IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Esk Valley, WHITBY, YO22 5BG

At the far end of the cottages is the railway line from Grosmont up to Goathland

The hamlet of Esk Valley started life in 1860 as a row of four cottages, built for workers at the ironstone mines to the north. Beneath the living quarters were a blacksmiths’ shop, a joiner’s, a tiny office and a washroom. A few years later, as the workforce expanded, a terrace of 24 cottages was built on the other side of the former railway track (now 'Rail Trail' footpath). Esk Valley relied on the railway to bring coal, food and provisions until 1951, when the community raised enough money to construct the steep road leading down to the hamlet.

Built for ironstone miners, Lying between the original and the current railway lines between Grosmont and Goathland.

Built in a long straight line for the benefit of ironstone miners.

There appears to be several photos of this terrace of Victorian cottages submitted for this square, and whilst most contributors suggest that the housing was for iron ore miners, at least one suggests that they may have been built as railway workers cottages. Looking at old 6" maps of the area, the 1848 survey shows a nearby ironstone mine, but no cottages, whilst by 1892 the ironstone mines are disused, but the cottages are shown. Another factor is the expansion of the nearby whinstone quarries, which exploited the Cleveland Dyke running right across the valley at this point. I might be inclined to think that these were quarrymen's cottages, but as Mick Garrett suggests iron ore miners, I'll go with that.

For more information about this line of cottages, see Image

Built in the 19th century for the local iron works

In 2009 the hamlet celebrated its 150th year of the existence. The hamlet's name relates to the existence of the formation of The Esk Valley Iron Company, around 1859, even though the hamlet is situated in the Murk Esk Valley. A 200ft deep shaft was sunk to reach the ironstone, which was worked on a small scale for around a decade. By the 1870s, the lease to extract ore had been transferred to the South Cleveland Ironworks Limited who built 25 cottages, (shown in the picture), and a manager's house. Alas, the mine was not run at a profit and it finally closed in 1875. Many of the miners then went on to work in the local whinstone mines.