Alan Cartwright has written a fascinating history of Pocklington Canal, one of the most important factors affecting the prosperity of the town in the nineteenth century. Another of Phil Gilbank's excellent profiles of prominent people from Pocklington and it's surrounding area. A biography of the artist William Etty, whose statue can now be seen in York outside the city art gallery. Following up on the research into pubs and shops, some information and pictures on Meynell's shop in Market Place.

Who are this couple? When was it taken? These were the questions investigated by an interesting Internet workshop. Alan Cartwright reviewed internet sources and has provided a comprehensive list of internet links which can be accessed here. Andrew Sefton followed with a demonstration of how to use the internet to find out about a set of old photographs handed in to the town council. The outcome can be accessed here. A successful and enjoyable evening.

Stephan Ramsden is ERYC Beverley Curator and gave an interesting talk on how to conduct an oral history interview with some 'Golden Rules' and tips on using a sound recording machine.

The evening concluded with small groups doing test interviews using some test equipment that Stephan brought along. If anyone would like to interview someone, or be interviewed, then please let us know via the contacts page.

The Map on the right is Jeffries map of Pocklington for 1770. This was one of the maps examined and discussed on Monday last. About 40 people attended our first workshop. Andrew Sefton projected various old maps on to the screen and everyone made contributions about their own house, or features to be seen on the maps. Old field names such as 'Smelling Gap Close' and old street names like Hungate and Finkle Street were discussed, We even found 'Worms Lane' that someone was looking for. A most fascinating evening that we must repeat again.

Alun Pugh's father Dei was a Halifax bomber pilot and was stationed at Pocklington for the last 2 years of the war. In that time he was to fly ops to Europe, ditch in the North sea and lose 4 of his crew. He also met Marie-a WAAF at Pocklington whom he married. Alun read from his diaries that Dei recorded at the time. His exploits are also recorded in several books. Alun brought Memorabilia and the war diaries for display. Also on display was a superb map of Pocklington Airfield in the war which shows the location and function of every building and has been donated to the group. An interesting evening was enjoyed by all.

New Updates!

I have updated the website with a lot of new material. Three trade directories Kelly's 1889, Bulmers 1892, Kelly's 1937 a profile on the Pocklington photographer Michael Tayleure, an extent of 1260, The Enclosures Act of 1757, The Dolman Act of 1765, the Domesday Book entry and histories of all the surrounding villages in the district. Please feel free to contribute to the site with any research. The idea is to build a history of the town through Pocklington History Group member research .

In July, we had a group visit to Pocklington church with an excellent talk and tour given by the rector of Pocklington Church, Chris Simmonds. The highlight of the evening was a walk up to the top of the tower with superb views of the surrounding countryside.

A welcome was made by June Malcom (Mayor of Pocklington) who started the creation of the committee. A constitution was adopted and membership was to be no charge but with a small charge at the door to cover costs. Andrew Sefton invited Roger Bellingham to become President of the group and give the first talk to the group on Record Sources for Pocklington. The next committee meeting will decide a programme and plan of action for the forthcoming year.

The committee was voted in and consists of:

Chairman – Jo Green
Secretary – Alan Cartwright (temporary)
Treasurer – Peter Green
Archivist/Webmaster – Andrew Sefton
Committee – Hilary Angle, Rowan Blake-James, David Bowman, Phil Gilbank, Dennis Moor, Paul Jennings, Jeff Shepherd