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Pocklington

Coordinates: 53°55′51″N 0°46′41″W / 53.9309°N 0.7781°W / 53.9309; -0.7781
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For people named Pocklington, see Pocklington (surname).

Pocklington
Market Place
Coat of arms
Pocklington is located in East Riding of Yorkshire
Pocklington
Pocklington
Location within the East Riding of Yorkshire
Population8,337 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid referenceSE802486
Civil parish
  • Pocklington
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townYORK
Postcode districtYO42
Dialling code01759
PoliceHumberside
FireHumberside
AmbulanceYorkshire
UK Parliament
WebsitePocklington Town Council
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
53°55′51″N 0°46′41″W / 53.9309°N 0.7781°W / 53.9309; -0.7781

Pocklington /ˈpɒklɪŋtən/ is a market town and civil parish situated at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded its population as 8,337. It is 12.5 miles (20.1 km) east of York[2] and 22 miles (35 km) northwest of Hull.

The town's skyline is marked by the 15th-century west tower of All Saints' parish church.

Pocklington is at the centre of the ecclesiastical Parish of Pocklington, which also includes the hamlet of Kilnwick Percy and outlying farms and houses.

History

Main article: History of Pocklington
All Saints' Church, Pocklington

Pocklington gets its name via the Old English "Poclintun" from the Anglian settlement of Pocel's (or Pocela's) people and the Old English word "tun" meaning farm or settlement,[3] but though the town's name can only be traced back to around 650 AD, the inhabitation of Pocklington as a site is thought to extend back a further 1,000 years or more to the Bronze Age. Pocklington appears on the 14th-century Gough Map, the oldest route map in Great Britain.[4]

In the Iron Age Pocklington was a major town of the Parisi tribe.[5] In 2017, a Celtic warrior's grave, dated to about BC 320 to 174, was discovered at a housing development under construction. After archeologists had completed a very long excavation project, the site was found to include a bronze shield, remains of a chariot and the skeletons of ponies. The shield's boss bears a resemblance to the Wandsworth shield boss (circa BC 350 to 150), in the British Museum. One design element on the extremely well preserved Pocklington shield, a scalloped border, "is not comparable to any other Iron Age finds across Europe, adding to its valuable uniqueness", commented Paula Ware, managing director at MAP Archaeological Practice Ltd, in late 2019.[6][7] Horses were rarely included in Iron Age burials, making the find particularly significant. "The discoveries are set to widen our understanding of the Arras (Middle Iron Age) culture and the dating of artefacts to secure contexts is exceptional," according to Paula Ware.[8]

Burnby Hall Gardens

By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, it was the second largest settlement in Yorkshire after York itself.[9]

Pocklington developed through the Middle Ages while many similar places fell into dramatic decline. Pocklington owed much of its prosperity in the Middle Ages to the fact that it was a local centre for the trading of wool[10] and lay on the main road to York, an important national centre for the export of wool to the continent. Wool was England's main export in the earlier Middle Ages.

Town heraldry

The town's coat of arms shield is based on that of the Dolman family, founders of Pocklington School. The arms were granted to the town council in 1980. The crown at the base of the shield is the emblem of the saints, and along with the gold cross, symbolises the town's historic connection with Paulinus of York and the Archbishop of York.[11]

The town's motto is "Service with Freedom".[11]

Governance

Pocklington Town Council
Coat of arms
Type
Type
Leadership
Richard Bryon (Lab)
Gordon Scaife
List of councillors
Structure
Seats13 Councillors [12]
12 / 13
1 / 13
Elections
Plurality-at-large
Last election
7 May 2019
Next election
2 May 2023
Meeting place
Old Courthouse, Pocklington
Website
www.pocklington.gov.uk
Old Courthouse

Pocklington is under East Riding of Yorkshire Council, a unitary authority. The town is part of the Pocklington Provincial Ward and returns three councillors to the council.[citation needed]

Since 2001, Pocklington has been part of the East Yorkshire Parliamentary Constituency. The seat is currently held by Greg Knight for the Conservative Party.[13]

Pocklington's Town Council consists of thirteen elected councillors and is responsible for the cemetery, allotments, the Croft play-park and the Arts Centre.[14] The Mayor of Pocklington is elected annually by the members of the town council.

Pocklington Fire Station

The town council has a policy of naming all new streets using the surnames of the war dead who served at RAF Pocklington. This has given rise to the names Strother Close, Waite Close, Garrick Drive, Turnbull Close and Harper Close. There is some controversy surrounding the policy as a local resident believes that war heroes from Pocklington and nearby Barmby Moor should also be honoured in this way.[15]

Town twinning

Pocklington is twinned with:

Geography

Market Place, Regent Street, Railway Street Junction

Pocklington is a spring line settlement at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds. The rocks underlying this area were deposited on the bed of a tropical ocean. When the land rose, the chalk wolds were formed from the exoskeletons of micro-organisms covering the sea floor. The landscape around Pocklington therefore varies from flat arable land primarily devoted to agriculture to the south and west, and grassy, chalk hills and dry valleys to the north and east. A lot of the more level farming country was, from the Middle Ages onwards, reclaimed from marshland.[citation needed] Pocklington is bisected by the largely culverted Pocklington Beck,[17] a small brook that feeds into the Pocklington Canal. The beck and canal are usually good fishing grounds but a sewerage overflow in 2003 killed thousands of fish and severely damaged the ecosystem, from which it is now recovered.[18]

Demography

According to the 2011 UK census, Pocklington parish had a population of 8,337,[1] an increase on the 2001 UK census figure of 7,632.[19]

The civil parish is not very ethnically diverse, with the 2001 UK census reporting 98.4% of the 7,632 inhabitants being white.[19]

The East Riding of Yorkshire has a higher than average level of Christian belief and a much lower rate of observance for other faiths and those of no faith.[20] This can be attributed to the aforementioned lack of ethnic diversity in the area.

Entertainment and culture

Pocklington Arts Centre (formerly the Oak House Cinema) opened in 2000 and offers "a mixed programme of film, music, drama, dance, lectures, workshops and exhibitions".[21] Previous performers at the arts centre include the comedians Jenny Eclair, Clive James, Dave Gorman and Barry Cryer and the musicians Midge Ure and Steve Harley (in 2-man (2002), 3-man (2010, 2012, 2014 (twice), 2018–2019) and 4-man (2003) electro-acoustic sets only, no full rock band (i.e. Cockney Rebel shows). The centre also puts on "second screenings" of recently released films. The TV presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell used the name of the Pocklington Arts Centre for her Ormerod hoax.

In a tribute to Munich's traditional Oktoberfest, Pocklington also hosts its own annual Pocktoberfest. Unlike the original on which it is based, Pocktoberfest is pared down to a single-issue event: beer. In the 2006 event, 19 casks (or about 452 litres) of ale were consumed.[22] Organiser of the 2012 Pocktoberfest, Clare Saunders, arranged for brewers from Germany. Italy, France, Belgium and the Netherlands to attend the festival, which is sponsored by C & N Wines and Swirlz Ice Cream Emporium.

The Wellington Oak, one of many Pubs in Pocklington

Pocklington celebrates an annual Flying Man Festival[23] with a multitude of themed events from 12 to 14 May, in memory of the showman Thomas Pelling, the "Flying Man of Pocklington", who, with a pair of homemade wings, tried to fly from the top of the local church, and was killed when he hit one of the church's buttresses.[24]

Sport

Pocklington RUFC rugby team is based on Burnby Lane. The first rugby game in Pocklington was held on West Green on Wednesday 12 November 1879 between Pocklington Town and District and Pocklington Grammar School.

The first Pocklington rugby club Pocklington F.C. was formed in 1885.[25] The current club, formed in 1928, plays in the North Premier and also hosts the traditional "Good Friday Sevens" tournament – Yorkshire's longest-established sevens tournament launched in 1958 and Pocklington's premier sporting event, which sees local, county-based and even international teams compete.

The town also has a council-run Francis Scaife Sports Centre, which includes a 20-metre swimming pool and gym.[26][27] The town also has swimming, football and cricket clubs.

Kilnwick Percy Golf Club – locally known as the KP – lies just outside of Pocklington and offers luxury hotel rooms and lodges in addition to its championship golf course.[28]

In 2007, Michael Woods, a Pocklingtonian, made his debut for Chelsea.

Pocklington Town A.F.C. run four Saturday football teams with the first team competing in the Humber Premier League. There is also an U19s team and girls' team. In the 2012–13 season the club's 1st team won the highest level trophy in the club's history by winning the Whitehead's Fish & Chips Humber League Cup at North Ferriby United's Rapid Solicitors Stadium. The club had floodlights installed during July 2008, allowing the club to make progress in the football league pyramid.

Pocklington Tennis Club, which has 6 astro-turf style courts and plays in both the York & District Tennis League[29] and the Driffield & District Lawn Tennis League, is located on West Green.[30]

Pocklington is a control point at the quadrennial London-Edinburgh-London long-distance bicycle event.[31]

Media

Pocklington has a local weekly newspaper, the Pocklington Post, owned by Johnston Press. A full-time community radio station, Vixen FM, based in nearby Market Weighton, broadcasts to the town. Also in the area is Beverley FM which serves Beverley and all of its surrounding areas, including Pocklington. A Pocklington-based community radio station, West Wolds Radio, went on air in November 2015 but closed in September 2016.[32][33]

Education

Pocklington School

Religion

Churches in Pocklington include:

Church of St Mary & St Joseph

There are no non-Christian houses of worship in Pocklington, but Kilnwick Percy Hall, just outside Pocklington, is now a large residential Buddhist Centre called Madhyamaka Kadampa Meditation Centre. It runs regular Buddhist meditation classes.

Freemasonry

Pocklington has its own Masonic Hall which is situated on the Mile. It is home to several lodges and orders including:

  • Beacon Lodge No. 4362
  • Old Pocklingtonian Lodge No. 7867 - formed by former pupils of Pocklington School but membership is no longer restricted to those with a connection to the school.
  • Beacon Chapter No. 4362

Transport

Car

Pocklington lies near the A1079 road, the main arterial route between the cities of York and Hull.

Bus

Pocklington Bus station

Pocklington is served by a number of bus routes provided by East Yorkshire Motor Services who have a depot in the town centre. York Pullman also serve the town with their route X36 service 6 days a week.

Air

Pocklington Airfield

Pocklington Airfield has three concrete and tarmac runways of 1,600 yards (1,500 m), sufficient in length to take RAF bombers during the Second World War, but in September 1946 the airfield was closed. Although the site remains in use with gliders - and occasionally hot air balloonists - a lot of the concrete runway surface has gone, and the control tower is not in operation. It is therefore classified as "limited flying". The airfield is now wholly owned by the Wolds Gliding Club.

The nearest commercial airport is Humberside Airport, another former RAF airfield.

Rail

Main article: Pocklington railway station
Pocklington Railway Station

Pocklington was once part of the rail network, with a railway station dating back to 1847.[38] This was closed as a result of the Beeching Report in November 1965.[39] There is a small but vocal pressure group that is trying to get the railway station and line re-opened. The City of York Local Transport Plan for 2006 notes that: "work has recently been undertaken by East Riding of Yorkshire Council to examine the feasibility of reopening the former direct York – Pocklington - Beverley line that closed in 1965... given the unavailability of funding for such a scheme at present and the extensive time required for any reinstatement of a rail line, the scheme remains a longer-term aspiration."

The Minsters Rail Campaign is campaigning to re-open the railway line between Beverley and York (with stops at Stamford Bridge, Pocklington and Market Weighton). The re-opened railway would skirt the southern edge of the town as the former alignment has since been developed.[40] In 2006, the issue of re-opening the line has been raised in Parliament and, although still prohibitively expensive, was otherwise considered favourably.[38] However, in 2013, East Riding of Yorkshire Council decided that the line could not be funded at that time.[41]

The old railway building, designed by George Townsend Andrews, was saved from demolition due to its interesting architecture. It now serves both as a bus shelter, and also a sports hall for nearby Pocklington School.[42]

Boat

Pocklington Canal

The Pocklington Canal, previously in commercial use in the 19th century by barges, is now navigable as far as Bielby Basin. Full restoration of the canal is one of the aims of the Pocklington Canal Amenity Society, which was formed in 1969.[43]

Notable people

Alphabetically:

References

  1. ^ a b UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Pocklington Parish (1170211239)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  2. ^ "105" (Map). York & Selby (C ed.). 1:50,000. Landranger. Ordnance Survey. 1999. ISBN 0-319-22407-4.
  3. ^ Mills, A. D. (1996). The Popular Dictionary of English Place-Names. Parragon. ISBN 0-7525-1851-8. (based on A Dictionary of English Place-Names, Oxford University Press, 1991).
  4. ^ "Gough Map". Gough Map. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  5. ^ Ptolemaeus, Claudius. "Book 2, Part 2 – "The Tribes and Cities of Mainland Britain". Geography.
  6. ^ "Celtic warrior from 2,000 years ago buried in chariot with weapons and ponies hailed as most important find of its kind in UK". The Independent. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Iron Age shield found in Pocklington is "one of most important ancient finds this millennium"". Yorkshire Post. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Iron Age shield found in Pocklington is "one of most important ancient finds this millennium"". The Telegraph. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Steeped in history". Hull Daily Mail. Trinity Mirror. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2016.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "In Praise of Pocklington". Yorkshire Today. Business Link Magazine Group. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  11. ^ a b "The Armorial Bearings of Pocklington Town Council". Pocklington.gov. Pocklington Town Council. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  12. ^ "Councillors". Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Yorkshire East Parliamentary constituency". Election 2015. BBC. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  14. ^ "Pocklington Town Council". Pocklington Town Council. Archived from the original on 14 October 2006. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  15. ^ "War heroes not forgotten". Pocklington Post. Johnston Press. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  16. ^ "unofficial". Retrieved 31 October 2006.[dead link]
  17. ^ "Pocklington Beck at Pocklington". Environment Agency. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  18. ^ Wainwright, Martin (4 June 2003). "Pollution kills fish in waterways". The Guardian. London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  19. ^ a b UK Census (2001). "Local Area Report – Pocklington Parish (1543504282)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  20. ^ "2001 Census: Census Area Statistics: Key Figures: Area: East Riding of Yorkshire (Local Authority)". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  21. ^ "About Pocklington Arts Centre". Pocklington Arts Centre. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  22. ^ "Raise a glass to success". Pocklington Post. 5 October 2006. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  23. ^ "Flying Man Festival". Flying Man Festival. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  24. ^ "Thomas Pelling - 'The Flying Man'". Pocklington History. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  25. ^ "Pocklington FC". Archived from the original on 31 August 2003. Retrieved 31 October 2006.
  26. ^ "Francis Scaife Sports Centre". Retrieved 8 March 2010.
  27. ^ "Francis Scaife Sports Centre". East Riding Leisure. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  28. ^ "Kilnwick Percy Golf Club". Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  29. ^ "York & District Tennis League". Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  30. ^ "Pocklington Tennis Club". Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  31. ^ "Route Overview". London Edinburgh London. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  32. ^ "West Wolds Radio". West Wolds Radio. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  33. ^ "West Wolds Radio closes due to lack of staff". Radio Today. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  34. ^ Historic England. "Church of All Saints (Grade I) (1162006)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  35. ^ "Welcome". Pocklington Christian Fellowship. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  36. ^ "Pocklington and Methodism". Pocklington Methodist Church. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  37. ^ "Pocklington – St Mary & St Joseph". Taking Stock. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  38. ^ a b Arundel, Chris. "The Beverley to York Railway". Where I Live - Humber. BBC. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  39. ^ Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
  40. ^ "Pocklington". Minsters Rail Campaign. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  41. ^ "No to York railway link". Beverley Guardian. 17 February 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  42. ^ Catford, Nick. "Pocklington". Disused Stations. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  43. ^ "Pocklington Canal Amenity Society". Pocklington Canal Amenity Society. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  44. ^ Smith, Linsey (11 February 2011). "East Yorkshire vet concerned over rise in exotic pets". BBC Humberside. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  45. ^ "Cooke Commemoration". BBC Humberside. BBC Humberside. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  46. ^ "The Great Yorkshire Fringe promises to be bigger, bolder and dryer than before". Gazette & Herald. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  47. ^ "On this history trail: Pioneers of science and astronomy from the Pocklington area". Pocklington Post. Johnston Press. 25 December 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  48. ^ Chrystal, Paul; Dickinson, Joe (2012). History of Chocolate in York. Pen and Sword. pp. 159, 162. ISBN 978-1-84468-123-5.
  49. ^ "Pocklington: Geographical and Historical information from the year 1892". GENUKI. Retrieved 15 September 2016.

Bibliography

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