Mechanics and Effects of Parliamentary Enclosure of Common Grazings

The wapentakes of Staincliffe and Ewcross occupy the northern extremity of Yorkshire's West Riding where it abuts upon Westmorland and north Lancashire. The greater part of the region lies upon the Askrigg Massif and consists of a deeply dissected plateau on which extensive moorlands are interrupted by dales of differing fertility (Fig. 1). Apart from a few inliers of Lower Palaeozoic formation in Ewcross, the rocks are Carboniferous Limestones and Yoredales, with Millstone Grit capping only the higher summits. The limestones provide a neutral soil rich in calcium, but modification by glacial drift produces much coarse herbage and extensive peat mosses. In the southern part of Staincliffe there is a small drumlin swarm in the Craven Lowlands, but Millstone Grit predominates and, as a result of strong east-west faulting, is thrown down for the most part to a lower elevation than the limestone country

Archaeology · Carboniferous · Geography · Geomorphology · Glacial period · Massif · Paleozoic · Peat · Plateau (mathematics · Ecology and biodiversity studies · Geology · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Paleontology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology