Wetwang

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Wetwang
St Nicholas Church Wetwang 1.jpg
St Nicholas Church
East Riding of Yorkshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Wetwang
Location within the East Riding of Yorkshire
Population761 (2011 census) [1]
OS grid reference SE932590
Civil parish
  • Wetwang
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town DRIFFIELD
Postcode district YO25
Dialling code 01377
Police Humberside
Fire Humberside
Ambulance Yorkshire
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
54°01′10″N0°34′44″W / 54.0194°N 0.5789°W / 54.0194; -0.5789

Wetwang is a Yorkshire Wolds village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, 6 miles (10 kilometres) west of Driffield on the A166 road.

Contents

At the 2011 census, it had a population of 761, [1] an increase on the 2001 census figure of 672. [2]

Name

There are two interpretations of the name. One is from the Old Norse vaett-vangr, or 'field for the trial of a legal action'. Another theory is that it was the "Wet Field" compared to the nearby dry field at Driffield. [3]

The name is jokingly defined in The Meaning of Liff by Douglas Adams as meaning "a moist penis". [4] In some varieties of English, wang or whang is a slang term for penis. [5] [6] [7] The name Wetwang has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. [8] [9]

History

The village is known for its Iron Age chariot burial cemetery at Wetwang Slack, [10] and it has been speculated that the unlocated Romano-British town of Delgovicia may have been at what is now Wetwang. [11]

Before the Norman Conquest (TRE) Ealdraed held Wetwang, and it was worth £4 per year in rent. [12]

The village is mentioned twice in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Wetuuangha. The lesser mention simply records its existence: "In Wetwang the archbishop 13+1⁄2 carucates". The mention is under "Warter Hundred" on original folio 381V: East Riding. [13] Earlier in the Domesday Book, there is a fuller description (Folio 302V: Yorkshire) within the listing of the land of the Archbishop of York:

In Wetwang there are 13+1⁄2 carucates to the geld, and there could be 7 ploughs. Archbishop Ealdraed held this as 1 manor. Now Archbishop Thomas has it and it is waste. TRE worth £4. This manor is 2 leagues long and 1+1⁄2 broad

— Folio 302V: Yorkshire) within the listing of the land of the Archbishop of York

A carucate is the area of land a man with 8 oxen can plough in a season, sometimes cited as around 120 acres (49 ha). In Wetwang there were 13+1⁄2 of them available for the tax take ("geld"). A "plough" was a carucate which was being ploughed, rather than grazed or fallow. A league is around 3 miles (4.8 km). After the conquest, Wetwang was waste land held by Archbishop Thomas. [12]

St Nicholas's Church is of Norman origin and was restored between 1845 and 1902. In 1966, the church was designated a Grade II* listed building. [14] It is on the Sykes Churches Trail devised by the East Yorkshire Churches Group. [15] The church has a ring of three bells (tenor 7 long cwt 0 qr 12 lb; 796 lb or 361 kg in A), the oldest of which (the tenor) dates from c. 1450. [16]

Wetwang was once known for its black swans, after which the village pub, the Black Swan, is named. [17]

The Victoria Inn Victoria Inn, Wetwang - geograph.org.uk - 1118433.jpg
The Victoria Inn

Public transport

Until 1950, the village was served by Wetwang railway station, on the Malton to Driffield Line, but this line has closed. [18] The village is now served by an infrequent East Yorkshire Motor Services bus. [19]

Honorary mayor

Wetwang Community Hall Wetwang Community Hall - geograph.org.uk - 1338916.jpg
Wetwang Community Hall

Richard Whiteley of the Channel 4 quiz show Countdown held the honorary title Mayor of Wetwang from 1998 until his death in 2005. [20] On 25 June 2006, local weather forecaster Paul Hudson from BBC Look North was invested as Whiteley's successor. [21]

YearMayor
1998–2005 Richard Whiteley
2006– Paul Hudson

In literature

In the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, the name Wetwang is used as the common speech rendering of a swampy area by the great river Anduin in Middle Earth. Tolkien himself commanded an outpost in Yorkshire in 1917-1918, in the vicinity of Wetwang. [22]


References

  1. 1 2 UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Wetwang Parish (1170211287)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  2. ↑ UK Census (2001). "Local Area Report – Wetwang Parish (00FB158)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  3. ↑ Parker, Quentin (2010). Welcome to Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An insider's guide to 201 of the world's weirdest and wildest places. Adams Media. p. 191. ISBN   9781440507397.
  4. ↑ Adams, D.; Lloyd, J. (1983). "Wetwang". The Meaning of Liff. Pan Books. ISBN   0-330-28121-6.
  5. ↑ "Wang". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  6. ↑ "wang (n.)". www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  7. ↑ "Whang" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/1010826372 . Retrieved 30 September 2024.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  8. ↑ Lyall, Sarah (22 January 2009). "No Snickering: That Road Sign Means Something Else". The New York Times . Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  9. ↑ "13 Town Names We Can't Stop Laughing Over". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  10. ↑ Loades, Mike (25 January 2005). "Wetwang: A Chariot Fit for a Queen?". History Trails Archaeology. BBC. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  11. ↑ Rivet, A. L. F.; Smith, Colin (1979). The Place-Names of Roman Britain. London: B. T. Batsford. pp. 331–332.
  12. 1 2 Williams 2003, p. 797.
  13. ↑ Williams, Ann, ed. (2003). Domesday book: a complete translation. Penguin classics. London: Penguin Books. p. 877. ISBN   978-0-14-143994-5.
  14. ↑ Historic England. "The Church of St Nicolas (1083774)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  15. ↑ "Sykes Churches Trail Southern Route". Beverley, East Yorkshire: East Yorkshire Historic Churches Group.
  16. ↑ Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. "Wetwang, S Nicholas". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Central Council Publications. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  17. ↑ Thompson, Karen. "The Villages of the Yorkshire Wolds – Wetwang". Driffield Online. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  18. ↑ 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.
  19. ↑ "Service 135". East Yorkshire Motor Services. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  20. ↑ "From Wilberforce to Mayor Whiteley". Yorkshire Post. 26 September 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  21. ↑ "Paul Hudson – Weatherman". BBC Look North. BBC. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  22. ↑ "Nindalf". Tolkien Gateway. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
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