A village rooted in agriculture and Fairtrade

Cherry Burton, which sits outside the market town of Beverley in East Yorkshire, is a village built on agriculture.
The Main Street in Cherry BurtonThe Main Street in Cherry Burton
The Main Street in Cherry Burton

Records show it moved from medieval strip farming in the 1800s when parliamentary enclosure allocated blocks of land, with the responsibility for hedging lying with the landowner – a financial stretch too far for some, who sold out to wealthier owners.

Farming continued to be the dominant profession over the coming years.

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The look of the village changed considerably as it went through the 1800s and there were some major new buildings – some of which are still standing but with a different use and some which have been lost.

The converted Wesleyan Chapel which is now the village hallThe converted Wesleyan Chapel which is now the village hall
The converted Wesleyan Chapel which is now the village hall

A village with links to the Cold War and a legacy tied to the seaA South Yorkshire village which was home to a leading suffragette and the last of the Vulcan BombersTwo chapels were built during this time, the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in 1824 and a Primitive Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in 1851.

The railway came to the village in the 1860s and was served by the York-Beverley line until 1959. A school was built in 1872.

Of those, two remain. The Wesleyan Chapel, which is now the village hall, and the station building, now a private house.

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The village hall is a focal point for the community, with a number of clubs and groups using it. There is a small stage, which hosts productions such as the annual pantomime and live music through Cherry Burton Arts.

A Peace Day Celebrations concert is also held to mark the anniversary of the date the village first gave thanks for the end of the Great War.

While the old school building may have disappeared, there is still a primary school in the village, which has strong links to St Michael’s and All Angels Church.

The church is a busy community meeting place with refreshments served after the Sunday morning service and events such as the Cherry Makewells craft mornings, which take place each month.

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A community enterprise also sits behind the church in St Michael’s Centre. The Open Door Community cafe is run from St Michael’s Centre, using both Fairtrade and locally sourced produce.

The village became only the second Fairtrade village in the country in 2003.

Other amenities in the village include a village shop, which doubles as the Post Office, and a traditional pub, The Bay Horse.

In 2018 the village opened the Cherry Burton Trod, a rural footpath which provides a safe route along the verge of Etton Road.

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Before, walkers and cyclists had to travel down the 60mph road to reach the new path, created with funding from the EU Leader project and the parish council.

It now connects the village to the old railway line, the Hudson Way, providing a safe route for everyone to use.