A SHORT HISTORY OF THE PARISH
The parish comprises two settlements – East Cottingwith and Storwood (old name Storthwaite “the clearing in the wood”). Both are mentioned in the Domesday Book, East Cottingwith as Cotevvid, and Storwood as Chetelstorp. The next significant mention is in 1774 for Cottingwith, the year of the Parliamentary Enclosure, and the date for Storwood’s Enclosure was 1782. Sadly the Storwood Enclosure award has been lost. Until the 1960s, the Parish was almost entirely agricultural, and the pattern of land occupation was almost the same as in the 18th Century!
Just to the south of the village of Storwood lies a moated site. This is all that remains of the manor house of the Ros family, who were Lords of the Manor in the 12th Century, and owned extensive estates throughout the East Riding.
Melbourne Autos, on Ball Hall Lane, occupies what was built as a prisoner of war camp, housing German and Italian prisoners. Some of the Italians were accomplished artists. Look out for the statuesque fountain that they built on site. On the road from Cottingwith to Storwood is a field with a circular brick building. This was a sewerage works for the camp, the first mains sewerage system in the Parish!
East Cottingwith Village Hall served as the primary school until the late 60s, and awards were given to children with the best attendance, that being an arrangement to ensure children were encouraged to attend school rather than being used as farm labourers. More significantly, the hall was built originally as the first registered Friends Meeting House in the East Riding, and the garden is the Quaker burial ground.
There were Methodist Chapels in Cottingwith (The Old Chapel), and Storwood ( Orchard House). The present Church stands on the site of a much older one, and the bells are among the oldest in the country.
East Cottingwith’s most famous resident was Snowden Slights, the last professional wildfowler in Britain. Look out for his gravestone in the Churchyard.
There were two pubs, the Ship Inn and the Bluebell, both on Church Lane, and the presence of hops in the hedgerows shows they brewed their own beer. There was also a Temperance Hotel at Hagg Bridge, which served the Pocklington Canal, opened in 1819.
If you want to know more about the history of the Parish, and learn about village residents, businesses and the environment, the book “An East Riding Parish” is available to buy. See details on the right.
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