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<< Our Photo Pages >> Danby Beacon - Round Barrow(s) in England in Yorkshire (North)

Submitted by JimChampion on Thursday, 30 July 2009  Page Views: 11737

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Danby Beacon
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 1.4 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Yorkshire (North) Type: Round Barrow(s)
 Nearest Village: Danby
Map Ref: NZ73600927
Latitude: 54.473465N  Longitude: 0.865778W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 2 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 3 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 5

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PeterJMayhew visited on 29th Jun 2022 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5 The views from Danby Beacon are superb. The downside is that it is heavily visited, so you may have to put up with crowds. It's a pity that that barrow has been adorned with a modern creation. There is a trig pillar. It can be visited by car, bike, or on foot.

JimChampion have visited here

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by JimChampion : The mound on the left is the Bronze Age burial mound re-used in more modern times as Danby Beacon. The beacon sculpture on the barrow was erected the Danby Beacon Trust in 2008, and first lit on the anniversary of Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. The top of Beacon Hill, beyond the barrow, was the site of a major Second World War radar station. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Round Barrow in North Yorkshire

A 22 metre diameter stone and earthen mound, standing up to 2.5 metres high.

By virtue of its position on top of a prominent hill (now called Beacon Hill) this barrow has been re-used since early post-medieval times as a beacon site. Modern-day visitors to the site will find a five metre tall beacon sculpture rising out of the centre of the barrow, erected in 2008 by the Danby Beacon Trust (and replacing an earlier wooden post that supported a beacon during the 1988 celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the defeat of the Spanish Armada). At the top of the steel column is a flame-shaped basket mounted in a cup decorated with bronze - a reference to the prehistoric monument below.

Access The barrow is alongside a minor road on Beacon Hill and there is an adjacent parking area marked as a 'viewpoint' on maps. There are fantastic views from this barrow of the North York Moors and the North Yorkshire coast (weather permitting!).
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Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by johndhunter : This view taken June 2018 is to show the context of the setting that Danby Beacon is in at this time of the year under these dry conditions. It was taken from the Hannah Coling memorial stone at NZ 73779 10371 which lies amongst a sea of cotton grass about ¾ mile to the north of the beacon in the swamp/bog between the Beacon and Three Howes Rigg. Hannah was 29 years old and perished in a snowstor... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by PeterJMayhew : 29th June 2022. Danby Beacon, Barrow and Trig Pillar. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by Antonine : Trig point to the left, 2011 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by Antonine : Dusk, 2011 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by Antonine : Danby Beacon is a prehistoric burial mound on the summit of 980ft high Beacon Hill. The barrow is 22m in diameter and around 2.5m high. On the south side of the mound are exposed stones some of which are kerbing stones. The mound has been used as a beacon since the 1600s when the country was under threat of invasion from France. Photo taken sunset, 2011 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by johndhunter : Danby Beacon viewed from Brown Rigg, July 2018. The mounds on the horizon as indicated are where RAF Danby Beacon Radar Station used to be. The station didn’t extend all that much further in a northerly direction indicated by the mound on the right. However the perimeter fence went almost right up to Danby Beacon beyond the mound on the left. The mounds themselves from left to right are where t...

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by johndhunter : Danby Beacon viewed looking southerly July 2018

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by johndhunter : Approaching Danby Beacon along the minor road from Elm Ledge. March 2013. This is the road alongside which the Radar Station used to be

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by johndhunter : Danby Beacon viewed looking southerly, July 2018 from where the radar station access road used to be. RAF Danby Beacon Radar station was in fact a precursor to Fylingdales Early Warning Station which if you stand on Danby Beacon and look south east can be seen in the far distance.

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by johndhunter : View of the site entrance to the radar station taken in March 2013. The plaque on the memorial stone reads as follows: “Danby Beacon. Site of R.A.F. Radar Station 1939-1954. The mound behind this marker housed the equipment which led to the shooting down by Flt. Lieut. Peter Townsend of the first enemy aircraft to fall on England, 3rd February 1940”. The mound is where the R/X Block was locat...

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by johndhunter : Walking north westerly down the minor road towards Elm Ledge from Danby Beacon in January 2013. The radar station was all to the right of this road with the four T/X masts running almost parallel to it down towards the Site Entrance

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by johndhunter : This is the view from the top of Danby Beacon taken in July 2018, looking north westerly at the site where RAF Danby Beacon Radar Station used to be. Accommodation, Workshops, Guardhouse etc were either side of the road coming into it from the site entrance. The R/X Station and Receivers mounted on four 73 metre timber masts in a roughly square formation were in the area indicated. The T/X Statio...

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by johndhunter : Danby Beacon round barrow looking easterly, July 2018

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by johndhunter : The top of the Centenary Viewfinder Stone which gives the compass bearing and distance of various places. For Example – South – Great Fryup Dale 7km. Photo taken January 2013.

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by johndhunter : The Centenary Viewfinder Stone just to the east of Danby Beacon taken in January 2013. The plaque on the south face of the stone reads : Danby Parish Council 1894 - 1994. To celebrate their centenary year this viewfinder was erected by the Parish Council with assistance from the North York Moors National Park Authority. It was unveiled by Lord and Lady Downe on 22nd October 1994

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by johndhunter : The view from the top of Danby Beacon looking East towards Brown Rigg Howe in January 2013 .The Centenary Viewfinder Stone was erected in 1994 to celebrate a 100 years of Danby Parish Council

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by johndhunter : Danby Beacon round barrow looking northerly, a closer view, July 2018

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by johndhunter : Danby Beacon round barrow looking northerly, July 2018

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by johndhunter : Danby Beacon looking north westerly. March 2013

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by johndhunter : Approaching Danby Beacon along the minor road from the south west and the North Yorkshire Moors National Park Centre at Danby, March 2013

Danby Beacon
Danby Beacon submitted by JimChampion : This barrow really isn't hard to find - its is on a bend in the road, next to a car park, signposted on the top of a 300 metre hill, close to a white-painted triangulation pillar and, best of all, it has a five-metre tall metal beacon sculpture sticking out of it.

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"Danby Beacon" | Login/Create an Account | 4 News and Comments
  
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Re: Danby Beacon by johndhunter on Sunday, 06 July 2025
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The beacon (literally) sited on top of the barrow during the Napoleonic Wars would have been lit in conjunction with other such beacons as part of a chain to provide early warning of an imminent invasion should the French Fleet be sited hove off the north east coast. This was the first inland beacon in the area, other such beacons located further inland and part of the chain were sited on barrows at COCK HEADS (Glaisdale Head) and THREE HOWES  above Rosedale Abbey. The lighting of the Danby beacon would have been carried out by a soldier and his wife who for several years were stationed beside the barrow living in a hastily built hut of stone, remnants of which could still be seen in early C20, though nothing is shown on historical OS maps. The threat was treated seriously with people assigned to drive the cattle and sheep further inland and others appointed to drive the wagons with the women and children and any goods of value that could be carried should the beacon be lit.
Source:
Joseph Ford (1870 - 1944)‘ Some Reminiscences and Folk Lore of Danby Parish and District’ published 1953. Chapter on Danby Beacon.
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Re: Danby Beacon by johndhunter on Friday, 27 March 2020
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Old OS maps show another barrow in this area about 100m to the east of the Danby Beacon barrow at NZ 73703 09281, this is no longer extant and was destroyed by war time activity.Source – Pastscape Monument 28791 which was last updated 2012.

Out of curiosity last time I was in the area (March 2020) I went and had a look. Even the deep heather could not hide the fact that there is nothing there, no sign of a mound whatsoever.

There is though, 30m to the north east of the site of the no longer extant barrow a large mound at NZ 73726 09311 which at first glance looks like a round barrow. Indeed ones inclination if looking for a second barrow near to the Danby Beacon barrow would be to head for this mound. However looking at the sketch map of the radar station and its surrounds on the nymcam website HERE it would appear that this mound was the site of a pillbox.

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Danby Beacon Street View by SteveDut on Wednesday, 07 April 2010
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Re: Danby Beacon by JimChampion on Thursday, 30 July 2009
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Two links to articles about the new beacon...

BBC North Yorkshire article by Don Watt of the Danby Beacon Trust (December 2008).

Whitby Gazette article (24 October 2008).
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