is days on the fells in the
primitive fashion of the peasants of the fifteenth century. When he was
about twelve years old Lady Clifford, hearing rumours that the
whereabouts of her children had become known, sent the shepherd and his
wife with the boy into an extremely inaccessible part of Cumberland. He
remained there until his thirty-second year, when the Battle of
Bosworth placed Henry VII on the throne. Then the shepherd lord was
brought to Londesborough, and when the family estates had been
restored, he went back to Skipton Castle. The strangeness of his new
life being irksome to him, Lord Clifford spent most of his time in
Barden Forest at one of the keeper's lodges, which he adapted for his
own use. There he hunted and studied astronomy and astrology with the
canons of Bolton.

At Flodden Field he led the men-at-arms from Craven, and showed that by
his life of extreme simplicity he had in no way diminished the
traditional valour of the Cliffords. When he died they buried him at
Bolton Abbey, where many of his ancestors lay, and as his successor
died after the dissolution of the monasteries, the "Shepherd Lord" was
the last to be buried in that secluded spot by the Wharfe.

Skipton has always been a central spot for the exploration of this
southern portion of the dales. To the north is Kirby Malham, a pretty
little village with green limestone hills rising on all sides; a
rushing beck coming off Kirby Fell takes its way past the church, and
there is an old vicarage as well as some picturesque cottages.

We find our way to a decayed lych-gate, whose stones are very black and
moss-grown, and then get a close view of the Perpendicular church. The
interior is full of interest, not only on account of the Norman font
and the canopied niches in the pillars of the nave, but also for the
old pews. The Malham people seemingly found great delight in recording
their names on the woodwork of the pews, for carefully carved initials
and dates appear very frequently. All the pews have been cut down to
the accepted height of the present day with the exception of some on
the north side which were occupied by the more important families, and
these still retain their squareness and the high balustrades above the
panelled lower portions.

Just under the moorland heights surrounding Malham Tarn is the other
village of Malham. It is a charming spot, even in the gloom of a wintry
afternoon. The houses look on to a strip of uneven gr