Whitgift

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Whitgift
Yorkshire
West Riding

Whitgift and the Ouse
Location
Grid reference: SE815228
Location: 53°41’44"N, -0°45’57"W
Data
Post town: Goole
Postcode: DN14
Dialling code: 01405
Local Government
Council: East Riding of Yorkshire
Parliamentary
constituency:
Brigg and Goole

Whitgift is a small linear hamlet and ancient parish in the West Riding of Yorkshire, approximately four miles east of Goole. It is located alongside the River Ouse (which forms the border with the East Riding) and north of the A161 road between Goole and Scunthorpe. Ousefleet and Reedness are to the east and west respectively. Since 1983 it has formed part of the civil parish of 'Twin Rivers'.

Features

There was for many years a Whitgift ferry, which may originally have predated the village.

Church

The Church of Mary Magdalene dates from 1304 (replacing an earlier building, 11th-12th century or earlier). It has a famous clock with an unusual feature: instead of 12 (XII in Roman numerals) it has a 13 (XIII).[1] Reasons vary, but local rumour relates that it may be due to the church being adjacent to a pub (now closed) at which the painter imbibed before completing the job.[1] The church was designated a Grade-I listed building in 1967.[2]

Hall

Whitgift is also notable for Whitgift Hall, a Grade-II*-listed Georgian manor house built in 1704 by a family called Stephenson.[3] Since it was built, it has undergone significant change. For example, bay windows were added and the current owners have a caravan site and fishing pond.

Lighthouse

Whitgift Lighthouse

Yorkshire


Whitgift Lighthouse
Location
Location: 53°41’56"N, -0°45’27"W
Characteristics
Height: 46 ft
Tower shape: tapered cylindrical tower
with balcony and lantern
Tower marking: unpainted basement,
white tower and lantern
Light: F R
Focal height: 40 ft
Admiralty No.: A2571.9
History
Built late 1900s
Information

Whitgift lighthouse was erected just north of the village in the late 19th century, for the Aire and Calder Navigation: a five-storey cream-painted tower with a stone base, it stands 46 ft high. It remains operational, a waymark for ships travelling to and from Goole docks, and is Grade-II listed.[4]

Other

Other features include a Methodist chapel, but Whitgift mainly consists of a sparse strip of houses spread out over its length bounded by the River Ouse to the north and fields to the south looking towards Eastoft.

History

The place-name 'Whitgift' is first attested in a Yorkshire charter of circa 1080, where it appears as Witegift, and in a charter of 1232 where it appears as Whitegift. The name is thought to mean 'Hviti's or Hwita's gift'.[5]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Whitgift". Goole on the Web. http://www.goole-on-the-web.org.uk/main.php?key=704. Retrieved 12 December 2006. 
  2. National Heritage List 1083151: Church of Saint Mary Magdalene
  3. National Heritage List 1083149: Whitgift Hall Including Attached Walls to North Outbuildings and Screen Wall to South East
  4. Jones, Robin (2014). Lighthouses of the North East Coast. Wellington, Somerset: Halsgrove. ISBN 9780857042347. 
  5. Ekwall, Eilert. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names. p. 514. 
  • Gazetteer — A–Z of Towns Villages and Hamlets. East Riding of Yorkshire Council. 2006. p. 11. 

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Whitgift)