Beer drinking in rosedale - a brief history

At the turn of the 21st century Rosedale supported no fewer than five public houses,

amazing with just a population of around 250 permanent residents, but of course with the

support of thousands of visitors to the area. Four of the five (Milburn Arms, Blacksmiths

Arms, White Horse Farm Inn and the Lion) also provided accommodation which is of vital

importance in providing a regular flow of visitors to the area, especially in the long winter

months. The Coach House Inn has a bar and restaurant but has no visitor accommodation.

The nuns of Rosedale Priory would probably have been the first brewers of beer in the area,

with the dissolution of the Priory in 1536 there is no record of any beer outlets for some time

after, but local farmers and other tradesmen would probably have produced beer as it was

considered a safer option to drink than water. The Beer house Act of 1830 liberalised the

brewing and sale of beer in England, and boosted by the Ironstone mining boom of the

1880’s, the once remote rural community was flooded with miners and supporting trades

increasing the population to in excess of 2,500 people at times, beer houses popped up all

over the dale, in Thorgill, Rosedale East and Northdale for example. Often compared to the

wild west, with drunken miners flooding into the dales pubs, Rosedale was once a very

different place.

The pubs and inns of Rosedale all have very different vibrant histories, although they are not

still open today, they are there still there to explore.

Lion Inn (Blakey Ridge)

There is probably a historical monastic link to the establishment of Rosedale’s oldest Inn,

The Lion sitting high up on Blakey Ridge. Friers based in upper Farndale may very well

established the inn to attract trade from travelers crossing the moors to support their income.

The Lion is thought to date back to the 16 th Century, founded between 1553-1558. Sitting at

the junctions of four dales it supported trade between the areas farming community, although

its primary trade would have come from travelers crossing the moors, both North to South a

long the ridge and East to West on the notorious smuggling routes from Robin Hoods Bay to

York. There was a string of inn’s in a line across the moors, most of which have disappeared

including the legendary Saltersgate Inn and The Lettered Board on Hamer Moor to the

North-East of Rosedale.

The Lion Inn found it’s self in the middle of the Ironstone Minning boom of 1860-1926 in

Rosedale and Farndale, with Blakey mine close by linked to the Ironstone railway, and the

old track is an excellent way of visitors making it on foot today.

Today The Lion Inn has a booming trade, capitalising on its remoteness, with tables to

provide food for literarily hundreds of customers, maintaining a traditional atmosphere with

open fires and wooden beams. The inn serves the people of ‘Updale’ Rosedale, linked by a

steep and challenging track.

Milburn Arms

Once the village local and with a long history, The Milburn Arms is the oldest of the village

inns. Originally referred to as the Hall or Vardon Hall it was later to be named the Crown Inn,

for the Crown Estate that would own the land around. Re-named the Milburn Arms in the 20 th

Century after the Milburn family that owned the Rosedale Estate in the earlier part of the

century.

The Inn was established by John Page in 1776, probably replacing a traditional long house

and capitalising on the growing number of traveller’s on the then main York to Whitby road.

You can see the date and his name carved into the stone across the pubs entrance. John’s

brother ran a a blacksmith’s opposite on the corner next to what is now Graze on the Green.

The Inn would have originally provided stabling, refreshment and overnight accommodation

to traveller’s. Later the inn would have primarily served the local community, especially

through the mining boom and then became known as a renowned hotel and restaurant. Up

until the 1980’s the Milburn Arms had just a small bar with limited seating, full every night

with locals getting in as early as possible to secure their seats for the evening. Home to

traditional pub games teams, with what eventually became the toilets been the changing

rooms for Rosedale Football Club. Local friendly societies would also use the pub as their

base.

Up to the 1980’s the Milburn’s owners also farmed a few acres of land until the business was

extended to provide a much larger bar area, new restaurant and the farm buildings been

rebuilt as hotel accommodation. Now developed into a major commercial operation, the

reputation of the Milburn for excellent food grew quickly through the 1990’s, but unfortunately

after a couple of attempts to re-launch the business after an initial closure in 2010, the pub

last traded in 2017 and awaits a new future.

White Horse Farm Inn

Situated on Rosedale’s west side, above Rosedale Abbey village and bellow the very steep

Chimney Bank road, with spectacular views across Rosedale and the moors beyond.

The White Horse as it’s name suggests was originally a farm that provided beer to the local

community. It is thought to date back to the 18 th Century, but came to prominence during the

mining era when it was considered to be a ‘rough house’ serving the mining community. You

can still see the marks of miners scratched in to the windows of the bar. Today the White

horse has a bar, restaurant and accommodation.

Blacksmith Arms (Hartoft)

Located on the Cropton to Rosedale Abbey road at the head of Hartoft dale, the Blacksmiths

has a long if somewhat undocumented history. Legend has it that Robin Hood and Maid

Marion lived on the site after giving up their life as outlaws. As with many pubs in the moors

the business would rely on more than one trade, in this case as the name suggests

Blacksmiths.

The inn was extended in the 1980’s with motel style accommodation, with two bars and a

restaurant. As you pass by today you will find it in a semi-derelict state with rats the only

regular customers, entering by holes they have norred in the pubs doors. After a number of

years of refurbishments and closures, the business is on the market for lease.

Coach House Inn

The new kid on the block. Formally stables to the now demolished nearby shooting lodge, it

later became a mechanics garage and petrol station, then converted into a restaurant, then a

public bar in the 1970’s. Trade was originally primarily driven by the nearby camping and

caravan site, and was the only one of Rosedale’s pubs not to have visitor accommodation.

Serving both the local community and visitors alike. Home to darts, pool and dominoes

teams that play in the local winter leagues, also home to Rosedale Football Club, who play

their home games in the Becket Football League on the Milburn Field, just behind the

Milburn Arms Hotel.

Letter Board (Hamer House)

A final challenge. Traveling on the Rosedale Abbey to Egton road, you can try and spot the

few remaining stones of the Letter Board Inn, known locally as Hamer House. It closed in

1928 and vacated in 1932, locals helped themselves to the stone and bit by bit the building

disappeared. The remoteness of the Inn has given to various stories of misadventure,

including the murder of one customer by another, using the fire poker, after which it was

chained to the wall. Before the advent of the car the inn would have been at the centre of

limestone and coal mining industry, and on major trade routes across the moors.