Yorkshire Maypoles No.14. ELVINGTON
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Yorkshire Maypoles
No.14. ELVINGTON
from The Barwicker No.50
Situated about six miles to the south-east
of York, the village of Elvington is a
settlement of neat well-maintained dwellings of
the mottled red brick that is common in the East
Riding, together with a few small modern housing
developments.
A short distance from the village centre,
the road crosses the River Derwent by a fine
stone bridge with two elegant arches. Below the
bridge is a weir and a lock which allows boats to
proceed up the river in the direction of Stamford
Bridge. Nearby there is a major scheme for the
abstraction of domestic water from the river.
The tall stone-built church with its
square tower, wooden bell chamber and squat
steeple stands between the houses of the village
and the river meadows. The Elvington aerodrome
is a mile or two out of the village.
In the centre of the village is a long
neat green, flanked on one side by the beck and
the road, and on the other by houses and the post
office. The Elvington Maypole stands in the
centre of this attractive publicly-owned space.
The wooden pole is set in a sunken steel
pipe and is a modest 20 feet or so in height,
divided along its length into brightly painted
quarters of white (2), red and blue. The top of
the pole has no adornments of any sort but about
12 feet from the ground there is a ring of small
ribbon hooks.
The Elvington Maypole was a telegraph pole
which was donated to the community and it was put
up in 1977 by a group of villagers, including Mr
Terry Wilson, the present Chairman of the Parish
Council, to commemorate the Queen's Silver
Jubilee.
The children of the village danced round
the pole on that occasion and have done so ever
since at the annual church fête in the early
summer. They are taught the maypole dances at
the Elvington Church of England Primary School.
The pole has not been taken down since it was
erected but it is re-painted when necessary.
We are sure that our readers will join me
in wishing every success to the Elvington Fete
Committee in maintaining the maypole traditions
in their area. I thank Mr and Mrs Wilson for
kindly supplying information about the maypole.
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