In the market square is a monument to William Duncombe, 2nd Earl of Feversham, whose family home Duncombe Park sits on a hill beside the town looking down on the ruins of Helmsley Castle.
Whilst the Tower of London has its ravens, Helmsley Castle has jackdaws, and I took a picture of one outside a bakery on the town side of the Castle.
If you enter the town via Castlegate, there’s a pretty beck by the side of the road and an old bridge made from local stone leading to the Market Place. The banks of the beck were dotted with daffodils, but this year’s late spring meant they hadn’t come into flower at the time of the visit.
William Duncombe’s Market Cross in the Market Place is an important local landmark – and serves as a meeting place for walkers before or after exploring the local counryside, shoppers enjoying the excellent range of retailers in Helmsley, bikers en route to the coast, and evening romantics of all ages.
The plinth bears the inscription, “To William Second Baron Feversham. This monument is erected by his tenantry friends and relatives, who cherish his memory with affection and gratitude.” When I read this, it brought to mind an image of caps being doffed, and knees being bowed.
