Town with 3,000 years of culture aiming for UK title

Few small towns can claim to be at the heart of an ancient culture but Pocklington, in East Yorkshire, can argue it is among them.

In 2017, the "highly unusual" discovery of a chariot and horse skeletons on a housing development shed light on the Arras culture, which flourished in East Yorkshire during the Iron Age.

A charioteer was found buried on top of the remnants of a circular bronze shield and probably lived between 200-300BC, though parts of the site are believed to be 500 years older than that.

Thousands of years on, Pocklington is writing a new chapter in its history by bidding to becoming the first UK Town of Culture in 2028.

Nestled at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds, the town of 10,000 is very much in the shadow of the great city of York, which is just 13 miles (21km) up the road, but locals say it has plenty to shout about in its own right.

"Pocklington has an immense history," town mayor Roly Cronshaw says.

"The Vikings were here, the Romans were here. There's been lots of artefacts found."

A more modern link can be found in many of the town's street names, which pay tribute to airmen who died during World War Two.

"They were based at Pocklington Airfield with their bombers. Sadly not all of them made it home," Cronshaw adds.

Towns across Yorkshire have thrown their flat caps into the ring to be crowned Town of Culture after the government announced a £3m fund for the winner.

The competition is part of efforts to "restore pride in communities" with towns encouraged to showcase their "unique stories".

Pocklington might be seen as the underdog in a fight against the likes of Whitby, with its link to Dracula and the famous Goth weekend, and Scarborough, which claims to be Britain's first seaside resort.

But Andy Bowden, who chairs Pocklington Rugby in the Community, is confident.

"We think we've got what it takes," he says. "We've got the history, we've got the opportunity, and we've got the vision."

Locally, the town has a thriving sports club, a nationally renowned gliding festival, and Burnby Hall and Gardens, which has about 100 individual varieties of snowdrops and a national collection of more than 80 varieties of hardy water lilies.

A statue of William Wilberforce, the anti-slavery campaigner, stands outside Pocklington School, which he attended before becoming the MP for Hull.

The late playwright Tom Stoppard and the actor Adrian Edmondson were also educated here.

Other famous names are associated with the town's arts centre, which has hosted performances by the likes of comedian Russell Kane and acclaimed musicians Richard Hawley and Lucinda Williams.

Dave Parker, who manages the centre, says: "I think it will be impactful for the venue. We offer comedy, music, theatre, we're a cinema as well.

"We do lots of community work. So if the town were to get that, it would be a big part of it."

Sylvia and Leonard Webster, who live in York but are shopping in the town, describe Pocklington as "laid back".

"We think it's a really, really, really nice place. They haven't tried to modernise too much."

Among the attractions is a market every Tuesday. Anita Jepson, who runs a cheese stall, says being named Town of Culture would "boost the town's moral" as well as trade.

Fellow trader Dave adds: "It's a lovely place. It's a nice market town. A nice place to visit and a nice place to shop."

The first UK Town of Culture will not be chosen until next year. Before that, there will be three finalists, including one small town (with a population under 20,000), one medium town (20,000 to 75,000) and one large town (more than 75,000).

The winner will be given a £3m prize, with the runners-up getting £250,000 each.

"Ideally, if we win, the plans and projects that we think we're going to put into place will involve the community," Cronshaw says.

"So it'll give a feeling of pride and wellbeing."

If their bid does succeed, a year of cultural events may well pay tribute to one of the most famous figures from Pocklington's history.

Thomas Pelling was a travelling showman who fell to his death from the church tower while performing a tightrope act in 1733 – an episode that inspired the town's Flying Man Festival.

This time around, the people of Pocklington will be hoping they can defy gravity.

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