Local history

Dr Alexander Scott of Catterick

First stop on North Yorkshire’s maritime circuit is the village of Catterick, which became home to Dr Alexander Scott, the chaplain on board HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar. In fact, Scott had been chaplain on Nelson’s ships for 20 years, and they had become close friends. So when the gifted admiral died in his company amidst what has become one of the most famous sea battles in history, Scott left the Navy and took up the post of vicar at St Anne's Church in Catterick.

The Kiplin Connection

Said to be somewhat of a recluse in his later years, Scott found solitude in the library of nearby Kiplin Hall, where his friend John Delaval Carpenter, 4th Earl of Turconnel, lived.

Dawn Webster is the curator of Kiplin Hall, which is open to visitors, and says that Scott had always been a very studious man and absolutely loved books...

"In a book written by his daughter about his life, there's a wonderful story about when he went to Darlington to buy a horse - because, of course, a county vicar in the 1820s needed one to get around his parish. But he called into a second hand book dealer and spent the whole £30 on books, much to the consternation of those in the parish!"

Nelson's chair

At some point during his time at Kiplin Hall, Scott donated a chair to the library. But it wasn't just any old chair - it was Nelson's chair and had stood in his cabin on board HMS Victory. After Nelson's death during the Battle of Trafalgar, Scott had taken the chair, and various other items, as mementoes of his friend. Anyone who visits Kiplin Hall will be able to see it for themselves.

The Bedale Volunteers

Of course, had the Battle of Trafalgar not gone to plan, and Napoleon had invaded Britain, the chair would have seen an entirely different fate. And so, it would seem, would the Bedale Volunteers...

The Bedale Volunteers consisted of a number of local men who formed a stand-by force during the Napoleonic Wars, in response to the threat of invasion. One of them was a local shoesmith called Robert Herd, who used to write about his life and the town of Bedale. Fortunately, his 'annals' were preserved and copies of them are kept in Bedale Museum to this day. Margaret Petty, a volunteer there, says none of the men had a military background, but that the threat of invasion alone was enough to make them prepare to protect their country:  

"They were provided with muskets, they learnt how to march on the bowling green, they did target practice in fields, and they went on exercises to Richmond."

Margaret Petty, Bedale Museum volunteer

Of course, without the technology we have for communicating today, it was necessary to have in place a system through which groups such as the Bedale Volunteers could be warned of any approach by the enemy. During the Napoleonic Wars this was done using beacons, which were sited on cliff tops and hills. The first to spot the enemy would light their beacon, and the others would follow, giving the signal to people all over the country to prepare themselves.

Fortunately, the Bedale Volunteers never did encounter Napoleon and his troops. But in memory of Nelson and his defeat of Napoleon's fleets, a beacon of light shone on Bedale Park on the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.