We've just returned from a short break in the North York Moors - a National Park we haven't been to before. We're more familiar with the nearby Yorkshire Dales but the two couldn't look more different - different landscape, different architecture.
One of the attractions for us was a particular house: Shandy Hall in Coxwold, the house where Laurence Sterne lived between 1760 and 1768 and where he wrote his two master works:
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman and
A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy.
The guided tour gave a great insight to Sterne's motive for writing (he just wanted to be famous) and the house and gardens both retain something of their 18th century character.
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Shandy Hall from the garden |
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Shandy Hall garden |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzf7zltRrO_El8aAXL1QnOD8yHJykh_PYpNvircQiG2iSqDs59NQWN03HxJxOEF7ll28W_-EuLNsat_Cv3mt2iEsvAirrdQBeGYunbp5uy-vpfA9_K4hCwCbSVphHA_XZqUgwFbhnFrTk/s640/DSC_0946.JPG) |
Hollyhocks in the 18th century garden |
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Example pages from the eccentric Tristram Shandy |
When he was writing to become famous, Sterne was the vicar of Coxwold, a very pretty village which would not look out of place in the Cotswolds. The buildings share the same buttery yellow limestone
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XAvsU5tFqAwr8lhf81CsCN5LyH3ycA00mVw0jXvTpzcZ6ixA1x2Bap88Byi7dN5dcAUtIGmNfpJf7-wOcSH8OkRzaXlvoZZBMNbCCVTpkPuJFmtG0F8hpgJaTykCDk1QZiu6ftD5SCw/s640/Stone+cottage.jpg) |
Typical stone-built house in Coxwold |
And the 15th century church was definitely worth a look.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYqViMUJq5zFm38cpGPIhbdMbxXPgMqZfsHTt-MOjHQSWuU4ETOf9o-99dz90A6gJxXCmFYKTkhiFNI84dSnl6NmxrsC2sdhfA5GrueNrP1hkd54WXEUG3iSLl6GbJRl1rS0YUkN9q0iM/s640/DSC_0963.JPG) |
St Michael's church with its ocagonal tower |
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The unusual alter rail, said to be shaped so that members of an affluent family could take communion without leaving the comfort of their seats |
We stayed overnight at Byland Abbey Inn, a bed and breakfast in the grounds of the ruined abbey and run by English Heritage. After enjoying a delicious meal at the Stapylton Arms, we were treated to an amazing view as we returned to the inn: the setting sun was just catching the west side of the abbey.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnxnJUIZheAMzTaWJ0I2aCgXifobQLKgnGjXt2YTQumLttkMLtefW-avKIb14ErlqtMCsoBjzhBeTvQhGXSr8z82kFYfcDs4CfJm-pg4Yx43LYd9nT_rZkS4Rd-gBqTyesqdExIxnOC0/s640/DSC_0968.JPG) |
Byland Abbey illuminated by the setting sun |
The next day we explored the abbey ruins in the unusually overcast weather.
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Looking along the north wall |
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Ornate tiles |
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Much of the tiled floor has survived |
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The north wall is largely standing |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqQpxXWp3eqjWm_5BVGAaUpjzcP0_UHKzmvsyOE7i76m9cMrcxGpqGtUOw5wXq4bVKQXJ9PxEi-DLZsl4EAWUEFERsLEz2UnpdDMJMNabNc1kF7742FuFSU9Y5cbNBWsbpAaAb0x1WOY/s640/DSC_0995.JPG) |
Looking east with the Howardian Hills in the distance |
Still enjoying the cooler weather we moved on to Helmsley Castle which dates from 1186 and incorporates a later Tudor fortified house within. The castle was built on a flat-topped mound overlooking the town.
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Part of the medieval castle |
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The later Tudor house, built inside the castle walls |
Our final stop was Rievaulx Abbey, in its time one of the greatest abbeys in the country. Today the ruins sprawl across a huge area, giving some impression of the power and influence once held by the community here.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-gksmDJgSWSImShCzVQSQqoY5p_bDlGiy6R51rvJlDHp0XqAAW_FE13RgdMVGv2SpslbSWFGjafsrcaxDKMuL88z3VO85VShD-k1abCozeC7Ts1gmw5CnnMQk7bamrbFULJd9Tier7pU/s640/DSC_1037.JPG) |
Much of the abbey was built from the local yellow limestone |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikgUpdCX7za55q45E4Z6oH12Vh0vLNE0o9O0wijT7yODsQ10nxR-PatE0rHpP96Ia1Z7npqxmGSEgkcamx2jUCdGh43RJSmRLR4mEqw8MtRQ-LuTT9MVRPY6eAIG_TXEubHJZzDtepPic/s640/DSC_1032.JPG) |
An idea of the scale of the buildings |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQe8I6M1HCb9F6KW2V3BJA7eNO1vfuwQy8GtZGcgXrsaWge7wgAKtNc1nZbZf43XCAjsWwHtZb1JkimTLDYYYENg4npArzRQMefWxvHbR98EK1-9-Y5GuNV8EvRyJzwiIKLzbLa52BnT4/s640/DSC_1040.JPG) |
The neaby houses, with pantile roofs and stone walls, show the Norman influence |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpcJ4QgDmGuBA91cYXPmQrPuSszKsczUqXEX2FGVvlt-AOPfSGM4LaA1jmigTSl3kz9_4yOfFCyYad5EkHduSnVXCHKHpwoUo_7eLpd-1a18gQQNODUJnzc6J4sTAujAPan_iLC5vXRXg/s640/DSC_1043.JPG) |
Farms buildings |
And so our tour of this unfamiliar part of Yorkshire came to an end with - as always - a resolution to return and explore it further.