Folkton

Folkton is a small village at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds and on the edge of the Vale of Pickering on an area known as Folkton Carr (carr meaning low lands) in the borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire.

Geography

To the south are the Wolds and further north, across the Carrs and up the hills at the other side of the Vale is Scarborough beyond which, to the North West are the Yorkshire Moors.

History

Prehistoric features

The area has been settled for many thousands of years. Above the village, at the top of Folkton hill, was where the ‘Folkton Drums' were discovered. They are a set of chalk (the predominant stone in the area) carvings from the stone-age. Bowl shaped they have been called drums as the carvings would be upside down were they to be used as bowls. They were buried in a tumuli that sits at the intersection of several natural pathways through the Dales. This tumuli has now been identified as one of a network that acted as a guide through the maze of hills and valleys that make up the Dales which would have been heavily forested at the time. They can now be seen on display at the Natural History Museum.

Modern history

The Carr would have historically been lake or marsh depending on which climatic era is being discussed. Its natural state today would be as marsh land but it was drained in the 19th Century to make room for agriculture.The village was also the site of a Roman military base. Not much is known of this stage as subsequent building works have destroyed any archaeology however the regular finds of Roman artefacts such as coins and arrow heads indicate a substantial presence.

The village as it stands today was established with a small number of farm houses around 400 years ago. Later building added to and expanded these existing structures into larger houses and farms with attached barns. Many barns where then demolished during the 1800s to avoid the ‘Roof Tax'.