Our ancient pathways correspondent Angus Young treads the trod and follows in the steps of meandering monks.
Looking for something to do with the kids during the summer holidays? Why not pack their computer games away, introduce them to the concept of fresh air and take them for a stroll along Sutton Trod. If you do, you will be taking them on a walk back into the history books because ‘Trod’ – as it’s known to locals – is believed to date back to at least the 11th century.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest known use of the noun ‘trod’ is in the pre-1150 Old English Period. However, the word is also found in Old Norse which was spoken by Scandinavians and their overseas settlements between the 7th and 15th centuries. Archaeological evidence suggests the low ridge of glacial till on which the village of Sutton sits created a natural site for human habitation as far back as the Stone Age – at least 4,000 years ago.
Successive settlements there sat above surrounding low-lying marshland, meadows and carrs but drainage work on this land in the 11th century created new transport routes for trading. The Trod’s exact origins are unclear but it’s generally thought to have been a pathway starting at the site of Meaux Abbey which was founded in 1151, passing through Sutton before heading south..
In Old Norse, trod means treading or trampling as if a path is trampled down by cattle. This tallies with the theory that Sutton Trod was used by the landowning monks of Meaux to carry wool by horse all the way to the Humber where it was shipped to waiting buyers. Later it became an access for people and animals through arable holdings close to Sutton to more distant pasture land.
Much of the route runs close to Foredyke Stream, a section of which was dug by the monks between 1221 and 1235 to create a connection with another naturally-flowing watercourse known as Lambwath Stream.
Today part of the Trod forms a popular circular walking route taking in parts of the former Hornsea railway line and the TransPennine Trail. The 2.3-mile route starts and finishes in Church Street and now includes some recently-installed wooden wayfinding posts engraved with the name Sutton Trod.
If you fancy following the Trod further south, start in Church Street and walk to Tweendykes Road before joining Woodleigh Drive and then heading across Sutton Road, through the Lambwath estate to Hathersage Road and Moffat Close. Here you reach Rockford Green and Rockford Avenue where the old track no longer exists but old maps show the route crossing Chamberlain Road close to where Brendon Avenue is today. From here it crossed the former Reckitts’ sports ground before joining up with Woodhall Street where a recognisable pedestrian route reappears before disappearing again at the junction of Stoneferry Road.
It’s thought the Trod would have probably reached the River Hull, following the course of the river until it arrived in the ancient parish of Drypool and, eventually, the Humber.
Happy Trodding!
Angus Young