Village of the Week: Helmsley is a town steeped in history and with plenty of charm

Rarely is there no one around, apart from in the dead of night.

There is so much to this town than its the market, which is one small part of the story.

But we can start there. Even on a winter’s day a spot of people watching will see locals and visitors alike – it is said that Helmsley attracts the largest number of day visitors within the North York Moors National Park – meandering around the town centre’s selection of independent shops and businesses.

My particular favourites are Helmsley Traditional Sweet Shop, in Barkers Yard, Helmsley Book Shop, in the Market Place, and Brown’s department store.

But with a couple of butchers, delis, a florist, DIY shop, newsagents, an optician, podiatrist and the Co-op among other stores, Helmsley caters for permanent residents as much as tourists.

The pubs are proper local ones, too, with open fires and character features, and you can still sit at the bar if you want and listen to banter between the landlord and punters.

Of course there are facilities for visitors too in hotels and restaurants, gift shops and country clothing outlets.

But, what Helmsley appears to have – which some other tourist popular villages and towns don’t – is that it is easy for locals to pop into the centre to pick up a bit of something for the family evening meal or a bottle of wine.

Parking is cheap and plentiful, an overlooked asset for many high streets looking to reverse their decline.

Market days, still taking over the square as they always did, are on a Friday and seem a wholesome way to ease yourself into the weekend – you won’t go short either with the food, fruit and veg on offer as well as clothes and household items.

It seems to be a focal point for Helmsley life – and gossip.

I read somewhere that out of 2,000 markets set up in England between 1200 and 1349, Helmsley’s was one of the first.

In the beginning it used to be held outside the church until it was moved to its present home in the Market Place in 1467.

Those dates will give some idea of Helmsley’s history, with recorded details of the town pre-dating The Domesday Book of 1086.

Archaeological finds suggest that the area was first settled in around 3,000 BC by small farming communities, through Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages and into Roman times.

In 2011, Helmsley featured in the BBC Two programme History Cold Case which looked into four 2,000-year-old skeletons found in Windy Pits caves. Windy Pits are underground features of archaeological interest.

It even suggested that one had been the victim of a ritual killing, including scalping a bloody ritual of cutting or tearing a part of the human scalp, with hair attached, often for a trophy.

More recent history of Helmsley can be associated with the Earls of Feversham - a title that was created in 1747 but more relevantly, again in 1826 for a certain Charles Duncombe of Duncombe Park.

The house was built in 1713 and passed down a complicated family tree. The Earl of Feversham title became extinct in 1963. Duncombe Park was used on occasion as a filming location and closed to the public in 2011.

However, the Birds of Prey national centre was set up in the grounds fro m 2012 onwards and it turns out that the Duncombe family has a long-standing history of falconry.

Riveaulx isn’t that far away from Helmsley either so things to see and historical links are plentiful.

Helmsley is often described as the heart of the North York Moors in terms of location but it really is as the North York Moors National Park Authority offices are here, well for now anyway as it emerged last week that members of the authority, who include councillors and experts appointed by the Government, had given the green light behind closed doors to developing a full business case to move from the Grade II-listed Old Vicarage, as it has become too costly to maintain.

You will find them and the North York Moors Trust on Bondgate, a scene that, other for the modern motor car, won’t have changed much. You can see it in Victorian photographs and paintings.

The cottages and houses, there are no two exactly the same, are constructed from sand coloured irregular stone blocks. The windows are small, leaded or sash and in an evening at this time of year the glow of a lamp through them instantly conjures up the feeling of warmth and cosiness.

The pub windows seem increasingly like this as well.

But it is the rooves that stand out. That brilliant, bright orange of the pan tile tops create a pop of colour whether it is against bright blue summer skies or wet and grey afternoons.

It is this charming and largely unchanged scene that has contributed to Helmsley being awarded conservation status.

It covers more than 90 acres and 433 buildings including all 51 listed buildings in the town, 12 per cent of the building stock, and two scheduled ancient monuments. Of the listed buildings, 48 are classified Grade II and three are Grade II*.

Helmsley is also the start, or end point depending which way you tackle it, of the Cleveland Way. It covers 110 miles of public footpath between Helmsley and Filey Brigg and forms the routes for the Hardmoors Race Series of ultra marathons, marathons, half marathons and 10k runs. In May the Hardmoors 110 race will be held which gives competitors 36 hours to complete the full trail.