resident in the village named Birdsall, who is now in the Almshouses, remembers that the last woman who was placed in the Black Hole was released by four men who forcibly broke their way in.  The quaint little church of Ellerburne and the few antique cottages that make up the hamlet lie about a mile from Thornton up the steep valley to the north.  The hills on either side are crowned with plantations, but farther up the dale appear the bare slopes of the edge of the moors.  Allerston lies at right angles to the main road.  It is full of quaint stone cottages, and is ornamented by the square tower of the church and the cheerful brook that flows along the road side.  The church at Ebberston stands aloof from the village at the edge of the small park belonging to the Hall.  The situation is a very pleasant one, and the building attracts one’s attention on account of the wide blocked-up arch that is conspicuous in the south wall west of the porch.

The next village westwards is Snainton, a more compact and town-like hamlet than most of the others in the district.  The church having been rebuilt in about 1835, the place is robbed of one of its chief attractions.

Brompton has already been mentioned in connection with Wordsworth’s wedding.  The view over the bright green pastures of the Vale when seen from the church porch is of conspicuous beauty, and the ponds that are numerous in the village help to make picturesque views from many points.  The Hall is a large building possessing a ponderous bulk but little charm, and it is only by the kindly aid of the plentiful trees and an extensive growth of ivy that the squire’s house does not destroy the rural sweetness of the village.

Wykeham has a new church with a massive spire, but the tower of the old building has fortunately been allowed to remain, and now answers the purpose of a lich-gate.  Only a few walls of the abbey now remain in close proximity to Lord Downe’s recently enlarged house.

[Illustration:  HUTTON BUSCEL CHURCH.

The lower part of the tower is of Norman work.  The head of the churchyard cross is modern. ]

The church of Hutton Buscel is externally one of the most picturesque in the district, and the pretty churchyard on steeply falling ground is a charming feature of the village.  The old Hall of the Osbaldestons is only represented by the massive gates that give access to the schools built on the site of the house that was burnt down about a century ago.

A curious story is told of Bishop Osbaldeston, whose monument is to be seen in the church.  During his stay at Hutton Buscel he often amused himself with riding about the neighbourhood and conversing with any one he happened to meet upon the road.  “One morning he saw a chimney-sweeper’s boy laid on the roadside, whom he accosted as follows:—­’Well, my lad, where hast thou been this morning?’ ‘Sweeping your chimnies,’ replied the lad.  ‘And how much hast thou earned then?’ said his lordship.  ’Fifteen shillings, my lord.’  After his lordship had observed that he thought it a very good business, the lad says, ’Yes, my lord, you see that we black coats get good livings for very little work.’”