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Upleatham Church
2nd smallest Church in England In a week that brought us an invasion of Old Trafford by the disgruntled Manchester United fan base, there was an invasion of sorts at New Marske too. There was nothing to complain about here. There was no protest over club ownership. In fact, the support wasn't really here at all. They were all just out for a socially distanced Bank Holiday weekend drink in an outdoor beer garden. There just happened to be football match nearby and in local terms, the North Riding Football Association Saturday Challenge Cup quarter final is as big as they get. Who needs a European Super League? It was another example of rules for one and rules for others. It was deemed okay for a capacity 980 crowd to gathers indoors at the Crucible in Sheffield for the World Championships Snooker Final, thousands to attend a "nightclub" rave in a Liverpool warehouse and an outdoor mini festival to take place elsewhere in the same city. The so called "Test Events" for the chosen ones. However, the "fresh" air of Teesside was not considered safe enough for a few football fans to space out round the perimeter of a football field. We will return to the
football later.
The Other Half was keen to see the Outlaw, so another extended day trip to the North East was booked in the diary. My time was obviously limited at the destination, so the suggestion of disappearing again to the delights of Hawes and the temptations of the Wensleydale Creamery League went down like a lead balloon. I set myself a target closer to home and finished off my allotted garden chores. I parked up outside what we always believed was the smallest church in England. It transpired we has been misled all these years. The "old" church of St Andrew in the tiny village of Upleatham measures precisely 6 metres by 4 metres. I now find that the the place has been trumped by that in the village of Bramilham, situated near Malmesbury in Wiltshire. The Bramilham venue sneaks off with the title by measuring just 6 metres by 3.52 metres. The size is so small, that it is effectively pointless. The building can fit in one single 4 person pew or 10 members of the congregation, if they stand. The Bramilham Church was used as a turkey shed up to 1955, but was cleared and put
back into use. It seems we were only misled after 1955. The annual service secures it the smallest Church in use too, although the word active is somewhat pushing it a bit. There is a trainspotter mentality about these small churches or so it appears. The annual service at Bramilham means that a tiny Church called St Trillo's in Rhos on Sea chips in with smallest "truly active" title in Britain. Yes, Rhos on Sea is in Wales and the situation just got a lot more confusing. Upleatham is closed up and has no active congregation. It doesn't claim to be active in any sense and it turns out be part of a larger structure, dating back to the 12th Century. The remains of part of the larger structure can be seen on the far side of the graveyard.
Upleatham village is a deceptive sort of place. Tucked away off the road linking the NEPSR and Guisborough, the current population of around 200 is housed in a short block of residential properties nestled into the hillside. It was a place we passed daily on the way to college, but was largely ignored except for when the bus needed to
stop to pick up one student. He remains the only person I have ever known who lived there. The church on the main road seemed a fitting size for such a place. However, the sleepy village was not always so quiet. It once hummed with the sound of industry. The current population roughly matches that in 1841. However in 1861, over a 1000 called the village home. The reason - iron ore. Iron ore seams were discovered all over this part of East Cleveland and populations relocated from all over the country to take a share of the local equivalent of a gold rush. The 13 foot ore seam at Upleatham was said to have been of the finest quality. The mine closed in 1924, having produced over 36 million tons for the belching furnaces over the hill on Teesside. At the height of production, 500 were employed there. A good number of the miners would have lived in the company houses in the seaward New Marske side of the hill. During renovation of one of the said houses in the early 1980s, a miner's payslip confirmed a wage of £3 16 shillings for the 6 shift week. The ore
extracted was about 90 tons. However, the miner had expenses. He would have employed his own labourer or loader and also had deductions for his rent, his medical cover and he even had to pay for his own gunpowder! A further check reveals 64 industrial deaths in the course of the mine history. It was a tough life.
The tough life didn't extend to those who lived at the Hall. The original Upleatham Hall was home to Lord Dundas, who had a small fortune and a number of residences. The original Hall was built for his son around 1764 and enlarged in 1810. His grandson, the 2nd Earl Zetland, made further alterations, but it was his great grandson, the 3rd Earl, who had the biggest impact. The 3rd Earl was forced to pull the place down, after some enthusiastic iron ore mining caused subsidence and began to destabilise the foundations of the building. Digging to add to your fortune was not without its risks! The new Hall is the finest house in the village and contains a frieze said to be from the original. I opted against turning my lenses on it, for fear of being viewed with suspicion
by the locals.
I parked up by the War Memorial in the village. It stands next to the old well house. The village today has no signs of the industrial trappings. The old school and Chapel are converted into tidy dwellings. Similarly, the new St Andrew's Church is converted into a 4 bedroom house. The conversion was no doubt assisted by the fact that this Church is quite a bit bigger than the 6 x 4 metre model down the hill. This Church was an 1835 design by the grandly named Inatious Bonomi, who amongst other things designed Wynyard Hall - home of Sir John Hall - former owner of Newcastle United. As with other Upleatham properties, the price tag reflects the fact the owners face away from industrial Teesside. The less views are reserved for those on the other side of the hill. I walked up towards the woods above the village - the location of the Upleatham mine.
Time was marching on. I abandoned my aimless wandering and retrieved the car. I parked up well away from football ground on Gurney Street. I wasn't keen on repeating the ball in the bonnet experience from Glapwwll last
week, further rearranging the car. The bill for that came in at a princely £140. New Marske was the gateway to the "Upleatham" mine. The roundabout at the bottom end of the village now sports an oversized scuplture of a "midge" lamp. It was originally on a metal platform, but now stands on a more appropriate soil heap. A miner perches with his spade. The original New Marske was a grid of terraced properties built by the Pease company to house their workers. A school was added and a reading room "for the advancement" of miners and their families. As Quakers, the Pease family wouldn't have approved of the modern additions of the Yorkshire Lass pub and the New Marske Institute Club. The former is nearly hidden behind an approved Pease addition - St Thomas Church. Both drinking venues, having limited or no outside space, were still closed by the COVID restrictions. I noted that Yorkshire Lass was running a side enterprise on their available outdoor space - 5 Caravan Club approved pitches, open from April to October and all with a panoramic view of Teesside. The "new" in New Marske was originally to distinguish it from Marske down below
Upleatham
The "new" Church of St Andrew on the coast. However in the late 1960s, it took on a whole new being as the Errington Park estate construction got underway. The estate grew and grew all the way up the hillside, dwarfing the original terraces. My Dad worked up there for years as part of the Cyril Payne empire. The maroon Transit with the symbol of an African Grey parrot became a fixture outside our house. I had a quick spin round the top end for old times sake after the football to see how the old man's work is holding up.
It was time for some football. The conundrum facing many fans at the moment is when is a football ground not a football ground? Public land and all are welcome. Private land and it is strictly behind closed doors. However if you have a bar with outside space in a football ground on private land, outdoor drinking service is perfectly legitimate. The "primary" reason for your visit must be the refreshments on offer and not the sport. I have even seen one suggestion at a local cricket club, that your attendance at their bar was welcome as long as you sat with your back
to the play! Anybody fancy a cricket ball on the head? As with all ball sports, it is probably wise to keep any eye on whether that spherical object is heading directly for you. The New Marske Sports Club spreads out from the village towards the main A174 and Marske below. The confines of their land feature the football ground, the cricket venue known as the Gurney Street Oval, a social club and changing rooms for the football and a similar setup in the cricket pavilion. There are many esteemed and famous multi sport clubs across Europe, featuring more than just the core football. Barcelona. Real Madrid. Sporting Club de Portugal of Lisbon. Partizan Belgrade. Newcastle United once had a similar vision too. However, none could compete with the addition found at New Marske - pigeon racing! The portakabin headquarters is tucked away in the grounds with advice for beginners available from the Club Secretary.
The cricket got underway at 1.30 pm. New Marske CC lost out by a mere 2 runs in their run chase after the Kirkby & Broughton CC total. The football kicked off at 2 pm, by which a healthy number had rolled up for
the "primary" purpose of taking an outdoor refreshment in an orderly and socially distanced manner. There was of course no official possibility of seeing either pitch. The football made a change in this most unusual of seasons - there was something really riding on the game. Cleveland Seniors FC were the visitors from Middlesbrough for the North Riding Football Association Saturday Challenge Cup Quarter final tie - a place in the last 4 up for grabs. Their red shirts looked very much like a Hummel inspired number worn by the Boro in seasons past. The lack of football recently meant the pitch was looking good. The temperature was unseasonably cool, but there was no tricky wind to contend with coming in off the North Sea. The 2 teams play in the same North Riding Football League Division 1, so there were no surprises for either like there could have been if the opposition had come from the far flung lands near York. The football was committed, but produced little attacking threat from either side. There was plenty of tough tackling and petulant fouls to keep the referee busy. The 1st half ended scoreless. The 2nd half remained tense. When the
Upleatham
.....view towards Guisborough going gets tough, the tough just keep on going. Both teams had their moments, but decent efforts on target remained scarce. The result could have gone either way. Cleveland were in this to the very end. Cup football is the same, no matter what the level and nobody wants to make the vital error to cost his side the game. The error never appeared and it was a decent passage of play that broke the deadlock in the closing minutes. A looping header found the corner of the Cleveland net, just as it looked like it would end goalless. New Marske were through to the semi-finals. There was no time for Cleveland Seniors to react to the goal. New Marske were drawn away to Richmond Mavericks of the Wensleydale Creamery League in that semi-final in a game that could very well be played at "Wembley". Alas not the real one - the Richmond School "Wembley" - but Wembley nevertheless. Up The Miners!
Appendix 1 North Riding FA Saturday Challenge Cup Quarter Final New Marske FC 1 Cleveland FC 0 Venue: New Marske Sports Club, 2 Gurney Street, New Marske, Redcar. North Yorkshire. TS11 8EQ
Date: Saturday 1st May 2021 @ 1400 Hours
Attendance: Nil - Officially Behind Closed Doors, but a good few "stumbled" along from the beer garden
Appendix 2 Langbaurgh Cricket League Division 1 New Marske won the toss and elected to field Kirby & Broughton CC 170 for 5 Wickets New Marske CC 169 for 9 Wickets Venue: New Marske Sports Club, Gurney Street Oval, New Marske, Redcar. North Yorkshire. TS11 8EQ
Date: Saturday 1st May 2021 @ 1330 Hours
Attendance: Nil - Officially Behind Closed Doors, but a good few "stumbled" along from the beer garden
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Tot: 0.078s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 14; qc: 32; dbt: 0.034s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Rainyb
Lorraine Brecht
Thanks for sharing!