Osmotherley

The picturesque North York Moors village of Osmotherley is just over a mile away from Woodlands Farm and is well worth a visit.  Osmotherley is a popular walking destination with both the Cleveland way and Coast to Cost walks passing through the village.  Visitors can enjoy three pubs, a village store ‘Top Shop’ and a cafe.

The name ‘Osmotherley’ is apparently derived according to local legend, from being the resting place of the mother of a former villager called Oswald and it literally means where ‘Oswald’s Mother lies’.  There has been a settlement here since before Norman times and the village is entered in the Doomsday Book under the name ‘Asmundrelac’.

Much of the centre of Osmotherley is Listed and protected by a Conservation Zone.  The old stone terraced houses were built to house the many workers in the local quarrying and textile industries.  Tourism has long since taken over as the key industry locally, however the clues to its past are all around.

At the centre of the village is  small green which is famous for being a place where John Wesley, a prominent theologian and founder of the  Methodist Church preached on several occasions, the first being in 1745.  Wesley preached at the barter table on the green and in 1754 a Methodist Chapel was erected in Chapel Yard – making it one of the oldest in the UK.  St Peter’s Church meanwhile is located on a Saxon site and the Church still has original parts which date back to Norman times.

To the North of the village is the scenic Cod Beck Reservoir, a renowned beauty spot which attracts visitors who enjoy the circular walk around the Reservoir.