Yokefleet (also known as Yorkfleet) is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

and former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, now in the parish of

Blacktoft Blacktoft is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The village is situated on the north bank of the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse, west from where it joins the River Trent and becom ...

, in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...

, England. A very small part of Yokefleet is in the civil parish of Laxton. It is situated on the north bank of the River Ouse, downstream from

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse. At the 2021 Census, it had a population of 17,193. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; from 1974 until 2023, ...

and

Goole Goole is a port town and civil parish on the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town's Historic counties of England, historic county is the West Riding of Yorkshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom censu ...

. In 1931 the parish had a population of 102. Yokefleet is approximately south-east from

Howden Howden () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of York to the north of the M62 motorway, M62, on the A614 road about south-east of York and north of Goole, ...

and south-east from the

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

. Yokefleet lies within the Parliamentary constituency of

Goole and Pocklington Goole and Pocklington is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election. Its Member ...

. Yokefleet Hall is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

mansion house of

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

design by architect

Cuthbert Brodrick Cuthbert Brodrick FRIBA (1 December 1821 – 2 March 1905) was a British architect, whose most famous building is Leeds Town Hall. Early life Brodrick was born in the Yorkshire port of Hull where his father was a well-to-do merchant and sh ...

. The hall is on the eastern edge of the hamlet and the current house was built between 1868 and 1874 according to the York Georgian Society.

History

Yokefleet is one of the ancient manors mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The original Manor House was located on a moated site in the hamlet. In 1823 Yokefleet had a population of 199, which included a

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of Serfdom, servants in an Peerage of England, English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in Kingdom of England, mid-1 ...

farmer, a corn

miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...

, and a cattle dealer. It contained a windmill which served "as a mark for sailors to navigate the river". By 1831 Yokefleet population had dropped to 190, within a parish area of which included ecclesiastical land and Walling

Fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

. The land mainly belonged to the Empson family who were impropriators—lay persons as patrons of

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

clergy. There was a

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

chapel. Occupations by this time included seven farmers, a school teacher for the local school, a corn miller, tailor, and two shoemakers, one of whom was a shopkeeper. A descendant of the Empson family, born at Yokefleet Hall, was

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Sir

William Empson Sir William Empson (27 September 1906 – 15 April 1984) was an English literary critic and poet, widely influential for his practice of closely reading literary works, a practice fundamental to New Criticism. His best-known work is his firs ...

(1906 – 1984).

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

named his horse after Yokefleet and was seen having trouble controlling the horse at

Horse Guards Parade Horse Guards Parade is a large Military parade, parade ground off Whitehall in central London (at British national grid reference system, grid reference ). It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the K ...

, London in 1953. In early December 2013 Yokefleet, among other regional settlements was subject to flooding due to a tidal surge on the Ouse the largest in 60 years. According to the

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

, damage caused would have been worse had it not been for the flood defences in place across the region. A 2014 Flood Investigation Report from East Riding of Yorkshire Council recommended that affected property owners should "develop a personal flood plan". However, improved flood defences are likely to be introduced across the region, including the significant raising of the river bank in order to ensure such flooding does not reoccur. The Environment Agency expressed confidence in such flood defences being improved by the government in order to prevent further flooding in the Haltemprice and Howden constituency and across the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Governance

Yokefleet was formerly a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in the parish of Howden, in 1866 Yokefleet became a civil parish, on 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Blacktoft, part also went to Howden and to form

Gilberdyke Gilberdyke is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately south-east of York and west of Hull. Gilberdyke lies near to Howden which is away. It lies on the B1230 road, south of the M62 ...

Gallery

File:Yokefleet Hall - geograph.org.uk - 635695.jpg, Yokefleet Hall File:Yokefleet.jpg, Looking west into Yokefleet from near the Manor House File:Windmill at Yokefleet - panoramio (1).jpg, Historic windmill at River Ouse, Yokefleet

Notable people

* Sir

– Literary critic and poet

References

External links

* * {{East Yorkshire, state=collapsed Hamlets in the East Riding of Yorkshire Cuthbert Brodrick buildings Former civil parishes in the East Riding of Yorkshire