The villages of Skerne and Wansford lie nestled in the heart of the beautiful Yorkshire Wolds.
Offering the best of a rural
lifestyle with countryside walks, wildlife reserves and excellent fishing within
friendly village communities who wouldn’t want to
live here!
Skerne was mentioned in the Domesday Book as a small village and appears to have changed little since.
It is approximately 2 miles
south-east of Driffield.
In 1823 Skerne’s inhabitants numbered 251 and included 11 farmers, a tailor, a flax dresser who was also a corn miller
and the
landlord of the public house. Historically it is thought that the village had connections with Meaux Abbey
but later became part of
Lord Burlington’s Londesborough Estate and was sold off at the beginning of the 20th Century.
Over the years the village has lost
its blacksmiths, bakery, joiners shop, tailors, school and its public house, The Eagle,
which closed in 2004. The Eagle was one of
only eleven public houses in the UK that did not have a bar, beer was drawn directly from the barrels in the cellar and brough up in
enamel jugs.
The Grade I listed Anglican church is dedicated to St Leonard. The church is substantially Norman,
particularly the nave,
chancel and south doorway and was originally much larger than its present day form,
evidence of a north transept can be seen in the
arches that would have led to it. There are three
interior effigies that are possibly 12/13th Century that are opposite the church
door, a cross-legged knight holding
a small shield, a woman shown within a quatrefoil, and between these a baby.
Due to the sale of the village hall the church has become the focal point for village events and celebrations. For more information, including services and contact details please visit: https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/19115
Wansford is situated on the B1249, north of the Driffield Navigation and West Beck,
which is part of the River Hull catchment.
The village was once part of the Sledmere Estate but was put up for auction as freehold lots,
along with the villages of
Brigham and Rotsea, on the 3rd July 1918 at the Bell Hotel, Driffield.
Archaeological evidence would suggest that there was a settlement in Wansford as early as the Bronze Age
but probably earlier
due to the river, its surrounding fertile land and plentiful wildlife for hunting.
Wansford’s fortunes and population levels have been influenced by the building of the Driffield Navigation,
completed in 1770,
and the mills that were built on West Beck and Nafferton Beck and their subsequent demise.
Wansford resident Mrs Sheila Cadman’s book, Wansford Back To Its Roots, is well worth a read
especially for the ghost stories!
The book is available via the parish clerk.
St Mary’s was built in 1866-68 to designs by GE Street and commissioned by the Sykes family of Sledmere.
It is one of the few
Wolds churches that boasts a spire, now topped with a gilded weather vane that was added as
part of the £70,000 roof restoration
project completed in 2007 with funds of almost £30,000 being raised by the villagers alone. The church is a Grade II listed building
and remains the heart of the village with fund raising events being organised, hosted and supported by the villagers past and
present to ensure that it remains so for many years to come. St Mary’s is featured int eh Sykes Church Trail More information,
including contact details and service times can be
found here: https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/19118/
Wansford Village Hall was originally built in 1864 as a Primitive Methodist Chapel. Since 1977 it has been maintained
by a
charitable organisation governed by a voluntary body of trustees. The hall is used by various local groups
and holds weekly coffee
mornings on Wednesdays 10am and a Crafty Fingers group every Monday from 1pm.
It is available for private hire at a cost of £5 per
hour. It is fully accessible for wheelchair users and comfortably
seats up to 50 people, has a small kitchen and toilets.
Enquiries should be made to: shirleybotterill@yahoo.co.uk