Market Weighton

Market Weighton (/ˌmɑːrkɪt ˈwiːtən/ WEE-tən) is a town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is one of the main towns in the East Yorkshire Wolds and lies midway between Hull and York, about 20 miles (32 km) from either one. According to the 2021 UK Census Market Weighton parish had a population of 7,459,^[1] an increase on the 2011 UK census population of 6,429,^[2] which was an increase on the 2001 UK census figure of 5,212.^[3]

Market Weighton
Town
High Street Yorkshire Giant All Saints Church
Market Weighton Location within the East Riding of Yorkshire
Population	7,459 (2021 Census)[1]
OS grid reference	SE879417
Civil parish	Market Weighton
Unitary authority	East Riding of Yorkshire
Ceremonial county	East Riding of Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	YORK
Postcode district	YO43
Dialling code	01430
Police	Humberside
Fire	Humberside
Ambulance	Yorkshire
UK Parliament	Bridlington and The Wolds
List of places UK England Yorkshire 53.8642°N 0.6624°W / 53.8642; -0.6624

History

The 19th-century English lexicographer Sir William Smith proposed Market Weighton as the location of the still-undiscovered Roman camp of Delgovicia. In the 16th century the antiquarian William Camden had also identified Delgovicia with this town, which he called Wighton.^[4] Historically the town was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Wicstun", and was granted its charter to become a market town in 1251; the markets ceased in the nineteenth century.^[5] Notable architecture includes: a parish church, parts of which are Norman, the Londesborough Arms (an 18th-century coaching inn), a Wesleyan chapel, a Methodist chapel and a high street still recognisable from the 19th century. Other sights of interest include the post office, the duck pond and Station Farm. Market Weighton history includes William Bradley, the Yorkshire Giant who at the age of 20 was 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m) tall. In May of each year local residents take to the streets of Market Weighton for the Giant Bradley Day (formerly Giant Community Day) festival in a celebration of the life and times of William Bradley. Industry in the town is largely based on agriculture. The town is known geologically for having given its name to the Market Weighton Axis.

The Yorkshire Wolds Way National Trail, a long-distance footpath, passes through the town.

Governance

Market Weighton Town Council
Emblem
Type
Type	Town Council
Leadership
Mayor	Cllr Lionel Cashin
Deputy Mayor	Cllr Diane Peaks
Acting Town clerk	Kevin Keller
Structure
Seats	13 Councillors[6]
Independent	12 / 13
Yorkshire Party	1 / 16
Conservative	1 / 13
Elections
Voting system	Plurality-at-large
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Town Hall, Market Weighton
Website
www.marketweightontowncouncil.gov.uk

As a civil parish, Market Weighton has a town council, which operates under the East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

In 2003, after some local consultation, the Weighton Area Regeneration Partnership (WARP) adopted a slogan and logo, 'The Heart of East Yorkshire', intended to indicate both its central location in the county and the strength of the local community.^[7] WARP was dissolved in 2012 but the phrase continued in use to promote the area and on local signage.

Landmarks

All Saints’ Church

Market Weighton has three churches. These are All Saints’ Church, St John's Methodist Church and the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The church dedicated to All Saints was designated a Grade I listed building in 1967 and is now recorded in the National Heritage List for England, maintained by Historic England.^[8]

Transport

The A1079 bypass

Market Weighton railway station was at the junction of the lines to Selby, Driffield, York and Beverley. The last train ran in 1965.^[9] The abandoned lines to Beverley and to Selby are now used as public paths as the Hudson Way and Bubwith Rail Trail, respectively.

Bus services, provided by East Yorkshire Motor Services, link the town with Beverley, Hull, Pocklington, York, Holme on Spalding Moor, Driffield and Bridlington.

The three-mile £5.1 million A1079 bypass opened in March 1991.

The Minsters Rail Campaign is campaigning to re-open the railway line between Beverley and York (with stops at Stamford Bridge, Pocklington and Market Weighton). The re-opened railway would skirt the edge of the town, as the former alignment has since been built over.^[10]

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC Yorkshire and ITV Yorkshire. Television signals are received from the Emley Moor TV transmitter.^[11] However, BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire region is also the default BBC One variant given to Market Weighton postcodes on Channel 101 through satellite television such as Freesat.

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Humberside, Greatest Hits Radio East Yorkshire, Hits Radio East Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire, Nation Radio East Yorkshire, Capital Yorkshire and Vixen 101 is a community based radio station which broadcast to the town.^[12]

The town is served by the local newspaper, Hull Daily Mail.^[13]

Business

In the 1960s and 1970s Market Weighton had a Rolls-Royce and Bentley dealership owned by Robert B Massey and Company Ltd.^[14][15]

Notable people

• Jane Winifred Young Elgey née Reid (1929-2024) Child internee of the Japanese Honorary Freewoman of Market Weighton
• William Bradley (1787–1820), tallest ever Briton^[16]
• Barbara Foxley (1860–1958), suffragist and professor of education^[17]
• William Umpleby Kirk (1843–1928), photographer
• Frank Mitchell (1872–1935), cricketer^[18]
• Hilda Lyon (1896–1946), engineer who invented the Lyon Shape^[19]

See also

• Market Weighton Canal
• The Market Weighton School