Leaving York by Walmgate Bar, for Hull or Bridlington, we have on the left the marshy flat adjoining the river Foss, the country beyond which is nearly equally level to the foot of the Hambleton Hills. On the right, the surface quickly rises, and presents us with a pleasantly varied, elevated ground; which, whilst soon sloping away into the well-wooded plain to the south, extends for a distance of six miles to the east, and reaches nearly from the walls of York, and the banks of the Ouse, to the Vale of the Derwent. At a distance of less than half-a-mile from the walls of the city, on the right of the road to the village of Heslington, and on the top of the rising ground now described, is a circular mound generally known by the name of Lamel-hill. On this hill, which forms one of the boundaries of the York district under the Reform Act, a windmill long stood, but being in a dilapidated state, it was removed about fifteen years ago. The hill, for the last seven years, has formed part of the property of the Retreat, in the grounds of which, near their north-west angle, it is situated.
Passing on towards Heslington, at a distance of about half-a-mile from Lamel-hill, we may observe on the left of the road, another round hillock, somewhat resembling the former, likewise seated on the summit of the ridge, which has here attained a still higher elevation. This mound is planted around its base and sides, with elms of considerable age, and is surrounded by picturesque and undulating woodlands. It is laid down by Mr. Newton, in his map of British and Roman Yorkshire, published by the Archaeological Institute, as "Heslington Mount," by which name it is generally known at the present day. From two documents, preserved by Drake, we find that in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, this mound bore the name of "Siward Houe,[1]"or "Seward How."
The general character and form of the two mounds now briefly described, might perhaps alone serve to establish their
- ↑ See Drake's Eboracum, 1736, pp. 595, 597. This presumed identity of Siward Houe with Heslington Mount, was first pointed out by Mr. Davies.
