Elvington, City of York
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Elvington 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 authorit ...
approximately south-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 ...
, England, on the B1228 York-
Howden Howden () is a market and minster town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of York to the north of the M62, on the A614 road about south-east of York and north of Goole, which lies across the ...
road. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,212, it increased to 1,239 at the 2011 Census. The River Derwent forms part of the parish boundary and the historic
Sutton Bridge Sutton Bridge is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A17 road, north from Wisbech and west from King's Lynn. The village includes a commercial dock on the west bank of th ...
connects Elvington with Sutton upon Derwent. The village has three separate large industrial estates including a site for
Yara International Yara International ASA is a Norwegian chemical company. It produces, distributes, and sells nitrogen-based mineral fertilizers and related industrial products. Its product line also includes phosphate and potash-based mineral fertilizers, as well ...
, a Norwegian chemical company. Elvington was 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 ...
until local government boundary changes in 1974, when it became part of the
Selby District Selby District is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England. The local authority, Selby District Council, is based in the town of Selby. The Local Authority had a population of 83,449 at the 2011 Census. The southernmost distr ...
in
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
. In 1996 it became part of the
City of York The City of York is a unitary authority area with city status in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. The district's main settlement is York, and it extends to the surrounding area including the town of Haxby and the villages of ...
unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
.


History

The village is 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 manus ...
'', which states that in 1086 Ulfketill had six
carucate The carucate or carrucate ( lat-med, carrūcāta or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms ...
s of land taxable, where three
ploughs A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...
were possible. There is a mention of the church, which is
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...
in origin and exists in part today.
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
, was in control of the manor until his death. In the village there is the Grade II* listed Elvington Hall. Built during Elizabethan times, it was remodelled in the 18th century by John Carr; writer
Laurence Sterne Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768), was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric who wrote the novels ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'' and '' A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'', publishe ...
lived there for a period of his childhood; Roger Jacques and Simone Sterne, his grandparents, controlled the manor before 1700.


1900s onwards

Between 1913 and 1926 Elvington was served by a passenger service on the
Derwent Valley Light Railway The Derwent Valley Light Railway (DVLR) (also known as The Blackberry Line) was a privately owned standard-gauge railway in North Yorkshire, England, and was unusual in that it was never nationalised, remaining as a private operation all its ...
. The line was open for freight traffic until 1973. During 1942, the airfield
RAF Elvington Royal Air Force Elvington or more simply RAF Elvington is a former Royal Air Force station which operated from the beginning of the Second World War until 1992 located at Elvington, Yorkshire, England. History Royal Air Force use The station ...
was built; it was used in 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 ...
. The airfield was vacated in 1958 and by May 1986 parts of it were turned into the
Yorkshire Air Museum The Yorkshire Air Museum & Allied Air Forces Memorial is an aviation museum in Elvington, York on the site of the former RAF Elvington airfield, a Second World War RAF Bomber Command station. The museum was founded, and first opened to the pu ...
, open to the general public. The airfield had the status of a relief landing ground until September 1992. It is now used for motorsports and an
airshow An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show ...
. The village was once the home of the author and screenwriter, Hugo Charteris, who died of cancer in 1970 at his home in the village.


Today

Elvington was made a Conservation Area in 1990. The ''Grey Horse Inn'' is a public house in the centre of the village. The village also has a church, shop, primary school, and sports field. A number of organised clubs and societies operate in the village, including drama,
Scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpack ...
, various sewing groups, a youth group, a toddler group and playgroup. Elvington has one of the most unusual homes in Britain. In 2006, a derelict
bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...
was converted into a private home whilst still incorporating a bowling lane. The original bowling alley was built in the 1950s for US troops stationed at RAF Elvington and it was a regular meeting place for members of Strategic Air Command. Elvington is also home to the turf growers Rolawn who are one of Europe's largest companies of its kind.


The Murder of Chen Cai Guan

In January 2009, Chinese national Chen Cai Guan was tortured and beaten to death in a warehouse on the Elvington Industrial Estate. The two men responsible for the murder, Huang Bao Lung, and Zhang Zhouli both admitted links to the 14K Triads, a
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
based criminal gang. Huang and Zhang rented the warehouse as part of a nationwide
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
factory operation, using a food storage business as a front. In March 2009, the body of Mr Chen was found by fishermen at a canal in the village of
Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur ma ...
, just south of
Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse, with a population at the 2011 census of 14,731. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until ...
. When the
North Yorkshire Police North Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force covering the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire and the unitary authority of York in northern England. As of September 2018 the force had a strength of 1,357 police officers, 127 ...
raided the facility shortly after the murder took place, they seized 1,500 cannabis plants and arrested the suspects, also finding traces of the victim's blood that they had failed to cover up. In July, both Huang, from Fujian in China, and Zhang, from Dong Bei, were handed life sentences with minimum terms of 18 years and 16 years respectively after being convicted of Mr Chen's murder.


Elvington Harriers Football

Founded in 1999, Elvington Harriers Football Club is an FA Charter Standard Club. The football club has age group teams from the 'Saturday Morning Club' and Under-7's through to Under-15's. Each age group team plays in the club's traditional yellow shirts and blue shorts in the Selby District League. The home games for each age-group are played in Elvington at the Lower Derwent Sports & Social Club. The club is financed through player subscriptions and fund-raising activities.


Airfield

The Yorkshire Air Museum is based at Elvington Airfield, a former
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 ...
bomber station. The main runway was expanded in the Cold War era to become one of the longest in Europe, which enabled it to accept large American bombers such as the B52. The Yorkshire Airshow, the largest in the North of England, was held here annually (now bi-annually) during August. The airfield has a
race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...
, which is used for drag racing and other motorsport events. In November 1966, Italian motor scooter rider Alberto Ancillotti on his
Lambretta Lambretta () is the brand name of mainly motor scooters, initially manufactured in Milan, Italy, by Innocenti. The name is derived from the word Lambrate, the suburb of Milan named after the river Lambro which flows through the area, and whe ...
bike established the 106 mph terminal speed record at this venue.Ancilotti.com
/ref> In the 1970s the airfield was the outdoor location for a series of '' Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt!'', a situation comedy on British television.


Top Gear ''Vampire'' dragster crash

During filming of a ''Top Gear'' segment filmed at the airbase on 20 September 2006, Richard Hammond was injured in the crash of the jet-powered car he was piloting. He was travelling at at the time of the crash.


Gallery

File:Boats on the Derwent at Elvington - geograph.org.uk - 1384488.jpg, Boats on the Derwent File:Elvington Primary School - geograph.org.uk - 353999.jpg, Elvington Primary School File:War Memorial at Elvington - geograph.org.uk - 354019.jpg, War Memorial File:Yorkshire Air Museum (8211).jpg, Yorkshire Air Museum File:Handley Page Dart Herald 213 Channel Express, EGYK Elvington, United Kingdom PP1093936720.jpg, Large Aircraft at the Air Museum File:Sutton Lock, River Derwent - geograph.org.uk - 139101.jpg, Elvington Lock File:Service station on the B1228 - geograph.org.uk - 2359375.jpg, Services File:Wheldrake Lake and windmill - geograph.org.uk - 2361414.jpg, The Old Windmill File:Apron at Elvington - geograph.org.uk - 566281.jpg, Elvington Airstrip


References


External links


Elvington Village website

Elvington in British History Online
* {{authority control Villages in the City of York Civil parishes in North Yorkshire