Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for HEDON, or HEYDON

HEDON, or HEYDON, a small decayed town, a parish, and a sub-district, in Sculcoates district, E. R. Yorkshire. The town stands on the Hull and Holderness railway, and on the Keyingham Level drain, 1¾ mile from the Humber, and 5¼ E of Hull. It is thought, by some, to have been of note in the time of Athelstane; was enfranchised in the time of Henry II.; sent two members to parliament in the time of Edward I., but ceased to send them in the next reign; sent two again from the time of Edward VI. till disfranchised by the act of 1832; and had a charter from Elizabeth, confirming numerous previous charters, and giving it municipal government by a mayor, nine aldermen, a recorder, two bailiffs, and other officers. It was, at one time, above Hull as a seat of trade and commerce; and it had a harbour, seemingly of good depth and capacity, which became choked up, and is now represented by a luxuriant meadow. The town was nearly all destroyed by fire, in 1656, but was afterwards rebuilt; and it now consists chiefly of one long street, with a market place in the centre. It is a seat of petty sessions, the seat of a county court, and a pollingplace; and it has a post office‡ under Hull, a railway station with telegraph, a good inn, a town hall, an ancient cross, a church, two dissenting chapels, a Roman Catholic chapel, a mechanics' institute, a national school, and several alms houses. The town hall is a neat brick edifice. The ancient cross is a beautiful object; was brought to Hedon in 1 832; is believed to have been erected at Ravenspurn, in commemoration of the Earl of Hereford's landing there in 1399; and, in consequence of the encroachments of the sea, was removed first to Kilnsea, afterwards to Burton-Constable, and finally to H edon. The church is cruciform; measures 164½ feet from E to W, and 103 from N to S; is variously early English, decorated, and perpendicular; was partially restored in 1869; has a central tower, 120 feet high; contains three sedilia and a piscina; and is so fine a structure as to be called " the pride of Holderness." There were formerly two other churches; and there was also, of the time of King John, a lepers' hospital, dedicated to the Holy Sepulchre. A market for cattle is held on every altci.nate Monday; fairs, for cattle and horses, are held on 2 Aug., 22 Sept., 17 Nov., and 6 Dec.; a cattle show, of the Holderness Agricultural Society, is held in March and September; and an exhibition of poultry, vegetables, fruit, and flowers, is held every autumn. A small canal from the Humber now serves in lieu of the ancient harbour, and is used for a coasting trade in corn, coal, lime, and other commodities. There are a brewery, a ropery, a corn mill, and extensive brick and tile works.—The parish comprises 1, 440 acres. Real property, £3, 429. Pop. in 1851, 1, 029; in 1861, 975. Houses, 213.—The sub-district contains also Marfleet parish and Preston township. Acres, 8, 948. Pop., 2, 053. Houses, 460.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a small decayed town, a parish, and a sub-district"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Hedon CP/Ch       Hedon SubD       Sculcoates RegD/PLU       Yorkshire AncC
Place names: HEDON     |     HEDON OR HEYDON     |     HEYDON
Place: Hedon

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