Guisborough

Guisborough (ˈɡɪzbərə ) is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. It lies north of the North York Moors National Park. Roseberry Topping, midway between the town and Great Ayton, is a landmark in the national park. At the 2011 census, the civil parish with outlying Upleatham, Dunsdale and Newton under Roseberry had a population of 17,777, of which 16,979 were in the town's built-up area. It was governed by an urban district and rural district in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Assessing the origin of the name Guisborough, Albert Hugh Smith commented that it was "difficult". From its first attestation in the Domesday Book into the 16th century, the second part sometimes derived from the originally Old English word burh ('town, fortification') and sometimes from the Old English word -burn ('stream'). It seems that the settlement was simply known by both names, the -burh/-borough forms predominate in the historical record and this survives today. The origin of the first element is uncertain: Smith's best guess was from the Old Norse personal name Gígr in its genitive Gígs. If so, Guisborough once meant "Gígr's town". To this day the first element has a different spelling for the town from Gisborough Priory and Gisborough Hall in the town. Guisborough Helmet Some archaeologists date the town to the Roman occupation, when it may have been a military fortification. The discoveries of a few Roman artefacts such as the elaborate ceremonial Guisborough Helmet, support this but proof is still lacking. The Guisborough Helmet is a Roman cavalry helmet found near the town in 1864. Its original protective cheek-pieces have not survived but the attachment holes can be seen in front of the helmet's ear guards. It is lavishly decorated with engraved and embossed figures indicating that it was probably used for display or cavalry tournaments, although possibly for battle as well. It was unearthed in what appears to be a carefully arranged deposition in a bed of gravel, distant from any known Roman sites.