Look out! Meteorite is heading our way

ITS latest journey will not end with a violent crash landing as happened more than 200 years ago.

Yet for those behind the meteorite's return to East Yorkshire, the space rock's arrival is no less significant.

Part of the second biggest meteorite to hit England is this week heading back to Wold Cottage, in Wold Newton, near Driffield – where it originally landed in 1795.

A small piece of the 56lb meteorite has been donated to current Wold Cottage owners Katrina and Derek Gray, for free, from American collector David Gheesling.

The one-and-a-half gram section will be returning to East Yorkshire this Friday.

Prior to this the only sign of the meteorite on the site was an obelisk, a stone pillar, which was erected by the owner at the time of its impact, Edward Topham, in 1799.

Wold Cottage is now operated by Mr and Mrs Gray as a bed and breakfast.

The Grays' hunt for a piece of the meteorite started when Martin Goff, a meteorite collector who was staying at the venue, said he had seen bits of the meteorite for sale.

Mrs Gray said: "Martin stayed here last year. He said there was a piece of the meteorite for sale in Scotland, but in the end we were too late and it was bought by someone else.

"Martin e-mailed David Gheesling in America who had a bit of the meteorite, asking him to let us know if he decided to sell it.

"In the end he said he would send it to us for free.

It is believed that the meteorite was kept for a short period by Mr Topham in the East Riding for a few months after it had landed, before going to London, where he used to charge people to see it.

Mr Gheesling, 42, from Atlanta in the US, said he purchased the piece of meteorite from an Anne Black, a meteorite dealer, several years ago.

He said: "Wold Cottage is an historic landmark in the history of meteorites, as this witnessed meteorite was one in a short series that led to scientists finally accepting that rocks do indeed fall from space."