Driffield, also known as Great Driffield, is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

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 authorit ...

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 t ...

, England. The civil parish is formed by the town of Driffield and the village of

Little Driffield Little Driffield is a small village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the western outskirts of Great Driffield, to the west of the A614 road and south of the A166 road. Little Driffield forms part of the civil paris ...

. By road, it is north-east of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

, north-east of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

, east of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, north of

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

and south-east of

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

. Driffield is named ''The Capital of the Wolds'', due to its location sitting centrally within the Yorkshire Wolds. 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 ...

, Driffield parish had a population of 13,080, an increase on the 2001 UK census figure of 11,477. The town was listed in the 2019 Sunday Times report on the Best Places to Live in northern England.

History

Driffield is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and the name is first attested in the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of A ...

'' where King Aldfrith of Northumbria died on the 14 December 705. It is also found in ''

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 ...

'' of 1086, meaning "dirty (manured) field". A

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

mound outside Driffield was excavated in the 19th century, the contents of which are now kept in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. It includes a knife, a dagger, a beaker and a greenstone wrist-guard all dating to between 2200 and 1500 BC. The remains of

Driffield Castle Driffield Castle is located in the town of Driffield, approximately north of Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, England (). It was a Norman earthwork motte and bailey fortress which was founded by Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester. It was ...

, a

motte-and-bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy t ...

castle, sit at Moot Hill. RAF Driffield was targeted by the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

during the

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 opposi ...

. On 15 August 1940, a raid by Junkers 88s resulted in 14 deaths and many injuries. RAF Driffield was the site of the first death in the

WAAF WAAF may refer to: * w3af, (short for web application attack and audit framework), an open-source web application security scanner * Women's Auxiliary Air Force, a British military service in World War II ** Waaf, a member of the service * WAAF ( ...

during the Second World War.

Governance

Driffield is a major part of the Driffield and Rural

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to ...

. This ward stretches north west to

Sledmere Sledmere is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, about north-west of Driffield on the B1253 road. The village lies in a civil parish which is also officially called "Sledmere" by the Office for National Statistics, although t ...

with a total population taken at the 2011 Census of 15,199. The local

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

Greg Knight The Right Honourable Sir Gregory Knight (born 4 April 1949) is a British politician, author and musician. He has served as the Conservative MP for East Yorkshire since 2001, having previously served as the MP for Derby North from 1983 to 1997 ...

Culture and amenities

Driffield is centred around ''Middle Street'', its main high street of both independent and chain shops and retail (such as WHSmith,

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

Yorkshire Trading Company The Yorkshire Trading Company is a chain of variety and discount stores founded and based in Northern England, it is a family-run business dating back to 1954 and is now into the third and fourth generations. It operates 33 Yorkshire Trading Com ...

, B & M,

Boyes Boyes is a family name and may refer to: ;People * Adam Boyes (footballer) (born 1990), English semi-professional footballer * Barbara Boyes (c.1932–1981), American statistician * Brad Boyes (born 1982), American ice hockey player * Brian Bar ...

Wilko Wilko may refer to: People * Wilko Johnson (1947–2022), English musician * Wilko de Vogt (born 1975), Dutch football goalkeeper, mostly played for Dutch clubs * Wilko Risser (born 1982), Namibian-German football forward, mostly played for German ...

and M&Co.). On a Thursday, a market is held in the town centre. Its original cattle market closed in 2001. The town's main hotel is the Bell Hotel, an old coaching inn in the centre of the town.

Public houses A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

and bars include, The Full Measure, the Original Keys, Buck, Royal Oak, Tiger Inn, the Benjamin Fawcett (

Wetherspoons J D Wetherspoon plc (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It ...

), the ''Blue Bell'', and 'Forty One'. It also has a micro-pub ''The Butcher's Dog''. Restaurants and takeaways include the Water Margin, Stuart's Fish & Chips of Driffield, El Dorado's, Trishna's, The Scullery, Marco Polo, and Muskan Spice. Cafe's include the cycle friendly The Bike Cave. Driffield Showground - geograph

The town is home to Driffield Show, the UK's largest one-day annual agricultural show, as well as the Driffield Steam and Vintage Rally - an event held each August showcasing historical vehicles including traction engines, fairground organs, tractors and vintage cars and trucks. A particular focus is placed upon agricultural history, with demonstrations of ploughing and

threshing Threshing, or thrashing, is the process of loosening the edible part of grain (or other crop) from the straw to which it is attached. It is the step in grain preparation after reaping. Threshing does not remove the bran from the grain. History ...

often taking place. The rally is particularly known for the Saturday evening road-run of the steam engines and other vehicles into Driffield town centre, an event which invariably attracts large crowds of spectators. Driffield also has a small community hospital (known as

Alfred Bean Hospital Alfred Bean Hospital is a health facility in Bridlington Road, Driffield, 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 a ...

), a fire station, a local police station, and several churches. Canal Head Driffield

Driffield lies in the Yorkshire Wolds, on the Driffield Navigation

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...

, and near the source of the

River Hull The River Hull is a navigable river in the East Riding of Yorkshire in Northern England. It rises from a series of springs to the west of Driffield, and enters the Humber Estuary at Kingston upon Hull. Following a period when the Archbishops o ...

. This is maintained by the Driffield Navigation Trust and the group hosts an annual

raft race Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often ...

and open day gala at the ''River Head''. The Driffield Beck runs roughly parallel to the main high street. Some stretches of Driffield Beck are popular for fishing, particularly for

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morp ...

and grayling.

Education

There are two infant schools (Driffield Northfield Infant School and Driffield Church Of England Voluntary Controlled Infant School), and one larger

junior school A Junior school is a type of school which provides primary education to children, often in the age range from 8 and 13, following attendance at Infant school which covers the age range 5–7. (As both Infant and Junior schools are giving Primary ...

(Driffield Junior School), which caters for children aged 7–11. Driffield School & Sixth Form is a large

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

that also contains a

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for ...

, and so offers education up to

A level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

standard. The town also includes Kings Mill Special School. The nearest

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...

Pocklington School Pocklington School is an independent school in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1514 by John Dolman. The school is situated in of land, on the outskirts of the small market town, from York and from Hull. I ...

Transport

Driffield lies on the A614, A166 and B1249. The town is served by

Driffield railway station Driffield railway station serves the town of Driffield in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located on the Yorkshire Coast Line and is operated by Northern, providing all passenger train services. History The station was opened by t ...

on the

Yorkshire Coast Line Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, with services currently run by

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

and has direct trains to Sheffield, Doncaster, York, Hull, Beverley, Bridlington, and Scarborough. East Yorkshire Motor Services provide regular services to

Pocklington Pocklington is a market town and civil parish situated at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded its population as 8,337. It is east of York and northwest of Hull. The town's sk ...

Beverley Beverley is a market and minster town and a civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre and north-west of City of Hull. The town is known fo ...

Bridlington Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 ...

and Scarborough.

Demography

Religion

There are nine churches in Driffield, which work together as 'Churches Together in Driffield'. The

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

church dedicated to All Saints was designated 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 I ...

in 1963 and is now recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

, maintained by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

. St Mary's church is within the same

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

as All Saints but actually sits in neighbouring Little Driffield. (There was once a second

Church in Driffield itself, dedicated to Saint John and located on St Johns Road, but it has been demolished.) There is a small

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Church dedicated to Our Lady and Saint Edward that was built in 1886. The

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 ...

Church stands on Middle Street North. The former 1880 building, was demolished in November 2018 and replaced by a modern building. Bourne Methodists is a

Primitive Methodist Church 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 Primit ...

, sited on Westgate. The

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

have a building on The Mount. Driffield Christian Fellowship is an Elim Pentecostal church who have a building on Wansford Road. Their church service is held in the Performing Arts Hall at Driffield School. The

Congregational Church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

is situated on Exchange Street. The Revive Church meets in the Community Centre on Mill Street.

Traditions

The age-old tradition of ''Scrambling'' is unique to the town of Driffield and has its origins in the 18th century. The event takes place a couple of days into the New Year. Children walk through the main street shouting an ancient rhyme to shopkeepers in return for money and goodies. The cry is ''"Here we are at our town's end...With a shoulder of mutton and a crown to spend...Are we downhearted?..No!...Shall we win?...Yes!..."'' It is also tradition for the townspeople of Driffield to congregate in the market place on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

and listen for the church bells ringing in the new year.

Climate

The climate in Driffield is warm and temperate, with higher than average rainfall. This climate is considered to be Cfb according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. In Driffield, the average annual temperature is 9.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 719 mm.

Sport

Driffield was formerly home to Driffield Mariners Football Club, who have won three Hull Sunday League titles in recent years. Now to this present day, there are two main men's team who both play at the second highest league in the East Riding. Driffield Junior Football Club and Driffield Evening Institute who both play in the

Humber Premier League The Humber Premier League is a football competition for clubs in the East Riding of Yorkshire and north Lincolnshire areas of England. History The league was formed in 2000. Reckitts won the league five times in the first six seasons of its ex ...

Division One. Driffield also has its own football league, Driffield and District League and was founded in 1919 and currently only has 1 division which consists of 9 teams from within Driffield and district. The town has a cricket club, the first team of which play in the ECB Yorkshire Premier League North. First class cricketers

Andrew Gale Andrew William Gale (born 28 November 1983) is an English cricket coach and former first-class cricketer, who was first XI coach of Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 2016 to 2021. He also co-owns Pro Coach Cricket Academy, with his business par ...

, Richard Pyrah,

Steven Patterson Steven Andrew Patterson (born 3 October 1983) is a former English first class cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club. A tall seam bowler and right hand lower order batsman, Patterson made his first-class debut in 2005 again ...

, Jonny Bairstow,

Ishara Amerasinghe Merenna Koralage Don Ishara Amerasinghe (born 5 March 1978), or Ishara Amerasinghe, is a Sri Lankan cricketer who attended Nalanda College Colombo. A right-arm fast-medium bowler with a side-on action, Amerasinghe was named in the 30-man provinci ...

and Abid Ali have all played for the club. Driffield RUFC is a member of the

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It prom ...

and Yorkshire RFU, playing its senior fixtures in the

Regional 1 North East Regional 1 North East is a level five league in the English rugby union system, with the twelve teams drawn from across North East England and the East Midlands. The other level five leagues are Regional 1 Midlands, Regional 1 North West, ...

and Women's Championship North 2 leagues. The club field five senior teams (four men's and a women's), a colts team (both boys and girls) and mini/juniors (at every age group from under 7's to under 17's). Driffield Hockey Club play their home matches at Driffield Sports Centre and currently field three men's teams and four ladies' teams, as well as juniors and vets sections. For a catchment area the size of Driffield, the club is relatively successful, with both the men's and ladies first XIs being promoted from their respective YHA Yorkshire Premier Divisions at the end of the 2013–14 season (6th tier of English Hockey) to the North League Division 2 East and North League Division 2 South East respectively (5th tier of English Hockey). Driffield has an 18-hole golf club that has been at its present location since 1934. Driffield featured on the route of the 2017

Tour de Yorkshire The Tour de Yorkshire is a road cycling race in the historic county of Yorkshire, England which first took place in May 2015. It is promoted by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and is rated as a 2.HC event as part of the UCI Europe Tour. ...

. Driffield has a sports centre located on Bridlington Road, which opened in 2009 replacing the old sports centre (now owned by Driffield School). The new sports centre includes a main pool and learner pool, sports hall, a 50-piece gym, and a studio/multi-use room.

Media

Driffield and the Wolds are served by the local newspaper, ''Driffield & Wolds Weekly'', launched in August 2015. The '' Driffield Times'' ceased publication in 2016. Great Driffield Radio, launched in November 2018 on 107.2 FM, broadcasts across the town and surrounding villages.

In popular culture

Slaughterhouse Studios was a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enou ...

in the town between 1985 and 1992. Bands including

Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in 1981 in Meriden, West Midlands. None of the band's original members has been in the group since 1986. But since '' Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitc ...

, The Mission, and most notably Happy Mondays would record there.

Twin towns

* Saint Affrique, France

Notable people

* Benjamin Fawcett, 19th century woodblock colour printer * Hazel Gaynor, author *

Alexander Francis Lydon Alexander Francis Lydon (; 1836–1917) was a British watercolour artist, illustrator and engraver of natural history and landscapes. He worked for Benjamin Fawcett the printer, to whom he had been apprenticed from an early age. He collabo ...

, woodblock colour printer who worked with Benjamin Fawcett *

Curtis Woodhouse Curtis Woodhouse BEM (born 17 April 1980) is an English former professional footballer turned professional boxer and football manager, currently in charge of Marske United. Woodhouse played football as a central midfielder, and competed as ...

, former professional footballer and boxer * Mick Woodmansey, drummer with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's band the Spiders from Mars

References

Sources

External links

Driffield Online
{{authority control Market towns in the East Riding of Yorkshire Civil parishes in the East Riding of Yorkshire Towns in the East Riding of Yorkshire