California Wood

The pub comes with separate accommodation and what appears to be an interesting menu. I haven't eaten at the Duke of Wellington for many years, so must give it another try.

Just north of Welbury village with a private road and public footpath heading north towards Applegarth Manor.

With the Duke of Wellington at the end of the bend.

Entering the village from the south.

Applegarth Manor Farm, taken from the lane south of Appleton Wiske.

This is the extreme left of the west facing wall of the church. There is a benchmark cut into 2 cornerstones.

A wider angle showing the west facing wall of the church with the tower. On the extreme left of this wall, there is a benchmark cut into 2 cornerstones.

According to the OS benchmark database there was a gatepost at this location with a benchmark. Having cut away the creepers from a very old wooden gatepost I was disappointed not to find the remains of a cut mark. Some wood has rotted in an area where the mark is likely to have been, but today it is completely indistinguishable.

Rounton Grange, the ancestral home of the Bells, is now a bit of a no-show, given that the house was demolished back in 1965. The site’s now reverted to woodland. But a few buildings in the grounds are still hanging on. Like this one with an unmistakable cast iron tank proudly sporting the name of Ashmore, Benson, Pease and Co., which immediately caught my attention. And next door, there’s that strange ventilation arrangement. Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice once said. So, here’s what we know. Sir Hugh Bell took the reins of the estate when his father died in 1904. The man wasted no time leaving his mark with fancy upgrades – private electricity and a spanking new water tank3. Could this be the said water tank, with the adjoining building housing the electricity gear? Oddly, Heritage Gateway, my trusty oracle for all things heritage, draws a blank. In the photo, the low wall in the foreground surrounds some open tanks, hinting at some water treatment apparatus. Now, let’s zoom in on that water tank on the nearby rooftop. The Ashmore, Benson, Pease and Co. tag triggers a memory for me, for I was once seconded at Davy-Ashmore, a descendent of that very company. Four engineers and an ironmaster founded Ashmore, Benson, Pease and Company in Stockton-on-Tees in 1885, dealing in ironwork, gas engineering, and contracting4. In 1887, they won a major contract to build a new bridge, and the following year their catalogue showcases gas-related products and infrastructure. Fast-forward to 1894, they’re on the up, scoring a contract for the Middlesbrough gas-holder, backed by none other than Alderman Hugh Bell. Two years later, the thing starts subsiding, but Bell insists it’s the foundation’s fault, not Ashmore, Benson, Pease and Co. In 1901, the Power-Gas Corporation acquires them for their gas plant expertise, and by the start of the World War I, they’re well into manufacturing equipment for gas production, blast furnaces, and coke ovens. So, in 1906, when this relatively modest tank was hoisted onto an outbuilding at Rounton Grange, Ashmore, Benson, Pease and Co. was the go-to company for gas engineering. But to continue the brief history of the company, in 1960, it undergoes a merger, becoming part of the Davy-Ashmore group, and in ’68, the metal fabrication section of the business is acquired by Whessoe. Ashmore, Benson, Pease and Company — an enterprise that’s endured for more than eight decades, began as an independent firm and eventually became absorbed by larger corporations, but left behind a legacy in the steel and energy sectors. Now, the big question – is that a water tank or a gas tank? For sources and supplementary photos see my journal Link

This Ordnance survey mark was used as part of the levelling process for the OS map of 1911. The height recorded was 188.8ft above the mean sea level at Liverpool.