate child of Ann Senior of Beckfoot, near Ilkley.

As a young man he worked as a labourer at Ilkley, later removing to Whitkirk where he forsook a sober and respectable life for that of which a hard drinker, losing regular employment and being obliged to exist as he might, later returning to his native parts and earning a livelihood by means of casual labour on farms at Burley Woodhead.

It was here he made the acquaintance of a widow who lived in a cottage of a widow who lived in a cottage at Coldstream Beck on the edge of Rombolds Moor and determined to marry her.

The lady in question was advanced in years, owned a cottage and garden, and in addition had managed to put a little money aside.
These assets Senior determined to possess by means of marriage, and finally succeeding in making the old crone his wife.

But although his aged spouse did not live long, Senior's plans came to naught, for one day during his absence her first husband's relations visited the cottage and pulled it down, leaving her husband and heir homeless, and his wife's savings, which he had secreted in the walls, either stolen or lost.

In anger and desperation, Job Senior built from the ruins a home, or rather a kind of dog-kennel, just large enough to admit his body and into which he would drag himself and live in filth and squalor.

He lived on a diet consisting almost entirely of potatoes, which he roasted on a fire of peat, having with foresight planted almost all the cottage garden with this vegetable.

In appearance he cut a strange figure, his coat being a mass of patches of various colours as were his trousers, which were held in a position by means of a Hempen belt.
Upon his head he wore a tattered old hat of antique shape, the brim of which had been missing for many years.
His legs and feet were bandaged with straw, the pair of clogs he wore being stuffed with the same material.

Since he never bathed, his general condition may be imagined.
He never sought the services of a barber and his heavy, greasy locks fell about his shoulders, whilst his matted and grizzled beard covered his chest.

His one inseparable companion was an old tobacco pipe which he carried suspended from his hat.
A pair of crooked sticks aided him in his progress around the countryside, and no doubt as a result of his way of life he knew the tortures of rheumatism.

Blessed with self-discipline and common sense the odd fellow might have enjoyed a career as a singer, since he possessed a remarkable voice-treble, alto, tenor and bass-singing in adjacent villages and also at theatres in Leeds and Bradford.
His favourite songs were sacred ones and which he would render with much feeling and expression.
The singer's general condition, however, was such that few would extend hospitality on these occasions, and he was perforce obliged to seek shelter in any outhouse, blacksmith's shop or odd corner he could find.

The end came as the result of a visit to Silsden where Job had made an appearance as a singer.
He was attacked by a serious bout of cholera but managed to struggle back to Ilkley, where he sought the warmth and comfort of a barn belonging to the Wheat Sheaf Inn.
He was removed to Carlton Workhouse, where he died a few days later at the age of seventy-seven.

This odd character, who became known as the hermit of Rombalds Moor, was interred in the churchyard at Burley-in-Wharfedale.

Which church dignitary gave a banquet of staggering proportions and in the preparation of which 2,000 people were employed, and which has been described as the greatest feast in English history?

George Neville, brother of the famous Earl of Warwick, the king maker.

Elevated to the see of York in 1464 the new Archbishop entertained his noble friends at Cawood and gave a feast of gargantuan size.
The menu contained the following items:
"104 oxen, 1,000 sheep, over 500 stags, bucks and does, 400 swans, 2,000 geese, 1,000 capons, 200 pheasants, 500 partridges, 400 woodcocks, 100 curlew, 400 plovers, 2,000 chickens, 4,000 mallards and teals, 400 pigeons, 1,500 hot pasties of venison, 4,000 cold ditto, 2,000 hot custards, 3,000 cold ditto, besides some hundreds of tons of ales and wine with spices and delicacies, etc."

Neville later suffered the confiscation of all his estates, was arrested and thrown into prison and where no doubt he had time to reflect upon his former life of luxury.

In the porch of which church did a man struggle to the death with a cat?

At Barnborough, near Barnsley. Sir Percival Cresacre five hundred years ago was attacked by a huge wild cat when returning home.

According to the legend man and animal struggled for several hours, Sir Percival retreating towards the shelter of the church where the contestants collapsed and died of wounds and exhaustion.

The church contains an old wooden effigy of Sir Percival and on the tower may be seen the carving of a cat.
The flagstones in the porch bear a certain stain which, it is claimed, no amount of scrubbing will efface.

Where is the supposed grave of Robin Hood?

At Kirklees Priory, where according to tradition he was betrayed and treacherously bled to death by the prioress.

The dying outlaw is supposed to have shot an arrow supplied by his old comrade, Little John, the site where it fell marking the spot where his grave was to be dug.
The date is supposed to have been 1247.

Where is the supposed tomb of Oliver Cromwell?

At Newburgh Priory.

The story goes that Mary, a daughter of the protector and who had married one of the Fauconbergs of Newburgh in 1657 and her father's headless body secretly exhumed from the grave beneath Tyburn Tree and conveyed to Newburgh.

The tomb at the priory has never been opened and the facts of the story verified.

What and where is the Strid?

A narrow channel of the Wharfe close to Bolton Abbey which rushes between the banks at great speed.

There is a legend which tells of a boy named Egremond who was drowned whilst attempting to leap from bank to bank.
According to the legend the sorrow-stricken parents built Bolton Abbey as a memorial to their son.

Many lives have been lost by those daring enough to risk a leap across the treacherous waters.

Which Yorkshire town possesses a town hall of which the tower is a copy of a famous Italian building?

Bradford.

The town hall tower is a copy of the Pallazzo Vecchio, Florence.

Where is Hades?

It is a small village near Holmfirth.

When and by whom were the curative waters discovered at Harrogate?

In 1571 by William Slingsby who found a steel spring.

At the present time there are 87 springs, 32 of which are in the Bog's field.

Where and in what river were 10,000 people baptised in a single day?

In the Swale, the waters of which were regarded as sacred by the English long ago.

Paulinus, the first Archbishop of York, is said to have baptised 10,000 men, women and children in this river in a single day.

Which part of a Yorkshire city has a lake which commemorates a famous battle?

Roundhay Park, Leeds, which contains the Waterloo Lake formed in 1818 to perpetuate the memory of Waterloo and the defeat of Napolean.
Its formation took two years to complete.

What and where are the buttertubs?

They are great holes, naturally found in the limestone, about three miles from Muker, between Wensleydale and Swaledale.
Their depth varies from 50 feet to 100 feet.

Which are the highest hills and mountains in Yorkshire?

What and where are the twelve apostles?

Twelve stones placed in a circle on Ilkley Moor on the site of a pre-christian burial ground.

Which is and where is to be found the highest public house in Yorkshire?

Tan Hill Inn, Upper Swaledale, which stands at an altitude of 1,732 feet.

Where can be found a milestone considered to be 1,000 years old?

On the North Riding moors. It is the Lilla Cross.

In which rectory were arrangements made for the coronation of Elizabeth I?

Part of the arrangements for the coronation were made in a small room in the rectory at Newton Kyme, near Tadcaster, by Owen Oglethorpe, the rector, who became Bishop of Carlisle and who crowned Elizabeth I, and Lord Cecil who was squire of Newton Kyme.

A valuable old commentary is preserved at the rectory which was printed in 1534 and signed by Elizabeth after her coronation in 1559.

Where did a tenant farmer pay his rent with snow and roses?

At Langsett, where the tenant paid his rent in the form of a snowball on Midsummer Day and a red rose at Christmas.

Who was the curate who kept a public house and entertained his parishioners by playing the fiddle?

Jeremiah Carter, who was the curate of Lastingham during the early years of the eighteenth century.

As well as his parish duties he kept an ale-house where he regaled his parishioners with airs on his fiddle, in addition to selling liquor as a means of augmenting a very meagre stipend.

Who rode to hounds on a bull?

Jemmy Hirst of Rawcliffe, one of Yorkshire's most eccentric characters.

In addition, he made a vehicle equipped with sails and a carriage of wicker-work which housed his bed and was drawn by Andalusian mules.

In this vehicle the odd fellow visited the king, drawing huge crowds en route.
His costume consisted of a huge hat of lambskin, a coat of lambskin and ducks' necks, breeches of blue, yellow and black, and red and white stockings.

He constructed his own coffin which had windows and shelves.

Jemmy died in 1829, aged 91, and left £12 to be paid to a dozen old maids who were to follow his coffin.
Two musicians were engaged, a fiddler and a piper, who, as a final salute, played "O'er the hills and far away."

Who was known as "The Railway King"?

George Hudson who was born in 1800 and who became a draper in York.

Upon inheriting some £30,000, he began to speculate in the new form of travel, the railway.

He became a promoter of railway-routes and met with immense success.

He was three times Lord Mayor of York and from obscurity rose to wealth and fame.
However, his career came to a complete showdown.
He was accused of faking the accounts and paying dividends from capital.
His fortune was lost and he became again a poor man.

Which famous Yorkshire apple is of French origin?

The Ribston Pippin, which originated in three apple pips sent to Sir Henry Goodricke from an orchard at Rouen in Normandy.

Though two of the pips failed to germinate, the third gave us the famous Ribston Pippin, now known throughout England.

Who possessed second sight and the power to foretell future events?

An individual named Wrightston, a native of Stokesley, who died early in the last century.

He was a man of no education but what he lacked in learning he seemed to possess in the form of extraordinary powers of discernment, beyond the range of perception and knowledge.

Wrightston was consulted by many as to the whereabouts of missing and stolen property, and often the loyalty of an absent lover.
His forecasts were rarely at fault.

Who claimed to be a prophet with divine power and commanded the water of Aire to divide?

John Wroe, who was born at Bowling, Bradford, in 1782.

As a young man, Wroe was employed by his father but later set up on his own account.

He became ill and suffered from epilepsy, wandered alone and finally conceived the notion that he had been sent on earth as a saviour.

Wroe visited France, Italy, Spain and Austria, preached to Catholics and Jews, and was on several occasions fortunate to escape unharmed.

In February 1824, Wroe announced his intention of receiving baptism in the Aire at Appleby Bridge, and that he would divide the waters by divine command.
But due to some hesitation on the part of Wroe, possibly due to the coldness of the water, the large crowd which had assembled chased the "prophet" and his friends with sticks and stones.

In 1854, Wroe bought land near Wakefield and had a mansion built there costing some £2,000 ; built, said Wroe, "to belong to the members of the house of Israel" and which extravagance caused a good deal of uneasiness among the faithful.

The extraordinary man visited the U.S on four occasions and also Australia,

He publicly declared he would live forever but nevertheless died at Fitzroy, Australia, in 1863.
His companion took to the heels, leaving debts amounting to several hundred pounds.

So ended the career of one of Yorkshire's most curious characters.

In which village was kept a parish coffin for the common use of all?

At Easingwold, where the coffin is still kept in a chamber of the church as a relic.

In former times it was made use of by all but those in a position to provide this essential receptacle for the remains of a dead relative.

The coffin was used to convey the corpse from the place of death to the church and thence to the grave, after which it was returned to the church.

Where did monks fight a battle to settle a dispute?

A battle was fought in 1260 on the banks of Hornsea Mere between the monks of St. Mary's York, and those of Meaux.

The object was to settle a dispute which had arisen as to fishing rights. The contending parties had the right of choice between trial by jury or physical combat.
They chose the latter method of settling the matter and fought all day with staves.
The monks of York were the victors.

Who is said to have lived to the age of 138 and to have married an illegitimate daughter of Oliver Cromwell?

Jonathon Hartop, a native of Aldborough, near Boroughbridge.

Some accounts give his age at death as 146, but he seems, at all events, to have stood the strains of life well enough to outlive his first four wives, taking as a fifth spouse an illegintimate daughter of the Protector, Oliver Cromwell.

Hartop's parents had lived in London and perished in the plague, and their son, who lived until 1791, clearly remembered the great conflagration which ravaged and destroyed a large part of the city in 1666.

Hartop possessed a fine oil painting of Cromwell and was offered no less than £500 for it, which the old man refused.

He knew Milton well and on one occasion leant him £50 when the poet's circumstances were at a low ebb.

Hartop was throughout his life abstemious, clean-living and active in his habits, and thought nothing of walking to York and back.

He left seven children, twenty-six grandchildren, seventy-four great grandchildren and 140 great great grandchildren.

Who covered his clothing with money in order to win a bet?

One of two rivals who competed in a contest in York in the eighteenth century, the object being to exhibit a most original and unusual costume.

The contest was held in the castle Yard, one of the rivals appearing in a coat trimmed with bank notes, ten guinea notes forming the lapels and pocket flaps whilst five guinea notes covered the collar and waistband.
The brim of the hat was trimmed with notes and ornamented with gold coins.
A sheet of paper pinned on the back of the coat bore the words "John Bull."

The dress of the other competitor was equally odd, half of his costume being that of a female with petticoat, silk stocking and slipper, and the other booted and spurred.
The competitor's face was divided, one half being as black as a negro's and the other rouged, powdered and patched.

The former competitor of the banknotes was adjudged the winner.