Curious Traveler

It is home to quintessential English villages, historic country estates, and an amazing invention known as Yorkshire Pudding. Yorkshire has so much to be curious about. Remember when you were a child and all you asked was why, why, why? Well I never quite outgrew that whole quest for knowledge phase.

In fact, I've made a career out of asking who, what, where, why, and how, as an arts and travel journalist for the past 20 years. So, if I have an insatiable curiosity about the exciting, inspiring, beautiful world of art, architecture, and hidden history all around us, I bet you do too. This isn't your typical what to do on a vacation travel show, oh no. This is your all access pass to a deeper understanding of the world's great art and architecture, people and places, history and how did they do thats.

So, come along on our educational journey, our field trip for grown ups who have never quite grown up, and learn on Curious Traveler. (lively piano music) This beautiful county in northern England has a rich Roman, Viking, medival, and tasty history. It is time to get curious about Yorkshire. From its rolling green hills to its charming dialect.

Heyup. Heyup. The historic English county of Yorkshire is a quite curious place to explore. The Romans called the area Eboracum, the Anglicans called it Northumbria, and the Vikings called it Jorvik, which eventually evolved into the name Yorkshire.

And believe it or not, that Viking heritage still shapes the Yorkshire dialect today. Like thorpe and thwaite, beck, ton, gill, they're all Old Norse words. -

Christine

Then after the Norman conquest of 1066, England gets an injection of thousands of French words. Including the word mansion. And we will visit a very special mansion here in Yorkshire. Next in our Yorkshire history, the monasteries and the aristocracy move in.

The sheep have been long time residents of Yorkshire too, and have played an important role in Yorkshire's textile farming industries. And that farming industry is manifested in some very tasty ways today. So here's what I'm curious about in Yorkshire. Why is there an Italian Renaissance-looking palace, an Egyptian hall, and a Roman bathhouse all in the middle of jolly old England?

What do Quakers have to do with chocolate? What does Emperor Constantine have to do with York? Why is this wonky street called the Shambles? Who's is Betty, and Fat Rascal?

And how does the Queen Mother fit in? How did one humble country veterinarian bring Yorkshire to the world? And most importantly, why can't the whole world be as friendly as Yorkshire? Don't laugh.

Ah, I love that, I love that, I love that. (lively piano music) We begin our exploration into curious Yorkshire at one of its finest stately homes, Castle Howard. Throughout history, these Yorkshire stately homes were England's version of continental Europe's chateaus and palaces. But why are these mansions called castles or abbeys?

Well the abbey part goes back to Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries, and the Protestant Reformation. During this time, church properties were seized and often destroyed. In some cases, the properties were then sold or gifted to aristocratic families. (gentle orchestral music) Then some of those families would name their homes in honor of the abbey that once stood there.

Like Ford Abbey, Woburn Abbey, and one more abbey that you've probably heard of, Downton Abbey. I bet you've always wondered why it was called Downton Abbey, didn't you? But the real Downton Abbey is named Highclere Castle. Why castle?

Well, because the medieval castle, or palace, of the Bishops of Winchester used to stand here. And that castle naming tradition brings us back to our lovely Castle Howard, also named for a medieval castle that used to be here. With more than 300 rooms and set on 1,000 acres of parkland, Castle Howard was built in the 18th century for the third Earl of Carlisle. And today it remains one of England's finest historic homes.

(lively piano music) So, who is the Howard family, and why do they get a castle? The Howards are an English aristocratic family and ten generations of those Dukes, Earls, Barons, Lords, and Ladies have lived here. The current Howard family still lives here. Their impressive home is dripping with over-the-top English Baroque style.

So this style is kind of embellished and dramatic. The facades are bristling with detail. It's not got the restraint of later classicism. The architect here was Sir John Vanbrugh, assisted by Nicholas Hawksmore.

I mean very key architects in Britain at that time. Second only in perhaps to Sir Christopher Wren. If you're getting second billing to the man who designed St. Paul's Cathedral, then you're probably doing all right.

All these centuries later, and researchers are still discovering hidden treasures about the family and estate. Why is it so important to preserve the heritage of not just the Castle Howard, but any of these English estates? It's essential to preserve estates and houses like this, they are part of the fabric of English history. Social history, architectural history, the built heritage, the natural heritage.

They are, if you like, kind of receptacles for all kinds of history, so we have to keep them alive. (lively piano music) From the Howardian hills of Yorkshire, to the historic walled city of York. Next we see a towering minster and a little rascal. The beautiful town of York was founded in 71 AD by the Romans.

And believe it or not, this sturdy city wall that I'm standing on actually still has remnants of that Roman past. Most of the wall, of course, has been built up over the centuries, including a crucial period in the Middle Ages, and it was in the Middle Ages that we get the gift of York, the largest gothic cathedral north of the Alps. York Minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York. And it is big, super big.

It towers over its surrounding town. In fact, the Leaning Tower of Pisa could fit right inside its central tower. So, why such an extremely large church here in York? How did that come to be?

Because of Archbishop Walter de Gray decided, as the richest man in the country, he was going to build and expand on the existing church and make it the biggest church in the country. -

Christine

York Minster's most inspirational feature is its famous East Window. It is the size of a tennis court, with 311 panels depicting the stories of Genesis through Revelation. More than half of England's entire collection of medieval stained glass is right here in York Minster. And York Minster is ever growing with many additions over the centuries.

But, you know how home improvements can go. Mistakes have been made. So people have calculated from the West Door to the East Window is about three feet of difference. It's not in line.

- How dare they? How dare they not get that figured out? But it is a nice quirk. It is, is.

- A nice little quirk. But this isn't the first minster, or church, on this site. It is at least the third. The first possibly dates back to 627.

And the history of this sacred spot goes back even further. But beneath our feet is something different altogether. Beneath our feet we found, in 1967 we found the Roman fortress. We knew it was here somewhere, and that's when we...

The title we give it was the Great Dig. -

Christine

And that great dig dug up the history of Constantine the Great. It was here that Constantine was proclaimed emperor, the first Christian emperor of the Roman Empire. Which is why you'll see his statue outside of York Minster today. Next, we explore the cobbly streets just outside York Minster, and arrive at the historic York assembly rooms, one of the earliest neo-classical buildings in all of England.

York was center for the whole of the north of England, east, west, and north. -

Christine

And the social elite would do their schmoozing right here at the York Assembly Rooms. The outside looks like a Greek temple and the inside like an Egyptian hall. But most curious of all, is how the upper class spent their time here. That perfect day would start with a good murder trial down at the assize courts.

And again, all judge and everybody would be outside, hanging, flogging. And then everybody would walk down to the Knavesmire which is where the race course is, they would see a good hanging, lots of nasty people would be hung, everybody would love it, everybody's bloodthirsty. People selling, stalls and everything. And then there would be-- - Like sporting event?

Oh yes, like a sporting event. Oh, excellent, so just so I get this straight, 1730 onwards, the perfect day here in York was a nice murder trial in the morning, followed by a nice hanging with some refreshments. What else can you say but wow. And what better way to wrap up that creepy perfect day in York?

With a dance here at the Assembly Rooms, of course. And what type of dancing would they do in here? It would be organized group dances where somebody would call it, and then it would be nothing energetic, but it would gliding up and down. Because with their dresses, that's about as energetic-- - That's right, oh yes.

as you want it to be. And everybody's got bodices on and everything. And the gentleman could go to the toilet but the ladies couldn't, there was no provision for that. Absolutely none.

That's why they all fainted, they didn't live that long. (chuckles) Such injustice, such injustice. See the hanging didn't offend me as much as the not having the ladies restroom. That's the worse.

- That's how it was in those days. But charming ladies room traditions aside, York's real charm comes from its darling little shops and streets, like this one. There is an incredible little street that runs through the heart of York that has retained its original medival buildings. And the higher up you go in these buildings the more it looks like it's about to fall into the middle of the stone street.

Now the name of this street is The Shambles, for a very curious reason. And that reason can be discovered today in these clues, these high hooks and low shelves in front of every store. The ones that say please don't sit here. And trust me, once you discover what those shelves were used for, you won't want to sit here.

I was gonna say let's not be gross, but we're already being gross. So the hooks were used to hand the sides of meat, whatever it is, - That's right, yes. And then, okay, this is the gross part, so this would kind of catch the... That's right, yes.

- The drippings? That's right, all the blood and everything, all the intestines, anything like that, would have been here and then washed down the street. Next where do we get the name for this street? So, The Shambles, which oh that just sounds so lovely and very British, - Yes.

The Shambles actually translates to, or origins came from? Fleshammels, which means flesh bearing shelves. Isn't that awful, there's even a need for a term flesh bearing shelves? - Yes.

-

Christine

Okay, that was gross. Let's move on to something nicer. Why do these half-timbered houses get wider and wider with each floor as you go up? Well, to cheat taxes, of course.

The more land you had, the more tax you paid, so people would extend on the first and the second floors but not on the ground floor. Hence, we have this thing what we call jettying, where the houses stick out, and we have photographs where people are reaching out, crossing, Oh yeah. - Actually touching each other's hands across. -

Christine

And there's one more curiosity to The Shambles and it's a magical one. This street was one of the inspirations for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter films. And today there's even a Harry Potter shop or two. Including this one, The Shop That Must Not Be Named.

So, what do you call it? Next, here in York, as in the rest of England, the world stops at four o'clock for tea time. And there's no better spot for afternoon tea in York than at the historic Betty's Cafe Tea Rooms. A British institution since 1919, Betty's was started by a Swiss orphan named Frederick, who apparently took the wrong train and ended up in Yorkshire.

So if Frederick started the business, why is it called Betty's? There are a lot of conflicting theories and different stories about who Betty was. And that it could be after the Queen. The favorite story is that in one of the first shareholder meetings one of the granddaughters of one of the shareholders came in and interrupted the meeting, and she was called Betty.

Excellent, now I have to go back to one of the theories, named after the queen as in Queen Elizabeth and possible a nickname for her would have been Betty? That is possible. - Really? Yes, yes.

- Although, although-- Never to her face. No, no, never, never. (laughing) You'd be like no, no, don't tell her we call her Betty. There's even an entire book devoted to who Betty might be.

And there's no better way to theorize than over a proper afternoon tea with scones, or scons, depending on where you're from. Even the order you put the jam and clotted cream on the scones/scons, is regional. If you were from Devon, you would go cream first and then jam. And if you were from Cornwall you would go jam first and then cream.

Isn't it funny that people debate about these things? They really care. They really do. (laughing) They really do it.

And Betty's has their famous and unique version of the scone, scon. In an elegant setting like this, I love the name of this particular treat. Who do we have here? Here we have the Fat Rascal.

The Fat Rascal. (chuckles) Who is the Fat Rascal? The Fat Rascal has been with us for years and years and years. It's a Betty's trademark item, little cheeky grin.

-

Christine

Maybe he's grinning because he knows who the real Betty is. (lively piano music) Next, the tasty history of York continues with the industry that built it. While other towns came to be because of gold, coal, or cars, York took a much tastier route, chocolate. So the story of chocolate in York really begins in the 1720s with a woman called Mary Tuke.

She wasn't a confectioner, she had nothing to do with chocolate, but one of the products she sold was cocoa. Now, she established herself as an independent woman trading in the city of York and it became really, really big business. -

Christine

Not only was Mary Tuke a savvy business woman, she was also a Quaker, which is important, because York's chocolate industry is all thanks to those Quakers. Why, well the Quakers made and sold chocolate as an alternative to that sinful alcohol. Also important, Quakers were somewhat excluded from the rest of society, so they helped other Quaker families, like the Rowntrees. Well, the Rowntrees were grocers here in York and Henry Isaac Rowntree is the one that bought the Tuke business in 1862.

They were one of the first companies that popularized solid chocolate. -

Christine

That's right, chocolate began as a drink in ancient Central America, and the ancient Mayans rightly called it the food of the gods. It didn't really become a solid candy until the 19th century here in England. And then, the York chocolate industry was born. It became the largest employer in the city of York.

Companies like the Rowntrees and the Terrys provided employment, they helped people with their housing, there were villages built, there were hospitals built. The chocolate story of York isn't just about all the sweets they made, it's about how society was changed for the better. And what better way to appreciate all that history than by tasting it. (laughing) Thank you, very nice.

- That's okay. (lively piano music) Next, our Yorkshire foodie history continues with a short trip outside of York to the gorgeous Yorkshire countryside in the town of Malton. For more than three centuries, much of Malton has been owned by the same family. The Watson-Wenthworths, and then the Fitzwilliams.

This family has dedicated themselves to their beloved town. From supporting the poor to building streets, schools, and hospitals. And that tradition of being Malton's caretakers continues with this generation in a rather tasty way. To your health.

Thank you. Malton has become the food capital of Yorkshire, because everything from produce to dairy to cattle has been grown, grazed, milked, or baked right here for centuries. And leading the way in Malton's foodie movement is Tom Nayler-Leyland, a descendant of that Malton Fitzwilliam family. He is passionate about all things Malton, all things foodie.

Even the simplest of traditional Yorkshire foods. Okay, Yorkshire Pudding is uh, you know the most famous Yorkshire which is (stammers) a batter which is then usually cooked in beef dripping. It very much plays to the Yorkshire character which is sensible with money, you don't want to be wasteful. Was it a peasant dish, like most really wonderful traditional dishes?

- Absolutely. From a simple peasant dish to a new foodie capital, today there is so much more to explore and nibble here in Malton. And the best place to taste that history is in a unique Malton spot called Talbot Yard. In the 19th and 18th century, if you were traveling up here, the only way, well one of the only ways to travel was in a coach and horses.

At night your coach would have come here. You've would have had a couple of horses probably in here, your coach would have been next door. Now, these buildings have been restored and we've got the coffee roastery, the butcher, the baker, the gelato maker. The gelato maker, oh that's pretty good.

We have a new nursery rhyme. So, now that we've seen the baker, let's go next door and meet the butcher. Now did you grow up in Yorkshire? Yes, I did, I'm a definite 100% Yorkshire man.

-

Christine

Paul the happy Yorkshire man with the best Yorkshire accent does modern twists on classic British fare, like the Scotch egg. You've got your yolk and then the white of the egg and then you go into the meat which is just pure 90% pork. -

Christine

For the record, I'm vegetarian, and had no intention of eating that Scotch egg, as lovely as it is. I just wanted to keep listening to Paul's even lovelier Yorkshire accent. And then I like I said, we pan fry, oven bake, and then it's ready for you to eat. -

Christine

There's all kinds of curious delights here. We even have tilapia, which apparently is a fish of the Pharaohs. And with the oils and everything in there is so good for the health, it's really, really tasty fish. -

Christine

And then there's a few more specialty items that require a bit more explanation. What in the world is a Boozie custard? Now then, a Boozie custard is a local company up at Harpham, near Driffield, and they supply milk to several places round here, and cream for the ice cream next door. -

Christine

Did someway say ice cream? Well, from the butcher, to the baker, to the gelato maker we go. Groovy Moo is the Yorkshire twist on the classic Italian gelato. Of course, made with milk from Yorkshire dairies.

Its so fresh, it's almost mooing. Oh, I love that, I love that, I love that. So, since we're almost in Rome, do as the Romans, I mean as the Yorkshire folk do. How about a Jammy Dodger?

Jammy Dodger. - What is a Jammy Dodger? -

Woman

Jammy Dodger is a gelato, biscuit, have you heard of the biscuit? The Jammy Dodger biscuit, which is. -

Christine

Yes I have, yes I have. -

Woman

The Jammy Dodger biscuit. Well the gelato is flavored biscuit and it's got a raspberry, Oh my goodness. - Jam going through it. And it's got tiny pieces of biscuit going to it, so it is literally a Jammy Dodger in gelato.

- Lovely, lovely. And last one, because we don't have enough on there, the Smartie pants. Are those the Smarties that are made in-- In town, yes. - York?

Yeah. - Yes, yes, yes, yes. Oh, wonderful. Smarties, - Yes, please.

-

Woman

A go for that one? Is this the strangest Oh, no, no, no. - Concoction you've ever seen? This is the perfect concoction.

-

Woman

I thought you might have had cotton candy, to be fair. Well, we'll have to add a tiny dollop of that, too. Tiny dollop, on the top? - This is enough to feed a small family.

And there you go. Oh my goodness, a Groovy Moo. (lively piano music) Okay, I think we're finally done eating for a while. So, time for our final Yorkshire town of Thursk.

One of Thursk's most famous residents was the local veterinarian, named Alf Wight. He lived and had his vet practice here at 23 Kirkgate. From the 1930s on, he treated the pets and farm animals of his beloved Yorkshire dales and moors. Now, his home is a museum, called the world of James Harriot.

Why, well because that vet is also one of Yorkshire's most treasured authors. Alf Wight's pen name was James Harriot. He wrote dozen of books about his adventures and misadventures of life as a country vet. I love them, and I read them and reread them, and I was saying there's such an innocence to them.

And his description of the characters in using the Yorkshire dialect and accent and things. It really paints a picture. He was a wonderful writer because he wrote about people. He didn't write about himself.

He wrote people and his words were absolutely magic and one minute you could be laughing and the next minute you could be crying. He just had that way. My absolute favorite character throughout all the books Tricky Woo, who was Tricky Woo? Tricky Woo (laughing) was a very favorite dog of Alf's, or James Harriot.

And she used to send him presents at Christmas. And you know the most fabulous basket. And so yeah, quite a character. -

Christine

Harriot's books have sold more than 60 million copies, have been translated into more than 20 languages, there was even a movie and a TV series. All because of one humble vet, the world has experienced the charm of Yorkshire. He built a wonderful picture of Yorkshire and the dales and the moors. And the people, because as I said at the start, he was always writing about the people and the animals which he dearly loved also.

(lively piano music) -

Christine

From the green rolling hills of a land so lovely the Romans, the Vikings, the Normans, and even some sheep wanted to live here. To the halls of an historic estate full of curious treasures. To a minster so tall it has room to tell the entire Bible story. To an Egyptian hall with an elegant dance hall, but no ladies room, so better not drink too much tea.

Unless you're sipping tea with Betty, of course, and a mysteriously grinning rascal. In a town built thanks to another tasty treat and some Quaker ingenuity, complete with a shambly street that looks a lot like a Diagon Alley, to another village thriving on its agricultural heritage. Through fish of the Pharaohs, Jammy Dodgers, and that lovely Yorkshire accent. See thee later, see ya non.

See ya non. Which brings up back to the hills of Harriot country, named after a man who so dearly loved the people, pets, and place. Yorkshire has so much to be curious about. Thank you for joining us on our educational journey and hopefully now you're even more curious about the who, what, where, why, when, and how of beautiful Yorkshire.

As they say here, heyup, I'll see thee later. (lively piano music)