Wigginton, North Yorkshire Explained

Country:England
Static Image Name:Wigginton village pond.jpg
Static Image Caption:The village pond
Coordinates:54.0187°N -1.0936°W
Label Position:top
Official Name:Wigginton
Population:3,610
Population Ref:(2011)
Civil Parish:Wigginton
Unitary England:City of York
Lieutenancy England:North Yorkshire
Region:Yorkshire and the Humber
Constituency Westminster:York Outer
Post Town:YORK
Postcode District:YO32
Postcode Area:YO
Os Grid Reference:SE594585

Wigginton is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated 4miles north of York. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 3,714, reducing to 3,610 at the 2011 Census.

The village was historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire until 1974. It was then a part of the district of Ryedale in North Yorkshire from 1974 until 1996. Since 1996 it has been part of the City of York unitary authority.[1]

Wigginton is bordered on the east by the township of Haxby, the A1237 York Outer ring Road to the south, the B1363 to the west and open farmland to the north.

History

The village name derives from the Old English pre-7th century personal name "Wicga", meaning "a beetle", plus the Old English suffix, "-tun", meaning a "settlement or enclosure, hence "Wigca's settlement".[2]

The village was named in the Domesday Book and noted as belonging to the cathedral church of St Peter in York. The name of the village has been recorded as Wichestun in the 11th century and Wygynton in the 13th century. The first recorded owners of the manor were the Askebys, who may have been connected with the neighbouring village of Haxby, and of Roger de Haxbey, who owned nearby land during the reign of Edward I. Hugh de Moresby, Lord of Moresby in Cumberland, was in possession of the manor of Wigginton in 1337. Through inheritance and marriage the manor passed to Anne Pickering and her second husband, Sir Henry Knyvett. She sold the manor with others in 1541 to Henry VIII, but his heir, Edward VI, granted them back to Anne and Henry in 1548.[3]

Governance

Wigginton Parish Council
Coa Res:90px
House Type:Parish council
Leader1 Type:Chairman
Leader1:John Gates
Leader2 Type:Clerk
Leader2:Karin de Vries
Members:10 Councillors
Voting System1:Plurality-at-large
Last Election1:7 May 2019
Next Election1:2 May 2023

Wigginton Parish Council

Haxby and Wigginton Ward Committee (City of York Council)

The village lies within the Haxby and Wigginton Ward of the City of York Council (a Unitary Authority). Haxby and Wigginton Ward[4] is represented by three City of York Council Members, and these three Members constitute the local Ward Committee;[5] which has a small budget for local highways improvements and grants for local organisations. Elections to the City Council are held every four years. As of May 2019 Haxby and Wigginton Ward is represented by Councillors Ian Cuthbertson, Andrew Hollyer and Edward Pearson, all of whom are members of the Liberal Democrat Party.[6]

City of York Council is responsible for a number of statutory local services, including adult social care, children and education, waste services such as household waste and recycling bin collections, transport and highways, library services etc.

York Outer Member of Parliament

Wigginton was in the Vale of York parliamentary constituency until the 2010 general election when it was transferred to the newly created constituency of York Outer. In that election the Conservative Party candidate, Julian Sturdy, was elected having received 43% of the vote and a majority of 3,688 over the Liberal Democrat candidate.[7] Sturdy has retained the seat in subsequent elections in 2015, 2017, and 2019.

Demography

In 1872 the population was recorded as 349.[8] In the National Census of 1881 the population had risen to 399.[9] According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 3,714.

Geography

The village sits on flat ground consisting mostly of clay with soil that is sand and alluvium.[9] To the west of the village is Westfield Beck. The nearby town of Haxby now merges with Wigginton though the old Parish Boundary map still shows the dividing line. This runs east to west along the back of the houses on Wheatfield Drive on its southern edge as far as Barley Drive. Here it turns northward cutting across Greenshaw Drive until it reaches the road known The Village. The boundary follows this road until it turns west. The boundary at this point continues northward cutting across Windsor Drive near Ripley Grove and then out into the countryside.

Economy

Wigginton has expanded from a mainly agricultural origin to become mostly a commuter village for York. Wigginton has a number of businesses, a garden centre, two farm shops, hairdressers and chiropodists, a nursing home, a village store and three public houses. Also a small arcade of shops are on Sutton Road.

Transport

As of 2019 First York operate a bus service in the village as part of the Chapelfields to Wigginton route. The Acomb Park to Haxby route is operated by ConneXionsbuses.[10] Yorkshire Coastliner operate the Rawcliffe to Monks Cross and Osbaldwick bus service which stops in the village.[11] Reliance Motor Services operate a service that stops in the village on the B1363 as part of its York to Easingwold route.[12]

Education

Primary education is catered for at Wigginton Primary School.[13] As of 2018, the village is within the catchment area of Joseph Rowntree Secondary School.[14]

Religious sites

The present parish church is dedicated to St Nicholas. The first specific mention of a church building was in 1424 and of a chapel at Wigginton in the middle of the 13th century. The present church of St Nicholas was rebuilt in 1860, and re-dedicated in 2008.[15] Currently united with nearby St Marys of Haxby, it is also known under the collective title of 'St Mary and St Nicholas'.[16]

Sport

As of 2010, Wigginton Grasshoppers F.C.82 football club 1st XI play in the York and District Premier Division and the Reserve Team play in the Reserve Division A. They also provide teams across the full age range to various local weekend leagues.[17]

The village is also the home of Wigginton Squash and Racketball Club, a 3 court Squash & Racketball Club. The club has been men's Yorkshire League Champions on 3 occasions, and supports the local York & District Squash leagues with 6 men's & 2 ladies teams. Juniors also play league squash for the club. The club currently have one Yorkshire League team.

Bibliography

A Hundred Years at Sunnyside (in the village of Wigginton near York), written by John Edwin Gates and published by blurb.com, is an account of life in Wigginton from 1912 to 2011. Stephen Lewis of the York Press wrote: "A Hundred Years at Sunnyside gives some delightful glimpses into the life of a York Butcher 100 years ago... an affectionate tribute to the family and the childhood home John left behind in York, as well as to a way of life sadly now long vanished".[18]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: History of Wigginton, in York and North Riding Map and description. 28 November 2020. www.visionofbritain.org.uk.
  2. Web site: Village name. 4 December 2010.
  3. Web site: Church. 4 December 2010.
  4. Web site: Services. Web. Haxby and Wigginton Ward. 7 December 2021. City of York Council.
  5. Web site: 7 December 2021. Browse meetings – Haxby and Wigginton Ward Committee. 7 December 2021. democracy.york.gov.uk.
  6. Web site: Local councillors. 20 November 2010.
  7. News: Election result. 20 November 2010 . BBC News.
  8. Web site: Population. 4 December 2010.
  9. Book: Bulmer's Topography, History and Directory (Private and Commercial) of North Yorkshire 1890 . 850. 1890 . S&N Publishing. 1-86150-299-0.
  10. Web site: Bus Services. 20 November 2010.
  11. Web site: Bus Services. 20 November 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100819144245/http://www.yorkbus.co.uk/times.jsp?routeID=16&iP_show=routes. 19 August 2010.
  12. Web site: Reliance Bus Route. 4 December 2010.
  13. Web site: Primary School. 4 December 2010.
  14. Web site: Guide to School Catchment Areas. york.gov.uk. 6 August 2018. 59. PDF.
  15. Web site: St Nicholas Church. 4 December 2010.
  16. Web site: St Mary & St Nicholas Church. Cylex UK. 10 April 2022.
  17. Web site: Wigginton Grasshoppers. 4 December 2010.
  18. News: Lewis. Stephen. Book reveals history of Wigginton house. 4 November 2017. York Press. 21 November 2011.