For the love of Wetwang

The Countdown host's association with the Wolds village began in bizarre fashion. He would regularly declare his love for the name Wetwang on the Channel Four show and even professed a desire to be the village's mayor. As the opening of an extension to Wetwang C of E School was in the offing, Mr Whiteley was invited to take up the mayoralty and do the honours at the school. He, of course, accepted and the rest, as they say, is history.

These days, he visits Wetwang once or twice a year, though he is often heard imparting on air the latest news about the village, often taken from the local newsletter, The Wetwang Tattler. Villager Janet Ella confides that she even heard Wetwang mentioned on Radio Two the other day. The situation, however, does tend to cause confusion among visitors. Ian Ringham, landlord of The Black Swan in the village, laughs: "People often come into the pub and ask where Richard Whiteley's house is." Of course, on that score, they leave disappointed.

It was the quite spectacular name 'Wetwang' which first attracted Richard Whiteley's attention and it is this aspect of the village which does excite plenty of interest outside the community. The theory is that the word dates back to Viking times and the term 'Vertvanger', meaning meeting place or place of justice. The former is certainly suggested by the fact that Wetwang sits on the spot where the road from Bridlington to York crosses the road from Beverley to Malton.

The first mention of Wetwang was in the Domesday Book, but a settlement was clearly on the site way before then, as confirmed by an archaeological discovery of great significance made earlier this year. Workmen employed by Hogg the Builder in the construction of new housing at the eastern end of Wetwang chanced upon a skeleton buried with all kinds of unusual artefacts.

Archaeologists poured on to the site and it transpired that the skeleton was that of an aristocratic female warrior who had been buried with parts of her chariot during the Iron Age. It is believed that Wetwang may have been a tribal centre for the Parisi, who were thriving in the North during the time of the first Roman forays into this country. "Our princess," jokes villager Bill Buckle. "We're thinking of making this a royal borough."

In more recent times, Wetwang buzzed with activity as the centre for farming in the area. In 1870, the village included among its ranks four joiners and wheelwrights, four blacksmiths, three boot and shoe makers, one rope maker, one corn miller, a doctor and two inn keepers.

David Storey, who was until recently chairman of Wetwang parish council, points out: "It was a typical Wolds village in that the main street was supported by two back streets. In this village, these were Northfield Road and Southfield Road and they were called back lanes or back streets."

The farms which dominated the village fronted the main street and stretched back to Northfield Road or Southfield Road behind, depending on which side of the road they were situated. The extent to which Wetwang thrived in those days is illustrated by the fact that there used to be a village railway station, with a train known affectionately as the Malton Dodger. The passenger service was discontinued in 1950 and eight years later, the freight service was also disbanded and the railway tracks lifted.

Today, Wetwang has a population of about 800 people and villagers are sad to report that it has succumbed somewhat and become a commuter village. But it is far from reaching dormitory status. It still has its two pubs, The Black Swan and The Victoria, a doctor's surgery, village shop, post office, fish and chip shop and, of course, the village school. Until recently, there was a garage and petrol station and even a volunteer fire station.

Religion is very much to the fore, with St Paul's Methodist Chapel in the Main Street as well as the imposing Church of St Nicholas, which dates back to 1140. One of the most recent additions to Wetwang is the hugely impressive community hall, which was completed last year to replace the old village hall. Resplendent in a deep-red brick colour, marking its distinctive newness, the hall hosts badminton, short-mat bowls, line-dancing, a youth club, karate classes, yoga courses, to name just a few of the activities. It is also of great importance to the village school and that of nearby Garton-on-the-Wolds for a variety of uses, notably PE.

Villager Bill Buckle explained that Wetwang residents began a village lottery in 1994 to raise funds to construct the building. Locals bagged £26,000, local authorities handed over some £50,000, while the National Lottery stepped in with a whopping £407,000 grant, which made the scheme a reality.

Mr Buckle said: "The facilities are used every day of the week. After 12 months, we have come out in the black, which means we can start putting money away for any repairs that may have to be done."

Villagers are currently working on the Wetwang pond, which is home to the famous black swans that give the adjacent pub its name. In times past, the pond was far larger and there was another at the western end of the village. The swans were introduced by a previous landlord of the pub, and current licensee Ian Ringham is the latest to be trusted with the task of looking after the swans' welfare. Currently, there is just one black swan at the pond and Mr Ringham, who has run the pub for the last nine-and-a-half years, is looking towards bringing in two new swans and sending the current incumbent to a reserve for a pleasant retirement.

He said: "We're wanting to rejuvenate the pond by repairing the bank and using willow-weaving down the sides. We have some wooden railway sleepers which were given to us by Jarvis (the York-based rail maintenance firm) and we're putting them around the bank. There are volunteer days every so often and people come down to help plant reeds and rushes."

Alongside the village pond runs a rather less enviable facet of Wetwang - the A166 York to Bridlington road, which is busy enough off-season, but becomes choked with traffic in summer as tourists head for the coast. To make the village more tranquil for humans and swans alike, 30mph signs have just gone up at either end of the village and shortly there are expected to be lights attached which flash at drivers breaking the speed limit. "It is very salutary," observes villager Geoff Beaumont.

But whatever the traffic situation, Wetwang will always retain its happy position in the heart of the Wolds, affording its residents views of the lushly verdant fields which gently undulate all around. "It is a lovely place to live," says Pam Storey, who was clerk to the parish council for many years, but is now due to leave Wetwang for pastures new. "When I go for a walk in the morning. I think 'I'm going to miss it so much here.' It's absolutely beautiful."

Updated: 10:54 Thursday, December 13, 2001