Facts about Cottingham
General Info
Cottingham is a large village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies 4 miles (6 km) north-west of the centre of Kingston upon Hull, and 6 miles (10 km) south-east of Beverley on the eastern edge of the Yorkshire Wolds. It forms part of Hull’s Urban Area. It has two main shopping streets, Hallgate and King Street, which cross each other near the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, and a market square called Market Green. Cottingham had a population of 17,164 residents in 2011, making it larger by area and population than many towns. As a result, it is one of the villages claiming to be the largest village in England.
In 1319, Thomas de Wake received a charter allowing Cottingham to have two annual fairs and a weekly market; he also founded an Augustinian priory, licensed in 1320, and built by 1322. Due to potential disputes over the land it was built on, the priory moved to Newton south of Cottingham in 1325, becoming known as Haltemprice Priory.
By 1352, the lordship of Cottingham had passed from the de Wake family through Thomas Wake’s sister Margaret Wake, who married Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (1301–1330) to John, 3rd Earl of Kent (1330–1352). On John’s death, the manor passed to Margaret’s daughter Joan of Kent (‘The Fair Maid of Kent’), from whom the estate passed to Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent, her eldest son (whose stepfather was Edward the Black Prince). In 1407, with the Holland family line lacking a male heir, Cottingham was divided into three separate manors, known as Cottingham Richmond, Cottingham Westmoreland, and Cottingham Powis – each incorporated into the estates of the Duke of Richmond; the Earl of Westmoreland and Lord Powis through their marriages to Thomas Holland’s daughters.
History
“Cottingham” is thought to derive from both British and Saxon root words: “Cot” from Ket, relating to the deity Ceridwen; ing a water meadow; and ham meaning home; the name corresponding to “habitation in the water meadows of Ket”. The name has also been suggested to derive from a man’s name “Cotta” plus -inga- (OE belonging to/named after) and ham; corresponding to “habitation of cotta’s people”. Archaic spellings include Cotingeham (Domesday, 1086), and Cotingham (Charter, 1156; John Leland, 1770).
The pre-Conquest owner of Cottingham was Gamel, the son of Osbert, during the reign of Edward the Confessor in the 11th century. After the Norman Conquest of England the land was in the possession of Hugh fitzBaldric. At this time, the Domesday Book (1086) shows the Cottingham manor included a mill, five fisheries, woodland and farm land. In 1089 the manor was given to Robert Front de Boeuf, founder of the de Stuteville family line.Cottingham was, at this time, in the hundred of Welton in the historic county of Yorkshire.
