Helmsley

The story of Helmsley

Helmsley stands on the River Rye. The Old English name Elmeslac means Helm's forest clearing, and the settlement predates the Domesday Book.

After the Norman Conquest the land passed to Walter Espec, founder of Rievaulx Abbey, and later to Robert de Ros, who granted the town a borough charter in 1191. The charter created the long, narrow burgage plots that still shape the town's property lines.

Wool and weaving drove the local economy for centuries. Around 1689 the estate was sold to the financier Sir Charles Duncombe, and his family later built Duncombe Park beside the ruined castle, which had been damaged in the English Civil War. The railway arrived in 1871.

Helmsley had 1,515 residents at the 2011 census, its centre is a conservation area, and the Cleveland Way National Trail begins there.

Falconry in Helmsley

Falconry at Duncombe Park is recorded from the 1860s. The Hon. Cecil Duncombe began spring rook hawking in 1863, and the Old Hawking Club was formed in 1864, with Duncombe as a mainstay; it lasted about 62 years. Adam Gordon, an experienced falconer, joined the estate as gamekeeper in 1911.

In 1928 the third Earl joined the British Falconers' Club. The National Centre for Birds of Prey was proposed to the estate in 2011, construction began in January 2012, and birds moved into the new enclosures in late 2012.

The centre organises the British Falconry and Raptor Fair on its grounds, held on 27 and 28 June in 2026. Invited falconers fly their own hawks in demonstrations during the fair. Trade stands show falconry equipment, and visitors can see the centre's collection of birds.