Our latest collection: Malham Cove

Introducing our newest designs; the striking sterling silver Malham Cove collection, inspired by the breath-taking limestone cliff and pavement found at Malham in the Yorkshire Dales.

Malham Cove is a dramatic 70 metre tall, curving amphitheatre of white limestone cliff, formed at least fourteen thousand years ago by melt water from the ice ages. The luminous limestone rock gleams silver on a bright day. Above the cove, an arresting and dramatic landscape sits, made up of a series of flat horizontal slabs of limestone, separated by fissures in the rock. 

A Dramatic Landscape

The intricate and distinctive mosaic patterns of the limestone pavement at Malham were created during the last ice age when glaciers scoured the terrain and exposed the limestone underneath. When the glaciers melted, huge floods of meltwater eroded the face of the Cove. The result was that a massive waterfall once thundered over the face of Malham Cove.

Since then, water flowing over the limestone has widened the cracks in the pavements to form a complex pattern of crevices. The flat horizontal limestone slabs are called clints and the deep vertical cracks between slabs are known as grykes.

Unique Biodiversity

Limestone pavement is very rare, found only in the Yorkshire Dales and some small areas of Cumbria. They are incredibly diverse habitats and the limestone at Malham has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The richness of botanical species found in limestone pavements is down to the two very different habitats within the landscape. The slabs (clints) provide an ideal habitat for light-loving grassland plants, and the fissures (grykes) provide sheltered, shady conditions for woodland plants. In the limestone pavements of the Yorkshire Dales, one will find a large variety of plants including orchids, holly fern, green spleenwort, limestone fern, common rock-rose and lily-of-the-valley.

Creative Inspiration

Malham Cove and the limestone pavements in Malhamdale have amazed visitors for centuries, and have been the muse for numerous works of literature and art.

JMW Turner produced many sketches and watercolours of the Cove on a tour of Yorkshire around 1810. The dramatic landscape inspired the Victorian novelist Charles Kingsley; he is said to have looked at the vertical stripes on the cliff-face formed by lichens and thought they could have been made by a soot-covered chimney sweep sliding down the rock face. He went on to write The Water Babies. The Cove is also said to be the inspiration for Tolkein's Helm's Deep in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In more modern times, the magical scenery can be spotted as a location in the Harry Potter film series.

William Wordsworth visited the Cove on a walking tour of Yorkshire in 1800 and later wrote his poem, imagining that the cove had been gouged out of the ground by mythical giants. 

Was the aim frustrated by
force or guile,
When giants scooped from out
the rocky ground,
Tier under tier, this semicirque
profound?

MALHAM COVE, William Wordsworth, 1819.

The Malham Cove Jewellery Collection

Like others before us, we have found inspiration in this stunning local landmark. We wanted to celebrate the remarkable scenery and emulate the singular patterns seen in the imposing craggy mosaics at Malham.

The luminous limestone makes sterling silver the perfect choice for the Malham Cove collection. On a bright day, the cove itself looks as though it is burnished in silver.

Each piece of jewellery in the collection features an exclusive textured finish, carefully mimicing the spectacular limestone landscape.

Malham Cove Rectangles Pendant, £75

Each pendant in the collection comes complete with an adjustable sterling silver box chain, and each pendant is complemented by a matching earring design.

Malham Cove Linked Bracelet, £175

This beautiful bracelet features organic oval links of textured sterling silver, joined together to form a stunning design which wraps around the wrist. The linked necklace and bracelet in the collection are both finished with an extension chain, allowing the length to be altered to fit perfectly.

Malham Rectangle Stud Earrings, £45 and Waterfall Stud Earrings, £50

View the full collection here: Malham Cove Collection.