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Identifying a boundary on open moorland using markers that will remain for hundreds of years is a challenge.

We must also remember that the moorland did not always look as it does now. The heather moorland is managed for driven grouse shooting, a sport that only really became popular in the mid nineteenth century. Before that it is likely that there was more tree-cover and possibly even areas of grassland.

It is possible to visit all the Eastby stone markers as the land is open-access, but the ground is treacherous, but avoid the time when ground-nesting birds are sitting on their eggs (normally April to June). You should only access these stones when suitably dressed, wearing walking boots and with a walking partner in case you get into difficulties. However, most of these stones are visible using binoculars from the track or footpaths. All the markers are shown on the latest Ordnance Survey map, which is easiest found online at Bing Maps.  The 1851 Ordnance Survey map can be found at National Library of Scotland  View map: (nls.uk)

I have never found any markers on the Eastby and Halton East boundary, even though the 1851 ordnance survey map shows the boundary following a straight line and marked by a rock and a mound. The 1851 and modern map shows a marker called Broad stone, but there is nothing visible today. There is some evidence that it might have been quarried away, probably during the construction of the Upper Barden Reservoir, or it is one of the moss and heather covered boulders.

The first visible boundary marker can be seen as you walk the track towards from Black Park in Halton East towards Rylstone. It is visible to the left (south). This column stone is marked with three carved crosses; two on the northern face and one on the top (see picture marked A). The crosses are visible from the Barden (north side) of the marker, so, for anyone approaching the marker, it is clear if you are crossing from Barden into land owned by Bolton Priory.

The next stone is named Coulterwell Shag (Picture B) and sits on the east side of Hutchen Gill, visible from the track on the southern horizon. It is a conical, low-lying, earth-fast boulder with a carved cross and a carved letter B. This is the only Eastby stone marked with a B. This could show to people they are entering Bolton Abbey land. But it could equally mean Barden. This stone is unusual for an Eastby marker being a large, earthfast boulder, which are not common on the Eastby moorland, and the rarity might be a reason for choosing it as a marker and naming it. The meaning of Coulterwell is not known, but ‘shag’ is a term derived from an old English work for scrubby woodland. Shaw, as in nearby Hazleshaw and Broadshaw are derived from the same word.

Walking further along the track, a second column stone is visible on the horizon to the left. This also has two crosses facing Barden and a cross-cut into the top (Picture C).

A medium sized rock marks the next location. It is not possible to see this from any trackways, hidden in the undergrowth, but can be found on the moor by turning left at the junction and accessing the moor to the north of the Estate buildings (NOT the stone-built shooting hut). Two crosses have been carved into the rock (Picture D) together with what could be a directional arrow, pointing towards Eastby.

To see the next marker, take the footpath to the right side the stone shooting hut. This is a public footpath but is more difficult walking than the main track. After a hundred yards, or so, the path crosses the remains of a dam, which was probably built when they were building the upper Barden Reservoir. To the left (West) is another column marker, again with two crosses to the Barden side and a cross on the top (Picture E)

Continue walking onwards on the footpath (North), turning west towards Rylstone once the main track is regained. On the North-East horizon the last Eastby column stone can be seen. A walk up the hill for a closer look shows that this again has two carved crosses on the Barden face and a cross carved into the top (Picture F). 

The last Eastby marker is a large boulder shrouded in the heather and grass, but has with a cross and a strange inverted ‘L’ carved into it (Picture G). This is out of character with the previous Eastby markers and may be one of the original Embsay boundary markers, which will be the subject of a later post.

There is clear commonality to the column markers with three carved crosses, which implies that they were all erected at the same time. The use of marker posts is necessary because there are so few natural boulders in the right places on Eastby moor. The carved crosses are most probably evidence that the markers were erected during the time when Eastby was part of the Bolton Priory (Bolton Abbey) monastic estate, from 1241 until the dissolution in 1538. It is well known that the monastic estates were keen to understand the boundaries of their estate, so it is entirely possible that the column markers were erected in about 1241 soon after the Priory acquired Eastby, more than 750 years ago. At the time when Embsay and Eastby were owned respectively by Bolton Priory and Skipton Castle, (between 1121 and 1241) there would have been a boundary traceable from Stones F or G  to the source of Rams Gill, which is recorded in 1155 as marking the Embsay-Eastby boundary. If there are any markers on the moor they are likely to be as boulders, but I have not been able to find any marked with crosses.

Chris Lunnon, EwE Historical Research Group