Danby Castle
The influence of man on the landscape at Wykeham and Danby can be found from as
early as Neolithic times, with flint arrow heads being found in the fields below
Wykeham on the edge of what would have been the marshland and lakes of the Vale
of Pickering.
The Bronze and Iron Age settlers left the largest prehistoric marks and earthworks
on the landscape, from tumuli and barrows, to long linear ditch systems, thought
to be boundary markers. Roman excavations were found at St Helens Caravan Site,
and remains of the medieval priory at Wykeham Abbey are still standing.
Danby Castle was developed in Medieval times, and from the C17th the Dawnay family
owned the Danby Estate. In more recent times there are remains of the Danby Signal
station from the Second World War. The Estate has many historic and listed buildings
to maintain, some of the village houses being developed from C17th long houses.
Dawnay Estates continue to protect and preserve these sites in consultation with
English Heritage and the National Park along with advice from its own archaeologists.