Tockwith
{{Short description|Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2017}}
{{infobox UK place
| country = England
| coordinates = {{coord|53.96505|-1.28665|display=inline,title}}
| official_name = Tockwith
| static_image_name = Tockwith.jpg
| static_image_caption = Tockwith, the Boot and Shoe on the right
| population = 1,597
| unitary_england = North Yorkshire
| lieutenancy_england = North Yorkshire
| region = Yorkshire and the Humber
| constituency_westminster = Wetherby and Easingwold
| post_town = YORK
| postcode_district = YO26
| postcode_area = YO
| dial_code = 01423
| os_grid_reference = SE468523
}}
Tockwith is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, near the town of Wetherby and the city of York. There has been a village on the site since at least 1086 when Tocvi was mentioned in the Domesday Book. Tockwith's greatest claim to fame is being used as a staging post by Oliver Cromwell prior to the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644. He made reference to Tockwith in his diaries, in which he said: "If heaven should be half as blessed as the fields of Tockwith, all those who should pass St. Peter's Gate shall be met with joys unequalled".
Until 1974 it was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire.{{Cite web |title=History of Tockwith, in Harrogate and West Riding |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/14388 |access-date=19 April 2025 |website=A Vision of Britain}} From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the Borough of Harrogate, it is now administered by the unitary North Yorkshire Council.
Conservation area
On 20 January 1994, Tockwith was designated a conservation area.{{sfn|TCACA|2009|p=1}}
Etymology
The name Tockwith may derive from the Old English name Toc(c), and wic, which is most commonly interpreted as 'dairy farm'. The word wic was later exchanged for the Scandinavian word við(r) meaning 'wood'.{{cite book|last1=Mills|first1=A.D.|title=A dictionary of British place-names|date=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=9780199609086|page=465}}{{sfn|TCACA|2009|p=3}} The name of the village is recorded in a number of forms:
Tocvi in the Domesday Book of 1086
Tockwic and Tockwith in 1121-27
Tocwic in the early Yorkshire Charters of 1428 and 1430
Tocwyz in the 1249 Charter Rolls and
Tockewyht in the 1280 Charter Rolls
Tockheight in the 1460 Census
Tockwith in the 1723 Census
Tockwith in the 2011 Census{{sfn|TCACA|2009|p=3}}{{cite book |last1=Ekwall |first1=Eilert |author-link=Eilert Ekwall |title=The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names |date=1960 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |oclc=1228215388 |page=476 |edition=4}}
Historical information
File:Village shop and post office - geograph.org.uk - 665124.jpg
Tockwith played a major part in the English Civil War during the 17th century when the village was occupied by the Parliamentarian army commanded by Thomas Fairfax. In 1644, the Battle of Marston Moor occurred on the land between Tockwith and Long Marston.{{cite news|last1=Martel|first1=Stuart|title=Turmoil and tragedy in the North Yorkshire village of Tockwith|url=http://www.gazetteherald.co.uk/leisure/countrywalks/14454782.Turmoil_and_tragedy_in_the_North_Yorkshire_village_of_Tockwith/|accessdate=30 November 2017|work=Gazette & Herald|date=27 April 2016}} A stone monument on the road between the two villages commemorates the site.{{cite news|last1=Oake|first1=Sebastian|title=A place in the heart... the village people at the very centre of all things Yorkshire|url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/analysis/a-place-in-the-heart-the-village-people-at-the-very-centre-of-all-things-yorkshire-1-4290542|accessdate=30 November 2017|work=The Yorkshire Post|date=28 February 2012}} Cromwell mentioned the village favourably in his diaries; "If heaven should be half as blessed as the fields of Tockwith, all those who should pass St. Peter's Gate shall be met with joys unequalled".{{cite book|last1=Chrystal|first1=Paul|title=The Place Names of Yorkshire; Cities, Towns, Villages, Hills, Rivers and Dales - Some Pubs too, in Praise of Yorkshire Ales|date=2017|publisher=Stenlake Publishing|location=Catrine|isbn=9781840337532|page=83}}
RAF Tockwith was opened on the western edge of the village in November 1941. Most Royal Air Force bases are named after the parish in which their headquarters are located in,{{cite journal|title=A brief history of the Royal Air Force|journal=Royal Air Force Air Publications|date=2004|issue=1|page=376|ref=AP3003|oclc=69224300}} but to prevent confusion with RAF Topcliffe near Thirsk, the base was named RAF Marston Moor.{{cite book|last1=Delve|first1=Ken|title=Northern England : Co. Durham, Cumbria, Isle of Man, Lancashire, Merseyside, Manchester, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Yorkshire|date=2006|publisher=Crowood|location=Ramsbury|isbn=1-86126-809-2|page=188}}
=Stirling air crash =
File:Aerial photographs of the former RAF Marton Moor (29th May 2021) 001.jpg
At 1.34am on Tuesday 9 October 1945, a Stirling bomber which was about to land on RAF Marston Moor crashed in the main street of Tockwith, killing the village postmaster and the six crew members as well as destroying nineteen houses.{{cite news|title=Village tragedy remembered 70 years on|url=http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/13840649.Village_tragedy_remembered_70_years_on/|accessdate=30 November 2017|work=York Press|date=12 October 2015}} Amongst the crew members killed was former York City footballer Albert Bonass.{{cite web|title=Stirling Aircrash Tockwith Village 9th October 1945|url=http://www.tockwith.gov.uk/Tockwith-Wilstrop-Parish-Council/UserFiles/Files/Forthcoming%20Events%20and%20Information/TWPC%20Press%20release%20re%20monument.pdf|publisher=Tockwith Parish Council|accessdate=21 December 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304134617/http://www.tockwith.gov.uk/Tockwith-Wilstrop-Parish-Council/UserFiles/Files/Forthcoming%20Events%20and%20Information/TWPC%20Press%20release%20re%20monument.pdf|url-status=dead}}
On 11 October 2015, a memorial was erected at Tockwith to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the crash.{{cite web |date=6 October 2015 |title=Tockwith Church Remembers Stirling Bomber Plane Crash |url=http://dioceseofyork.org.uk/news-events/news/tockwith-church-remembers-stirling-bomber-plane-crash/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222130645/http://dioceseofyork.org.uk/news-events/news/tockwith-church-remembers-stirling-bomber-plane-crash/ |archive-date=22 December 2015 |accessdate=21 December 2015 |publisher=Diocese of York}}{{cite web|title=Memorial marks 70 years of Tockwith plane crash|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-34500225|publisher=BBC|accessdate=21 December 2015|date=11 October 2015}}{{cite web|title=Memorial to mark the 70th anniversary of Tockwith bomber crash|url=http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/12867759.Memorial_to_mark_the_70th_anniversary_of_Tockwith_bomber_crash/|publisher=The Press|accessdate=21 December 2015|location=York|date=2 April 2015}}
Tockwith church
File:Church of the Epiphany, Tockwith - geograph.org.uk - 665146.jpg
The Tockwith Church of the Epiphany was consecrated in 1866, and was designed by Mallinson and Healey.{{sfn|TCACA|2009|p=3}} The grade II listed building is a large aisleless cruciform church in the Geometrical style with a cylindrical bell turret.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1390925|desc=Church of the Epiphany|grade=II|accessdate=30 November 2017}}{{cite web|title=History {{!}} Tockwith Church|url=http://www.tockwithchurch.co.uk/history/|website=www.tockwithchurch.co.uk|accessdate=30 November 2017}}
Village layout
Tockwith is situated {{convert|13|km|0|order=flip}} west of York{{cite map|title =York |map =290 |year =2015 |scale =1:25,000 |series =Explorer |publisher =Ordnance Survey |isbn =9780319244876 }} and {{convert|7|km|0|order=flip}} north-east of Wetherby.{{cite map|title =Leeds |map =289 |year =2015 |scale =1:25,000 |series =Explorer |publisher =Ordnance Survey |isbn = 9780319244869 }} The village is approached through relatively flat farmlands from the west along Fleet Lane, with the church clearly visible. The village has grown significantly since the war, with several large developments on its boundaries. There are two public houses in the heart of the village, the Boot and Shoe and the Spotted Ox.{{sfn|TCACA|2009|pp=3–10}}
Sports facilities
Tockwith has one of the finest 'grass roots' level football pitches in the country; it has appeared in several magazines and local groundsman Joe Wilson was awarded "Highly Commended" in the FA Groundsman of the Year Awards for Steps 7 and below for the 2006 season, awarded 1st place in 2007 and 2nd place in 2008.{{cite news|last1=Kelly|first1=Tony|title=Tockwith's Joe Wilson is ace on terra firma|url=http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/sport/1681718.Tockwith___s_Joe_Wilson_is_ace_on_terra_firma/|accessdate=30 November 2017|work=York Press|date=12 September 2007}} There is also a second football pitch, which the junior teams use. There is a large training area and a pavilion. Tockwith AFC fields a 1st and 2nd team every Saturday who play in the York Minster League.{{cite news|last1=Martini|first1=Peter|title=Minster League divisions 1-4 round-up: Tockwith go forth at top|url=http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/sport/15671965.Minster_League_divisions_1_4_round_up__Tockwith_go_forth_at_top/|accessdate=30 November 2017|work=York Press|date=20 November 2017}}
There is also a bowls green (made of grass) and tennis courts (made of concrete) at the same location, which require membership.
References
{{Reflist}}
=Sources=
- {{cite report|title=Tockwith Conservation Area Character Appraisal|url=https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/downloads/file/784/conservation_area_-_tockwith|publisher=Harrogate Borough Council|date=14 October 2009|format=PDF|ref={{Harvid|TCACA|2009}} }}
External links
{{Commons category|Tockwith}}
- [http://tockwithfestivals.co.uk/ Tockwith Festival]
- [http://www.tockwith.gov.uk/ Tockwith with Wilstrop Parish Council]
- [http://www.tockwith.net/ Tockwith Residents Association]
- [http://tockwithshow.org.uk/ Tockwith and District Agricultural Show]
- [http://www.tockwith-together.info/ Tockwith-Together- Everything about Tockwith- in one place]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20130718055750/http://tockwithplayers.com/ Tockwith Players]
{{authority control}}
Category:Villages in North Yorkshire
Category:Civil parishes in North Yorkshire
Category:Aviation accidents and incidents locations in England