Lost Places: Horse Close Hill

To the left of the Keighley road out of Skipton ones espies a large hill upon which are some interesting rocks. This is a pre-Roman settlement known as Cawder Hall Enclosure or Horse Close Hill. Little is known about it, though one can detect its two walls between a number of 2-3 feet tall upright stones. Some very modest archaeological surveying has revealed post holes for two large huts. It’s one of the best ancient sites I’ve visited around here and it commands stunning views of the Aire Valley. I long to know who built it, safely sitting behind its walls and gates as the world passed by. Ezekiel once prophesied to Israel, just a little before this site’s construction, linking a ruination of their settlements and high places to their idolatry:

"In all your dwellings, cities will become waste and the high places will be desolate, that your altars may become waste and desolate, your idols may be broken and brought to an end, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be blotted out. The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the LORD.” (6:6-7)

God has often seen fit to raise nations and to humble them, whether this be the proud Assyrians and Babylonians, or the humble clan chiefs of Skipton.