Capple Bank Park
Historical Environment Record No:
MYD4454
Parish:
West Witton
OS Grid Reference:
Dale:
Description
Boundary wall – Capple Bank Park MYD4454 (c) YDNPA, 2023
Capple Bank Park was one of the seven deer parks belonging to the Medieval Lordship of Middleham. When first mentioned in documents dating to 1465 it is recorded as being a ‘new park’. It was originally enclosed with a stone wall and was stocked with deer for hunting and venison. Sections of the wall can still be seen such as that near Witton Steeps. The park would once have had a hunting lodge placed on a high point where the lord’s men could keep an eye out for poachers. By the later middle ages, such deer parks were mainly given over to the grazing of cattle and occasionally sheep.