Swanland is a village 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 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 ...
in England. The village is about to the west of
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...
city centre and north of the
Humber Estuary in the foothills of the
Yorkshire Wolds
The Yorkshire Wolds are low hills in the counties of the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire in north-eastern England. The name also applies to the district in which the hills lie.
On the western edge, the Wolds rise to an escarpment wh ...
on the
B1231 road
B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A roads. See the article Great Britain road numbering scheme
The Great Britain road numbering scheme is a numbering scheme used to classify and identify all roads in Gr ...
.
Geography
The village of Swanland is located approximately to the west of the centre of
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...
on the eastern fringes of the
Yorkshire Wolds
The Yorkshire Wolds are low hills in the counties of the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire in north-eastern England. The name also applies to the district in which the hills lie.
On the western edge, the Wolds rise to an escarpment wh ...
. The village is distinct from other settlements in the area, separated by fields. To the east are the townships of
West Ella
West Ella is a small village in the civil parish of Kirk Ella west of Kirk Ella settlement, within the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, on the eastern edge of the Yorkshire Wolds, approximately west of the city of Kingston upon Hull.
The vil ...
,
Willerby and
Anlaby
Anlaby is a village forming part of the western suburbs of Kingston upon Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Anlaby with Anlaby Common.
History
Anlaby is recorded in the ''Domesday Book'' as "U ...
; to the south-east
Hessle
Hessle () is a town, civil parish and electoral ward in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, west of Kingston upon Hull city centre. Geographically it is part of a larger urban area consisting of the city of Kingston upon Hull, the town of ...
and to the south-west
North Ferriby
North Ferriby is a village and civil parish in the Haltemprice area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
History
Humber Estuary
"The archaeology of the intertidal wetlands of the Humber Estuary is of international importance, and include ...
.
[Ordnance Survey 1:25000 2006]
The civil parish of Swanland is surrounded by the parishes of
North Ferriby
North Ferriby is a village and civil parish in the Haltemprice area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
History
Humber Estuary
"The archaeology of the intertidal wetlands of the Humber Estuary is of international importance, and include ...
,
Welton,
Skidby
Skidby is a small village and civil parish in Yorkshire Wolds of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated about north-west of Hull city centre, west of Cottingham and south of Beverley.
The civil parish contains mainly agricult ...
,
Kirk Ella
Kirk Ella is a village and civil parish on the western outskirts of Kingston upon Hull, approximately west of the city centre, situated in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The parish includes West Ella.
Kirk Ella has been a village since ...
, and
Hessle
Hessle () is a town, civil parish and electoral ward in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, west of Kingston upon Hull city centre. Geographically it is part of a larger urban area consisting of the city of Kingston upon Hull, the town of ...
to the south, west, north, north-east and east respectively, with the
A63 road
The A63 is a major road in Yorkshire, England between Leeds and Kingston upon Hull. A section between North Cave and Hull forms the eastward continuation of the M62 motorway and is part of the unsigned Euroroute E20.
Leeds – Howden
The ...
forming part of the southern boundary, ''Melton Bottom'' road the western boundary, and the
A164 approximating to the eastern boundary.
The parish is between around above sea level, with a peak of on the western outskirts of the village, close to the location of a water tower.
Swanland offers fine views of the surrounding countryside, particularly across the
Humber Estuary, as has been noted historically.
According to 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 ...
, Swanland parish had a population of 3,802,
an increase on 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 ...
figure of 3,688.
[
]
Swanland lies within the Parliamentary constituency of
Haltemprice and Howden
Haltemprice and Howden is a constituency in the East Riding of Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by David Davis, a Conservative who was also Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union until h ...
.
The village
Swanland village forms a significant part of the civil parish, and is the only place of note within the parish. Near the centre of the village are a pond, as well as library (East Riding of Yorkshire Council operated), school (Swanland Primary School) and public house.
Swanland has a village hall, operating as a
registered charity
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definition of a ch ...
. The B1231 road passes through the village.
There are two churches in the village: St Barnabas is the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
Parish Church; and ''Christ Church'', also known as 'The Church by the Pond', is a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
/
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers.
Origins and history
The United Reformed Church resulte ...
.
History
There is evidence of human activity and habitation in the area around Swanland dating to the
British Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ire ...
/
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered was ...
period.
Swanland is not mentioned in the ''
Domesday Survey
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 ...
'', though a chapel existed in the medieval period, in the 12th century or earlier,
and a Hall, is thought to have been sited at Swanland from at least the 13th century, when it was the residence of
Eustace de Vesci
Eustace de Vesci (1169–1216) was an English lord of Alnwick Castle, and a ''Magna Carta'' surety. He also held lands in Sprouston, Roxburghshire, Scotland as brother in-law to King Alexander II of Scotland. Eustace was a leader during the Baro ...
.
In the later medieval period (16th) the Hall was the residence of the Haldenby family. By the late 18th century the Hall was no longer extant.
![Swanland House - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Swanland_House_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1733632.jpg)
During the 18th and 19th centuries Swanland, together with other villages west of Hull, became a popular place for wealthy residents of Hull to relocate. Large houses in Swanland included
''Swanland Hall'' (built after 1740), ''Braffords Hall'' (built after 1778), ''Swanland House'' (built 1796, rebuilt ), and ''Swanland Manor'' (built 1848, demolished 1935).
The
Congregationalist church, 'Christ Church' was built in 1804,
with porches added in the 1840s, and a
Primitive Methodist
The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834).
In the United States, the Primiti ...
chapel built in 1828. In 1831 Swanland had a population of 418. At the mid 19th century Swanland was essentially a
linear settlement
A linear settlement is a (normally small to medium-sized) settlement or group of buildings that is formed in a long line. Many of these settlements are formed along a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Others form due to physical re ...
along the east–west ''Mill Lane''/''Main Street'', with the larger halls and manor houses set back from the road in the surrounding land. Outside the village the landscape was rural, enclosed fields, with small scale chalk extraction from pits.
A school was built 1876, next to the pond. The original church of St Barnabas was built in 1899, established as a "mission room" for the parish of All Saints' North Ferriby.
![Water Tower, Swanland - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Water_Tower%2C_Swanland_-_geograph.org.uk_-_237137.jpg)
In 1914 an Institute was built, containing a billiards room and library, funded by
Sir James Reckitt
Sir James Reckitt, 1st Baronet (15 November 1833 – 18 March 1924) was a founder of the household products company Reckitt and Sons, developed from his father Isaac Reckitt's starch and laundry blue business.
Biography
James Reckitt was born ...
. During the 1920s and 30s the village expanded again as a commuter village. Electricity was first supplied to the village in 1929 (with street lighting installed 1954). A large circular concrete water tower was built in 1931 by Hull Corporation, replacing an earlier tower built in the 1890s.
Outside the village a large chalk pit was dug in the mid 20th century in the southeast corner of the parish (''Humberfield Quarry'', disused by the 1980s and subsequently filled in).
Initial post war housing development consisted of
prefabs. Further house building took place in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. The population rose steadily from 1,212 in 1951 to around 4,000 in 1998.
In 1992 a new St Barnabas church was built to replace the 1899 church, with a large integrated hall and conference facilities. The 'new' church was the first new Anglican Church to be built in the Diocese of York for over 50 years, and was funded primarily by sacrificial giving from members of the congregation under the visionary leadership of first Rev Mike Lowe and then Rev Richard Hill. The church is open 7 days a week, hosting a variety of community groups (Brownies, U3A, etc.) as well as numerous church activities open to all, including a popular parent and toddler group "Cygnets", fortnightly group walks, a weekly coffee morning, collecting for foodbanks, a senior citizens' exercise group, etc.) The church also hosts 2 thriving Sunday congregations who are actively involved in serving the local community through a lively children's church most Sundays, a healthy youth group and a variety of small groups for all from 11 to 111. Swanland became a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1995.
See also
*Swanland was formerly twinned with the village of
Lestrem
Lestrem (; ; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.
Geography
A small farming and light industrial town, situated some north of Béthune and west of Lille, on the D122, D178 and D975 roads, by ...
in Northern France.
The twinning arrangement came to an end in the mid-2010s due to a general lack of interest across the village.
References
Sources
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Literature
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External links
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{{authority control
Villages in the East Riding of Yorkshire
Civil parishes in the East Riding of Yorkshire