Whitgift, East Riding of Yorkshire

Features

There was for many years a Whitgift ferry, which may originally have predated the village. Between November 1606 and February 1607, a persistent cold weather spell froze the River Ouse, and the ferry could not operate. However, records indicate that ".. men, women and children, horses and wagons loaded went on ye water at Ouse here at Whitgift ferrie and son continued until ye xiiii day of Februarie...".

Church

Main article: Church of St Mary Magdalene, Whitgift

The Church of Mary Magdalene (on the Whitgift side of the border between Whitgift and Reedness) 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).{{cite web

Hall

Whitgift is also notable for Whitgift Hall, a grade II* listed Georgian manor house built in 1704 by a family called Stephenson. 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

East Riding of Yorkshire England | mapframe-zoom = 9

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.

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'. Another theory is that the second element derives from the Old Norse gipt, meaning 'dowry'.

Whitgift was previously part of the Goole Rural District in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1894 to 1974, then in Boothferry district of Humberside until 1996.

On 1 April 1983 the civil parish was abolished to form Twin Rivers.

References

References

1. "Population statistics Whitgift CP/AP through time". [[A Vision of Britain through Time]].
2. (1990). "Rivers, rectors and abbots; some account of the ancient parishes of Snaith and Adlingfleet". Diocese of Sheffield.
3. {{NHLE
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5. {{cite rowlett. enge
6. {{NHLE
7. (2014). "Lighthouses of the North East Coast". Halsgrove.
8. "Whitgift Primitive Methodist chapel".
9. Ekwall, Eilert. "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names".
10. "Whitgift". The Institute for Name-Studies.
11. "Goole Registration District". UKBMD.