Wensleydale Delights

Except for the day we went to York, which was a full day excursion, each full day of my Yorkshire Knitting Tour comprised three elements; a class, an excursion, and a talk. On the Monday these were a class teaching relevant skills for knitting a pair of stranded colourwork cuffs inspired by Yorkshire Dales gloves, an excusrion to Wensleydale, where we visited Middleham Castle and the Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Shop, and a talk by Angharad Thomas about Yorkshire Dales gloves.

We chose to visit Middleham Castle because of its connections to the Wars of the Roses, and its royal history as one of the childhood homes of Richard III. Like most castles in the UK it is very ruinous, with no internal upper floors remaining, nor any roofs. So it is a fun place to explore, imagining it being inhabited by people in medieval dress, and being attacked by those amazing medieval weapons; siege towers, battering rams and trebuchets. However, from its recorded history it seems it was never attacked in such a manner, and its ruinous state is instead a consequence of neglect and the opportunistic recycling of its stone by residents of the small town that grew up around it.

I didn’t get any photos myself, so here’s a YouTube slideshow made by a chap who visited in 2014:

It was a lot of fun visiting the castle with a group of Americans, one of whom was a ‘castle virgin’, having never seen one before.

Following the castle visit we went to the Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Shop at Leyburn, which is just a mile or so up the road from Middleham. We were greeted by Kath, the owner, who had opened especially for our group (the shop is usually closed on Mondays), and had very kindly laid on a few nibbles for us. She told us about the history and character of Wensleydale sheep, and the group enjoyed exploring and purcahsing lots of her stock. Her shop is well worth a visit, not just selling Wensleydale yarn, but also lots of cute home accessories, kits, and ornaments. It is a delightful little place!

In the evening our talk by Angharad Thomas took the form of a video, as Angharad herself was in Estonia on a craft holiday. Knowing she would not be available, she had previously invited us to film an interview with her to show our guests. She showed us the Dales gloves from the KCG collection, as well as some Sanquhar, Shetland, Norwegian and Estonian pairs, plus gloves she has knitted herself. Then she discussed with me the history of Dales glove knitting, as well as the particular characteristics of Dales gloves. It was a very illuminatiing discussion! Following the video Marie and I shared more information we have gleaned about Dales glove knitters and owners from our own research, including details about George Walton, the original owner of the Dales style gloves in the Wordsworth museum, dated 1846. At some future point I’ll share that information with you too, and Penelope Hemingway and I will have a public discussion about it. Meanwhile here’s a picture of a Dales glove I’m currently trying to trace. If you know its whereabouts, please let me know.