Helmsley: History of Yorkshire town that dates back more than 5,000 years and was used to film The Secret Garden starring Julie Walters and Colin Firth

The location of Helmsley sits where Ryedale leaves the moorland and joins the flat Vale of Pickering.

The town maintains its medieval structure and is a popular attraction for visitors nationally and internationally. It has won gold medals in the Large Village category of Yorkshire in Bloom for three years.

The Cleveland Way National Trail begins at Helmsley and the remains of Helmsley Castle, destroyed during the Civil War, overlook the town.

Another local attraction, Helmsley Walled Gardens, dates back to 1759 and was used to film the 2020 adaptation of The Secret Garden starring Dixie Egerickx, Colin Firth and Julie Walters.

It is set to appear in the next episode of the Channel 5 series Yorkshire Great and Small With Dan and Helen tonight (September 26) at 8pm.

History of Helmsley

Objects found by archaeologists show that the area around Helmsley was first inhabited in around 3,000BC and small farming communities existed there throughout the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages and into the Roman period.

There are also reports of finds of Roman pottery and a second-century Roman coin. A BBC Two series History Cold Case revealed an archaeological investigation into four 2,000 year old skeletons found in Windy Pits caves. It concluded that at least one had been the victim of a ritual killing, including scalping.

The Old English name of the ancient settlement was Elmeslac which predates the Domesday Book. The name means ‘Helm’s forest clearing’ and symbolises the nature of the landscape at the time.

Most of the names of the streets end in ‘gate’ which were left by the Old Norse dialect and have changed only twice since the Norman Conquest.

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The ancient oak trees in Duncombe Park date from this era and the park is now a national nature reserve. In around 1100 the founder of Rievaulx Abbey, Walter Espec, took over the estate.

The economy of Helmsley relied on large-scale sheep farming, wool production and weaving for many centuries and despite some hurdles, including marauding Scots and the Black Death, the town was stable during the Middle Ages.

Wool production turned into flax following the dissolution of the abbeys, much was imported. Majority of Helmsley was nearly complete by the beginning of the 17th century and many buildings you see today date back from this period.

The ruined Normal castle is considered the most prominent medieval surviving parts of the buildings in the town.

In the beginning of the 19th century the cottage weaving industry declined due to competition from new industrial cities. However, there were still major developments in the town, particularly the rebuilding of All Saints’ Church and at the end of the century, the building of Helmsley Town Hall.

There were many houses built along Bondgate and, following the arrival of the railway in 1871, along Station Road.

Over the last century, tourism has played a crucial role in the area’s economy as the national park attracts around 9,000,000 visitors a year and day visitors make up 40 per cent, with people staying within the park making up 31 per cent and people staying outside of the park making up 29 per cent.