 The name possibly derives from the fact that shepherds bring their sheep down from the surrounding moorland and wash them in the beck at the ford.The ford across the Cod Beck at Sheepwash was on an old drovers road between Scotland and the south of England.Known as "The Hambleton Drove Road", most of the lower lying parts of the road have been converted into modern day roads, but the section across the North York Moors, is still a rough upland track.