Wetwang

There are two interpretations of the name. One is from the Old Norse vaett-vangr, or 'field for the trial of a legal action'. Another theory is that it was the "Wet Field" compared to the nearby dry field at Driffield.^[3]

The name is jokingly defined in The Meaning of Liff by Douglas Adams as meaning "a moist penis".^[4] In some varieties of English, wang or whang is a slang term for penis.^[5][6][7] The name Wetwang has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.^[8][9]

The village is known for its Iron Age chariot burial cemetery at Wetwang Slack,^[10] and it has been speculated that the unlocated Romano-British town of Delgovicia may have been at what is now Wetwang.^[11]

Before the Norman Conquest (TRE) Ealdraed held Wetwang, and it was worth £4 per year in rent.^[12]

The village is mentioned twice in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Wetuuangha. The lesser mention simply records its existence: "In Wetwang the archbishop 13+1⁄2 carucates". The mention is under "Warter Hundred" on original folio 381V: East Riding.^[13] Earlier in the Domesday Book, there is a fuller description (Folio 302V: Yorkshire) within the listing of the land of the Archbishop of York:

In Wetwang there are 13+1⁄2 carucates to the geld, and there could be 7 ploughs. Archbishop Ealdraed held this as 1 manor. Now Archbishop Thomas has it and it is waste. TRE worth £4. This manor is 2 leagues long and 1+1⁄2 broad

— Folio 302V: Yorkshire) within the listing of the land of the Archbishop of York

A carucate is the area of land a man with 8 oxen can plough in a season, sometimes cited as around 120 acres (49 ha). In Wetwang there were 13+1⁄2 of them available for the tax take ("geld"). A "plough" was a carucate which was being ploughed, rather than grazed or fallow. A league is around 3 miles (4.8 km). After the conquest, Wetwang was waste land held by Archbishop Thomas. ^[12]

St Nicholas's Church is of Norman origin and was restored between 1845 and 1902. In 1966, the church was designated a Grade II* listed building.^[14] It is on the Sykes Churches Trail devised by the East Yorkshire Churches Group.^[15] The church has a ring of three bells (tenor 7 long cwt 0 qr 12 lb; 796 lb or 361 kg in A), the oldest of which (the tenor) dates from c. 1450.^[16]

Wetwang was once known for its black swans, after which the village pub, the Black Swan, is named.^[17]

Until 1950, the village was served by Wetwang railway station, on the Malton to Driffield Line, but this line has closed.^[18] The village is now served by an infrequent East Yorkshire Motor Services bus.^[19]

Richard Whiteley of the Channel 4 quiz show Countdown held the honorary title Mayor of Wetwang from 1998 until his death in 2005.^[20] On 25 June 2006, local weather forecaster Paul Hudson from BBC Look North was invested as Whiteley's successor.^[21]