Watton is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The village is situated on the

A164 road List of A roads in zone 1 in Great Britain beginning north of the River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is ...

, about north of Beverley and south of Driffield. 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 ...

the civil parish of Watton had a population of 259, 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 238.

History

In the 6th century Watton was home to a Frankish

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

, Monegunda of Watton and in the 13th century to William de Malton, master-mason who built Beverley Minster was buried here. The Venerable Bede in his '' Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' tells of a miracle of Saint John of Beverley that took place in Watton. It is also the setting for the 12th-century miracle story

De Sanctimoniali de Wattun ''De Sanctimoniali de Wattun'' or ''On the Nun of Watton'' is a 12th-century miracle story, describing events which took place in Yorkshire in the mid-12th century at the nunnery of Watton, East Riding of Yorkshire. It is also called ''A Certain ...

Watton is the location for

Watton Priory Watton Priory was a priory of the Gilbertine Order at Watton in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The double monastery was founded in 1150 by Eustace fitz John. The present building dates mainly from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuri ...

which was a

Gilbertine The Gilbertine Order of Canons Regular was founded around 1130 by Saint Gilbert in Sempringham, Lincolnshire, where Gilbert was the parish priest. It was the only completely English religious order and came to an end in the 16th century at the ...

double monastery founded in 1150 by Eustace fitz John. The present building dates mainly from the 14th and 15th centuries, although it has earlier origins, and a house was added in the 19th century. It is a

Grade I listed 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 ...

building. The priory was dissolved in 1539 by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. The Nun of Watton, famous from

Ailred of Rievaulx Aelred of Rievaulx ( la, Aelredus Riaevallensis); also Ailred, Ælred, and Æthelred; (1110 – 12 January 1167) was an English Cistercian monk, abbot of Rievaulx from 1147 until his death, and known as a writer. He is regarded by Anglicans an ...

's ''

'', is noted for her pregnancy while in the priory. Near to the priory is the Church of St Mary which was designated a Grade I listed building in September 1966 and is now recorded in the National Heritage List for England, maintained by Historic England. The

church building A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...

is primarily of 15th century construction but some 13th century materials remain, while the south porch, and north vestry are dated 1859. The parapet to tower is 20th century.

Etymology

The origin of the word Watton is uncertain, but suggestions include: *

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''wád'', or ''woad'', and ''ton'' meaning small farming settlement; or * ''waden'' meaning ford; or from ''waétan'' meaning watery.

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in the East Riding of Yorkshire Civil parishes in the East Riding of Yorkshire