Young Ralph Cross stands at the meeting point of two moorland roads, high on windswept Danby High Moor. It has become an emblem of the North York Moors National Park and is the centre of various old folk tales.

The 10-foot high (3 m) gritstone cross is of uncertain age, with some historians suggesting 11th-century origins. There was once a letter 'R' carved on its south face, though it is no longer visible today.

RichD

September 7, 2024

Wayside crosses are one of several types of Christian cross erected during the medieval period, mostly from the 9th to 15th centuries AD. In addition to serving the function of reiterating and reinforcing the Christian faith amongst those who passed the cross and of reassuring the traveller, wayside crosses often fulfilled a role as waymarkers, especially in difficult and otherwise unmarked terrain. The crosses might be on regularly used routes linking ordinary settlements or on routes having a more specifically religious function, including those providing access to religious sites for parishioners and funeral processions, or marking long-distance routes frequented on pilgrimages. Over 350 wayside crosses are known nationally, concentrated in south west England throughout Cornwall and on Dartmoor where they form the commonest type of stone cross. A small group also occurs on the North York Moors.

The wayside cross and boundary marker known as Young Ralph survive complete even though previously broken and repaired. The cross marks the highest point on the old road from Keldholme in the south of the moors to Castleton in the north. It also marks the boundary of the Wapentake of Pickering Lyth. It has been adopted as the symbol of the North York Moors National Park and has been a listed monument since 1938.

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Elevation 420 m

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Tuesday 25 November

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Max wind speed: 19.0 km/h

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Location: Westerdale, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Yorkshire And The Humber, England, United Kingdom

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