Pocklington

East Riding of Yorkshire

Pocklington is a market town in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Pocklington is around 15 miles east of York, 7 miles north-west of Market Weighton, around 16 miles west-north-west of Beverley and a similar distance west-south-west of Great Driffield and to the north-east of Selby, although the latter is a journey of more than 20 miles via minor roads.

The town has a selection of independent shops, places to eat, bars and pubs in a town surrounded by attractive agricultural countryside at the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds.

Just south of the town is the Pocklington Canal, a waterway of just over 9 miles which was completed in 1818 to link Pocklington to the navigable River Derwent, allowing local farmers to send their produce more easily to the industrial towns of the West Riding. The canal eventually fell into disuse, but volunteers have been working to restore the canal in recent years. Its rural setting is home to a wide range of wildlife and there are Sites of Special Scientific Interest along its length.

The railway came to Pocklington some 30 years after its canal. The town had a station on the line between York and Market Weighton, extended some years later to allow trains between York and Hull. The line was, however, one of the victims of the cuts of the 1960s with the last train service in November 1965.

During the Second World War, an RAF airfield was opened at Pocklington which was used by the Wellington and later Halifax bombers of Bomber Command. Runways still exist at the airfield but are now used by the Wolds Gliding Club.

Town features

Pocklington is on the Pocklington Canal.

The town has a range of shops and supermarkets.

Pocklington holds a traditional outdoor market - Tuesday.

Pocklington has a choice of pubs.

A choice of cafes can be found in Pocklington.

Pocklington has a selection of places to eat.

Takeaway food outlets in the town include fish and chips, chinese, curries, pizzas, kebabs, sandwiches.

The town has pharmacies.

The town has a Post Office.

Pocklington has bank and building society branches.

The town has a library.

Pocklington has a theatre - Pocklington Arts Centre.

The town has a swimming pool.

There are public toilets in the town.

Pocklington has schools.

Places of worship: Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, Buddhist, other.

Travel

Bus travel

The town has buses to neighbouring towns and villages.

Road travel

Pocklington can be reached via the B1246 B1247 and is about 1.5 miles from A1079 .

Places to visit

Burnby Hall Gardens and Museum

The Balk, Pocklington
The gardens at Burnby Hall were created in the early 20th century by the hall's then owners Major Percy Stewart and his wife Katherine. Among the many features of the gardens are a national collection of water lillies on its lakes. The museum houses a collection of artefacts brought back by the Stewarts from eight world tours between 1906 and 1926. The hall and gardens were left to the people of Pocklington after Major Stewart's death and are now run by a charitable trust. A small entry fee is charged at weekends and donations are appreciated on weekdays.
More information at the

Burnby Hall Gardens and Museum website.

Wharram Percy

Near Wharram-le-Street
Wharram Percy is the best preserved of many deserted medieval villages across Yorkshire. Situated in a beautiful hidden valley in the Yorkshire Wolds, the village was abandoned early in the 16th century after being occupied for around six centuries before that. The part-ruined church with its half-collapsed tower provides some clues as to when the village initially grew. Foundations of other buildings have also been exposed during archealogical excavations. The village can only be reached by a walk along sometimes muddy paths, the nearest road being just under a mile away. However, the deserted village offers an attractive place to pause on longer walking routes, including the Yorkshire Wolds Way and Centenary Way.
Find out more at the

English Heritage - Wharram Percy website.

Beverley Minster

Minster Yard, Beverley
Beverley Minster is built on the site of a monastery founded in the 8th century by John, Bishop of York, who died in Beverley in 721. He is credited with founding Beverley. He became St John of Beverley after he was canonised more than 300 years after his death and the church is built around his tomb which was a place of pilgrimage. Work started on the present church after the collapse of the tower of the Norman church on the site in 1214. Saved by wealthy businessmen from destruction in the 16th century, the Minster saw restorations in the 18th and 19th century. Around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries more than 100 statues were placed on the west towers and other statuettes inside the minster. New stained glass windows were also added. The first of the staues, in 1897, was of Queen Victoria, to commemorate her Diamond Jubilee.
More information at the

Beverley Minster website.

Yorkshire Air Museum

Halifax Way, Elvington, near York
The Yorkshire Air Museum is at the former RAF Elvington, about 3 miles south-west of York. During World War II it was an RAF Bomber Command Station used by Allied bomber crews, including French Air Force squadrons. The museum now situated there has a huge range of exhibits taking visitors from the earliest pioneers of aviation, including Yorkshireman George Cayley, through both World Wars and the Cold War era. More than 60 aircraft and flight-related vehicles are on show at the airfield. The museum is also the location of the Allied Air Forces Memorial, commemorating all allied airmen and women.
More details at the

Yorkshire Air Museum website.
Find

Yorkshire Air Museum on map.

York

Yorkshire's principal city York is in easy reach by road. Find out more about the historic city on our York page.

Emergency services

Humberside Police

Humberside Police website.

Humberside Fire and Rescue Service

Humberside Fire and Rescue Service website.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust website.

Local government

Civil parish council

Pocklington Town Council
Provides some local services in the area.
Link to council website:

Pocklington Town Council

Unitary authority

East Riding of Yorkshire Council
The East Riding of Yorkshire Council is now a unitary district rather than a county authority but the least changed of any of the historic Ridings of Yorkshire.

It does now cover a small part of the former West Riding, while it has lost portions of the historic East Riding to North Yorkshire and York.

County Hall, BeverleyBeverley is the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire and the location of its County Hall.

Other towns in the East Riding include Bridlington Driffield Goole Market Weighton Hedon Hornsea Howden Pocklington Snaith and Withernsea.

The authority covers a near full range of council services, except the limited services handled by the various civil parish/town councils which exist throughout its area.

The 26 wards in the authority each elect one, two or three councillors to make up a 67 member council. An election for the entire council is held every four years with the most recent election in 2019.

Link to East Riding of Yorkshire Council website .

Political composition after May 2023 election:

2922943 YP
67 members YP = Yorkshire Party

Police and Crime Commissioner

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside
Oversees Humberside Police covering an area made up of the unitary authority councils of East Riding of Yorkshire, City of Hull and, south of The Humber, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire.
Elected P&CC: ❚ Jonathan Evison Conservative

Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside website.

Fire Authority

Humberside Fire Authority
The fire authority is made up of elected members of each of the four unitary authorities served by the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service - East Riding of Yorkshire, Hull, North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire.

Humberside Fire Authority website.

Parliamentary constituency

Goole and Pocklington
Elected MP: ❚ David Davis Conservative

National government region

Yorkshire and the Humber

Ceremonial county

East Riding of Yorkshire

Historic

-1889 East Riding of Yorkshire (historic admistrative division)
1889-1974 East Riding of Yorkshire (county authority)
1974-1996 Part of a borough within the artificially-created county of Humberside

Also in Yorkshire.guide

Places in East Riding Yorkshire attractions