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In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Hob Holes like this:
HOBHOLE, a cave in Runswick bay, N. R. Yorkshire; 6 miles NW of Whitby. It measures 70 feet by 20; occurs in lias shale, overlain by ironstone; was formed by the eroding action of the sea waves upon the shale; is accessible at low water, and presents interesting features; and was formerly famous, in popular superstition, for the imagined presence of a spirit to whom mothers brought infants to be cured of hooping cough.
Hob Holes is now part of NORTH YORKSHIRE Unitary Authority. Click here for graphs and data of how NORTH YORKSHIRE has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Hob Holes itself, go to Statistics.
How to reference this page:
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Hob Holes, in North Yorkshire and North Riding | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/25301
Date accessed: 09th April 2026
Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Hob Holes".
