Hedon is a town and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in
Holderness
Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the north-east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. Topographically, Holderness has more in common wit ...
in the
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...
, England. It is situated approximately east of
Hull city centre. It lies to the north of the
A1033 road
The A1033 road is a main arterial route across Kingston upon Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire connecting Hull with Withernsea. The road carries traffic to and from the Port of Hull and Salt End at its western end, and local and holiday traf ...
at the crossroads of the
B1240 and
B1362 roads.
It is particularly noted for the
parish church of St. Augustine, known as the 'King of Holderness', which is a
Grade I listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
In 1991, the town had a population of 6,066, which had risen to 6,332 by the time of the
2001 UK census
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194.
The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...
.
By the
2011 UK census
A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...
, Hedon parish had a population of 7,100,
History
![Town Hall Hedon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Town_Hall_Hedon.jpg)
Hedon is not mentioned in the ''
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
'' which leads to the belief that it was a new town created by the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
as a port. Hedon was at its most prosperous in the 12th and 13th centuries and at one time was the 11th largest port in England. The decline of the port came with the development of the port of
Hull and the building of larger ships which were unable to get up the small river to Hedon.
Hedon was given its first charter by
Henry II in 1158 and was granted improved ones by
King John King John may refer to:
Rulers
* John, King of England (1166–1216)
* John I of Jerusalem (c. 1170–1237)
* John Balliol, King of Scotland (c. 1249–1314)
* John I of France (15–20 November 1316)
* John II of France (1319–1364)
* John I o ...
in 1200 and
Henry III in 1248 and 1272.
Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...
granted the most important charter which gave the town the right to elect a mayor.
In 1415 Hedon was granted an important charter, which let the town have burgesses and other ministers and also gave the town a
mace. This mace, held in
Hedon Town Hall
Hedon Town Hall is a municipal building in St Augustine's Gate, Hedon, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The building, which is the meeting place of Hedon Town Council, is a Grade II* listed building.
History
The council's fine silver collecti ...
, is now the oldest surviving mace in the country, and is clearly a weapon of war.
The town was a
parliamentary borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
until it was disenfranchised under the
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament, Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major chan ...
. It still enjoyed its borough status granted by its charters until 1974 when it was removed in a reorganisation of local government.
To the west of the town was a racecourse. After popularity waned, it was developed into an
aerodrome
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
officially opened in 1929 by
Prince George, Duke of Kent
Prince George, Duke of Kent, (George Edward Alexander Edmund; 20 December 1902 – 25 August 1942) was a member of the British royal family, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary. He was a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and Geo ...
. It was the arrival point of Hull-born aviator Amy Johnson on her record-breaking solo flight to Australia in 1930, where she began a triumphant homecoming. After ten years of operation, the aerodrome closed during
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, 1939–1945. Afterward, the site was briefly used as a motorcycle speedway track. Attempts were made in the late-1950s to reopen it for flying, which failed, and the land has been used as grazing for cattle. A plaque commemorating the memory of the airfield was installed at the nearby Kingstown Hotel in July 2017.
The
Hull and Holderness Railway
The Hull and Holderness Railway was a branch line in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England that connected the city of Kingston upon Hull with the seaside resort of Withernsea via the town of Hedon and the villages of Keyingham and Patrington.
H ...
opened in 1854 which ran from Victoria Dock in Hull to
Withernsea
Withernsea is a seaside resort and civil parish in Holderness, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Its white inland lighthouse, rising around above Hull Road, now houses a museum to 1950s actress Kay Kendall, who was born in the town.
The Pr ...
, through Hedon. The
station
Station may refer to:
Agriculture
* Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production
* Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle
** Cattle statio ...
was built to the north of the town and it proved a vital part of Hedon's transport system for a century. In 1965 Hedon lost its passenger service when
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
ways appointed
Lord Beeching
Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching (21 April 1913 – 23 March 1985), commonly known as Dr Beeching, was a physicist and engineer who for a short but very notable time was chairman of British Railways. He became a household name in Britain in the e ...
to stop losses, and closed branch lines not making a profit. The line from Hull as far as Hedon remained open for goods until 1968.
Hedon became the subject of national media attention in August 2000 when a freak mini-tornado in the
Humber Estuary
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the ...
caused flash floods and hailstones to drop on parts of the town.
![A1033 Burstwick Drain Flyover Bridge - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/A1033_Burstwick_Drain_Flyover_Bridge_-_geograph.org.uk_-_479923.jpg)
Hedon was also affected by the widespread floods that occurred in the
UK in the summer of 2007; areas affected included the Inmans / Westlands Estates and most areas near the Burstwick drain. A nearby village,
Burstwick
Burstwick is a village and civil parish in the Holderness region of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated about east of Hull city centre. It lies on the B1362 road.
History
Burstwick is described as a ''caput'', or principal ...
, saw the most homes flooded in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
There have recently been plans to create a country park around the
Hedon Haven
Hedon Haven is a waterway that connected the Humber Estuary with the port of Hedon, in Holderness, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The waterway allowed ships to unload at the port in Hedon, which was also known as Hedon Haven and had, at its ...
, south of the town. There is an open-air concrete skate park in the south of the town between Draper's Lane and the Burstwick Drain.
Notable people
*
Dorothy Marion Campbell, English
potter
A potter is someone who makes pottery.
Potter may also refer to:
Places United States
*Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US
* Potter, Arkansas
*Potter, Nebraska
* Potters, New Je ...
*
Sir Alexander Campbell, Canadian statesman and politician, and a father of
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...
*
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...
singer
Amy Black (1973–2009) was born and educated in Hedon and is now buried in the cemetery
References
*
Sources
*
External links
*
{{authority control
Towns in the East Riding of Yorkshire
Holderness
Civil parishes in the East Riding of Yorkshire