Thruscross Green Heritage Project
Location: North Yorkshire
Claro Community Archaeology Group
Thruscross Green Project Up-date.
Most Recently Claro Community Archaeology Group (CCAGS) has started work in Thruscross Green. We began this work only last year but things are already well under way. The name Thruscross seems to have been derived either from the Norse name of Thorin or the Anglo Scandinavian Thur or Thor and combined with cross which may relate to a boundary, landownership or waymarker.
The earliest record we have so far found dates from 1173 and it was found in a charter granting land to Bridlington Priory. We have found many other early records including one dating to the 18th of November 1374 abolishing the royal tax for the year due to the impoverished situation of Thuscross tenants. This information had to be translated from the original Medieval French by one of our members.
The group has also obtained the aerial photographs of the area from County Hall, these clearly show medieval ridge and furrow plough marks and Second World War gun emplacements that were positioned above the valley and used for target practice and have now completely disappeared.
In our trip to county hall we also acquired a geological map of the area. Professional geologist John Senior was commissioned to add to the information provided by this map. His input presented us with a much longer perspective of time and put the archaeology and history of Thruscross into a wider context. This was a very useful day, funded by Yorkshire Architectural and York Archaeological society and through it we identified features from prehistory through to modern times including medieval quarry sites.
Perhaps the most dramatic recent development in Thruscross has been the disappearance of the building to the north side of Bridal road (Fig 1.). We photographed this structure earlier in the year and went back to record it more thoroughly in June only to find a pile of stones (Fig 2.). However some useful information has come out of this loss as the stonemasons working at the site recognised outer dressings on inward facing blocks suggesting that the stone was reused from an earlier building. This gives an extra dimension to our knowledge as the structure recently demolished was already about 200 years old and it is now been used for a third time.
CCAGS has also been busy recently with exhibitions. At Easter we were invited to an open day ant North Yorkshire County Records Office where we exhibited alongside other local history groups. This summer the group was again asked to Knaresborough Castle Medieval Day where we were very well received and had over 200 visitors. The display focused on our completed work in the parish of Fewston and went on to be shown in Fewston Church. The group has also been involved with the SHINE project and been working with a Kettlesing primary school to raise awareness and interest in local history and archaeology amongst the pupils.
Group Name |
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Claro Community Archaeology Group |
| Project Contact |
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Mr David G Hunt |
| Address |
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5 Princess Mount. Knaresborough. Harrogate. North Yorkshire. HG5 0AP |
| Project Postcode |
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HG5 0AP |
| Finishing Date |
|
30 Oct 05 |
| Grants: |
Heritage Lottery Fund: £11992
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