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Everyone who has driven the Moors Road has asked the same question - what is that dome-shaped hill?

Located just south of Moorsholm , on the way to Whitby , lies Freebrough Hill.

A rounded dome which is used for grazing sheep, the 246m-high hill sticks out on the landscape - and has sparked debate from locals, anyone that's ever driven past it.

Generations of children have been told different stories by mischief-making parents - with a number of theories floating about.

Is it a man-made burial mound? Were victims of the Plague buried beneath it? Is it King Arthur's final resting place?

(Image: Teesside Live/Katie Lunn)

There's some wild theories

It certainly sparked debate online, with members of the Guisborough News and Views Facebook page sharing their folk tales and myths about Freebrough.

Nicknamed "death hill" by some after those foolhardy souls who've ventured up it with a sledge in the snow, other stories allude to a supposed grisly past in which dead bodies were buried beneath it. That particular myth stretches back to account for the last 1,500 years - some believe it was a Roman burial ground, with everything in between through to being used to dispose of those who died of Plague during the Black Death.

Others say the hill is "too smooth and rounded" not to be man-made.

One poster wrote: "Old local tale that if the sheep are near the top means fine weather ahead if near the bottom weather worsening."

Another poster had a wonderful family story: "My grandad used to call it O’baldy, and if you didn't have your seatbelts on when we drove past the baldies that lived behind would come chasing after you."

Others said it was known as a "giant's belly", while one poster's story was that it was a leftover mound of earth thrown by a giant, leaving the Hole of Horcrum behind.

(Image: Evening Gazette)

Consensus opinion

The consensus opinion is that the hill was actually formed by glacial erosion - with 19th Century excavations said to have confirmed this.

The stone it is made from is said to be the same as Roseberry Topping , with the softer ground around the hill eroding away when the glaciers receded, leaving Freebrough behind.

Paul Walker, posting online, said: "Although it looks man-made it is a natural feature. A grave was discovered on its side in the 19th century and there are earthworks and barrows surrounding it."

And along with many, Mr Walker wrote that the legend of King Arthur has been linked to Freebrough "along with virtually every other mound in Britain...!"

King Arthur's resting place

Steve Kay, a veteran independent councillor from Moorsholm, is well aware of the many stories told about the hill.

He said: "Freebrough Hill arouses our curiosity because its symmetrical, rounded shape makes it appear man-made."

Cllr Kay claims the hill is "probably named after the Norse goddess, Freya" as nearby Roseberry Topping was known as "Odin's Hill".

Researching the subject, he found that many of the common legends probably derived from the 18th Century - explaining how Thomas Pennant declared Freebrough a "colossal burial mound".

Another theory was that the hill "was one of the greatest Celtic remains Britain can glory in" and was modelled on Silbury in Wiltshire.

Other experts thought Freebrough was a druid place of worship, while others said it was a centre for legal disputes to be settled.

But Cllr Kay said the "most extravagant claim" came from John Hall Stevenson of Skelton Castle, who raised speculation to fever pitch when he referred to Freebrough Hill as "immortal Arthur's tomb".

"No doubt, he wanted to publicise his own locality, but he may also have thought that the largest, apparently man-made, mound in the country must be the resting place of the greatest of all kings; a king whose legend is central to English medieval literature and chivalric codes, and which has survived to this day," wrote Cllr Kay.

"As a child I was fascinated by the stories of King Arthur because my namesake, Sir Kay, Arthur’s foster brother, plays a leading, though not completely honourable, role in them. When Arthur pulls the sword from the stone, showing he is the rightful king, Sir Kay won’t believe him. Instead, Sir Kay puts it back, and has a go himself. Of course, he fails and is finally obliged to acknowledge that Arthur is the one true king.

"Sir Kay becomes a Knight of the Round Table and, thankfully, remains loyal to Arthur."

But Cllr Kay acknowledges that despite the romantic story, geologists have found that Freebrough is a piece of hard rock "smoothed into its 'unnatural', distinctive shape by a glacier in the ice age".

Another theory?

John Walker Ord, writing in the 'History of Antiquities in Cleveland', said that for the hill to be man-made would be unfeasible - due to the enormous work it would have taken to build.

John Roberts, of the Skinningrove Local History Group, said he was well aware of the "harmless" myths and folk stories.

"My understanding is that the consensus opinion is that Freebrough Hill is a completely natural feature on the landscape," he said.

"I think there have been excavations into the hill in the past. It's used for grazing sheep, but you can see the marks on the hill, which is actually on private land although I know lots of people will have climbed it."

(Image: Teesside Live/Katie Lunn)

However an essay by Marjorie Brookes, which won the 2007 JT Packett Prize and was published in the Cleveland & Teesside Local History Society's Autumn 2008 bulletin, offers another theory entirely.

She advances the possibility that Freebrough Hill was in fact built by the Romans as a beacon signal point, to relay signals from the signal station at Huntcliff - as the Yorkshire coast was hugely important in defending Roman Britain from the Saxons.

It would also have acted as a natural orientation point.

Marjorie says the grass on the hill changes colour around a third of the way up, which could be from soil used to heighten it - taken from nearby fields.

But whatever the truth - Freebrough Hill is sure to be a talking point for centuries to come.

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