Exhibition of historic maps to go on display at Pocklington Arts Centre

Pocklington and District Local History Group members (from left) David and Kay West, Jo and Peter Green and Andrew Sefton are pictured selecting historic local maps for the exhibition. Photo submitted

Pocklington and District Local History Group is displaying its archive of historic maps from across the district – all collected or created by local historians and mapmakers.

Entitled ‘Roger’s Maps’, the exhibition in the Pocklington Arts Centre studio will run for five weeks from Tuesday, February 22 to Saturday, March 26 (admission is free).

The inspiration behind it was the late history group president, Roger Bellingham; for many years a Pocklington solicitor, with history as a hobby; he then took early retirement and retrained as a distinguished local historian.

Along the way he gathered an archive of books and maps which he left to the local history group in his will.

Roger made maps as well as collecting them; and he produced charts detailing Pocklington’s 18th century enclosure awards and the town’s ancient watercourses.

The history group will also be displaying a selection of maps detailing Pocklington and surrounding villages from the 14th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and the maps of celebrated Victorian cartographer William Watson; plus a series of more recent compilations by local historians Mike Silburn and the late John Nottingham, who created tithe and enclosure maps for Melbourne, Seaton Ross, Thornton, East Cottingwith, Bielby, Fangfoss, KIlnwick Percy, Millington, Burnby, Yapham and Meltonby, Bishop Wilton, Barmby Moor and Allerthorpe.

In addition to the archive and creations provided by Roger, John and Mike; the history group’s exhibition will include the work of William Watson who was born in Seaton Ross in 1784, moved to George Street, and drew maps of Pocklington, Market Weighton and villages, and of the Pocklington Canal.

A history group spokesman said: “Roger Bellingham was an inspiration in setting up the local history group, and the archive he left us deserves to be displayed.

“However, although we are calling the exhibition ‘Roger’s Maps’ we are keen to go further and incorporate other important local maps, including those of John Nottingham.

“Whenever we put on an exhibition maps are always popular, and we hope that people from across the district will come down and get an impression of where they lived in years gone by.”

○ The exhibition is being supported by an East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Do It For East Yorkshire Community Grant.

If you would like further information about the grant visitwww.doitforeastyorkshire.co.uk/#community-grant.