Ruswarp
Ruswarp maps (2 available)
Map of North Yorkshire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of North Yorkshire
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Ruswarp books (25 available)
- 6 photos on Ruswarp appear in 3 Frith books - View photos of Ruswarp
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Ruswarp and North Yorkshire
Ruswarp memories
Read and share memories of Ruswarp and North Yorkshire inspired by Frith photos
Featured buildings.
The large building on the left edge of the photograph is Ruswarp Mill. A mill has been here since Saxon times and the first written record of this mill appears in the Domesday book.
The name Ruswarp may have originated from the mill. The mill was water powered and the river would have been dammed to make a mill race. Dams in this area are known as 'scarps' and if the dam was made of wood, the brushwood was called 'rise'. Hence 'Risescarp' - brushwood dam.
Alternatively, it may have arisen from the use of brushwood to divert fish in to fish traps known as 'salmon hecks'. The old local term 'warp' describes ...read more here
Contributed by Mr IW Purves
North Yorkshire memories
Featured buildings.
The large building on the left edge of the photograph is Ruswarp Mill. A mill has been here since Saxon times and the first written record of this mill appears in the Domesday book.
The name Ruswarp may have originated from the mill. The mill was water powered and the river would have been dammed to make a mill race. Dams in this area are known as 'scarps' and if the dam was made of wood, the brushwood was called 'rise'. Hence 'Risescarp' - brushwood dam.
Alternatively, it may have arisen from the use of brushwood to divert fish in to fish traps known as 'salmon hecks'. The old local term 'warp' describes ...read more here
A memory of Ruswarp contributed by Mr IW Purves
Power Boats
The wooden clinker built boat, painted white in the lower right of the picture, was one of a pair of fast boats that the late Arthur Shippey and Tom Louis ran from coffee house end steps. They would call loudly ""half hour trips round the bay now"" -- ""come on down"". Tourists were happy to pay 1/6d for the pleasure of getting soaked to the skin.
As a small boy living close to the harbour in Baxtergate, I was well known to Arthur (who lived next door) Tom liked a drink in our pub, so I was always allowed to take a free ride when things were quiet. I can tell you that this was a huge thrill.
I ...read more here
A memory of Whitby contributed by Jim Evans
The swing bridge.
This is a swing bridge - it swings horizontally. It actually swings out in two halves to rest over the pointed timber structures that can be seen in the river. These timber structures are known locally as 'dolphins' and are sometimes used when maintenance of the bridge arms is required. The large building on the far side of the river at the end of the bridge to the right is the Dolphin Hotel. Presumably it takes its name from the bridge dolphins.
A memory of Whitby contributed by The Frith Memory Archivist
Extracts From Ruswarp & North Yorkshire books
Old documents
relating to Whitby
refer to the western
part of the town as
Ruswarp, though
the village itself lies
about a mile from
the town. This
picture shows the
old road bridge,
which was washed
away in disastrous
floods in the 1920s;
the railway bridge is
to its left. Ruswarp
station is the first
stop on the Whitby
to Middlesbrough
railway line –
mercifully ignored
by Beeching, much
to the benefit of the
many isolated
villages lying in the
Esk valley.
An extract from from"Whitby Photographic Memories".
Several other British rivers bear the same name as Whitby’s river. It is here that the Esk meets Ruswarp Dam and ceases to
be tidal. The old road to Sleights runs along beside it through green tunnels, and is well loved by walkers and rowing boat
enthusiasts alike.
An extract from from"Whitby Photographic Memories".
Ruswarp, standing at the tidal limit of the River Esk, was at one time as important a port as neighbouring Whitby, and a mill was mentioned here in the Domesday Book. This photograph was taken looking up the steep High Street which leads up from the river, with the footpath to nearby Whitby leading off to the right.
An extract from from"North Yorkshire Living Memories".
The new road bridge was built by the renowned engineering firm of Dorman Long of Middlesbrough, who also built the
Sydney Harbour bridge. They made sure that this one would not be swept away by floods. St Bartholomew’s Church is
Victorian; its tower and spire are 120 feet high.
An extract from from"Whitby Photographic Memories".
The Dock End has yet to be
cleared out and made into a
safe haven for the fishing
fleet boats in bad weather.
This last can be seen seventy
years later in the picture of
the railway station (W81011). Behind the schooner
‘Astrea’ we can just see the
Angel Vaults; the Angel Hotel
was an old coaching inn. A
close-up examination of the
photograph reveals that one
of the buildings in the
background on the right was
Harker’s Wholesale Jet
Ornament Manufactory.
An extract from from"Whitby Photographic Memories".