Does any one know how hellhole lane got its name?

hi Richard,

this can be a bit complex so maybe you shold contact me direct (or my friend Colin who knows more than I) but for starters, i will give you this ancient report:-

To the South of Darlington, a cluster of sinkholes known as Hells Kettles were formed during a collapse in 1179. In his description of the features, Longstaffe (1854) quoted a twelfth century annalist thus:

"In the reign of Henry II, the earth rose high at Oxendale, in the District of Darlington, (Oxendale is now Oxney flat) in the likeness of a lofty tower, and so remained from nine in the morning until evening, when it sank don with a terrible noise, to the terror of all that heard it, and being swallowed up it left behind a deep pit"

your land is just clear enough should it ever happen again.
cheers,
Bill.