Recent articles

  • Blind Peter Barker

    Remembering Hampsthwaite’s Blind Joiner - an article by Shaun WilsonLike the market town of Knaresborough, who had ‘Blind Jack’ – John Metcalf, the road builder of Yorkshire in the eighteenth century, the small rural village of Hampsthwaite had it’s blind hero also, almost a century later – Peter Barker who became known as ‘The Blind Joiner of Hampsthwaite.’ Though there are some similarities between John Metcalf and Peter Barker’s lives, these are purely co-incidental and each fulfilled a life, character and career in their own right.

  • Jane Ridsdale

    JANE RIDSDALEAged 33 years, born at Hampsthwaite, near Harrogate, Yorkshire, her height is 31 ½ inches.She is remarkably chearfull & enjoys very good health.Published July 1st 1807 by Jane Ridstale, at Harrogate where purchasers of this Print will have the opportunity of seeing and conversing with her

  • Joshua Tetley

    Joshua Tetley was the founder of Tetley’s Brewery in Leeds, and he retired with his wife Hannah to Hollins Hall on the outskirts of Hampsthwaite (Hollins Hall Retirement Village).

  • The Execution of Hannah Whitley

    Arsenic Poisoning in Hampsthwaite - The Execution of Hannah Whitley In 1789, Hannah Whitley of Hampsthwaite used a pie as the delivery medium for a fatal dose of arsenic, with the poison concentrated in the crust. She claimed She had been coerced into the act of poisoning by her employer, a local linen weaver named Horseman, who was involved in an on-going feud with the intended victim.

  • Scrubbers and Stones

    SCRUBBERS & STONES - Sat 29th June 10.30am - 2.30pm - Entry FREE! Explore the Memorials at St Thomas a'Becket Memorials Treasure Trail - for children if all ages Self-Service / Self-Checkout BBQ from 12 noon (inc. veg option) Food £2, Drink £1, Donations? - yes please! Hot & Cold Drinks Laptop & Screen to show Mapping Hampsthwaite’s Past Use a Bucket & Brush to help reveal Inscriptions on the older memorials . . . or just Sit & Enjoy CORPUS CHRISTI BRASS BAND . . . from 11.30am . . . followed by Afternoon Tea & Cakes at the Memorial Hall!

  • Hampsthwaite Open Gardens

     Hampsthwaite Open Gardens - Sat 29th June 12.30am - 5.00pm - Entry £5.00 (accompanied under 15's FREE) Tickets on the day from Hampsthwaite Memorial Hall Plant sales - many named varieties of plants Delicious homemade refreshments Afternoon tea and cakes served from 12.30pm at the Memorial Hall

  • Genealogy Websites

    Free genealogy websites will help you start your family history research at no cost as listed by the 'Who Do You Think You Are' magazine.

  • Kitchen Refurbishment

    Memorial Hall kitchen is now completely, and expertly, refurbished by Neil,Batty Builders Ltd as a result of a grant awarded by the National Lottery's 'Reaching Communities' fund.See also the equivalent

  • Amy Woodforde-Finden

    A highly successful composer of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, Amy Woodforde-Finden, together with her husband and step-son, is laid to rest in the churchyard of St Thomas à Becket Parish Church. Inside the church there is an impressive marble monument of her, created by the renowned sculptor George Edward  Wade. It was unveiled in 1923 and a few years later, Finden Gardens in Hampsthwaite was named in her honour.[Click on title or image to link to articles]

  • Amy Woodforde-Finden Centenary Events (2)

    Amy Woodforde-Finden : 'An Evening with Amy'A centenary concert to celebrate the life and works of Amy was held in Hampsthwaite Memorial Hall on April 21st 2023 Click on images to open full-size in new window and use the Browser back arrow to return to here.  
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Hampsthwaite Feast and Show

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Keep updated by visiting our Feast Facebook page with information on confirmed performers, info on scarecrow competition, meetings etc.

FEAST ARCHIVE

Download Feast Brochure 2022Download Feast Brochure 2022 (2.57M bytes)
Enter Hampsthwaite Run
Enter Hampsthwaite Run
Dogs Behaving Badly
Dogs Behaving Badly
Scarecrow Competition
Scarecrow Competition
Previous Feasts
Link to https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/100203852122890883763/albums/5795514376504236225

Photos and  Details from Feast and Show 2019

Photos and  Details from Feast and Show 2018

Photos and  Details from Feast 2017

Photos and  Details from Feast 2016

Photos and  Details from Feast 2015

Photos and  Details from Feast 2014

Photos and  Details from Feast 2013

Photos and  Details from Feast 2012

Photos and  Details from Feast 2011

Feast Archive

For an archive of earlier Feasts, Link to the Feast section of the original Hampsthwaite Village web site

Grant of Market and Fairs at Pannal and Hampsthwaite

The King to the Sheriff of York greeting.

Whereas we will that a market every week on Tuesday at our Hamlet of Panehale which is a member of our manor of Knaresburgh and a fair there every year lasting four days to wit for two days before the feast of St. Michael, the feast itself and the morrow of the same. And likewise that a market every week on Friday at our Hamlet of Hamestwayt which is a member of our manor aforesaid and a fair there every year lasting four days, to wit for two days before the feast of the Translation of St. Thomas the Martyr, on the feast itself and the morrow of the same shall be held.

We charge you that such markets and fairs in your full county you cause publicly to be proclaimed and firmly to be held.

Witness the King at Lincoln xxvii. Day of December.

Translation of original grant found amongst the Close Rolls of 33rd Edward 1. (1304)

Hampsthwaite Feast History

Just about 700 years ago, Edward the 1st (ie 'Longshanks' or 'Hammer of the Scots') granted the Market Charter of Hampsthwaite, presumably as he journeyed south, a few years after returning home with the 'Stone of Destiny' and before going back to capture William Wallace and then have a 'bit of a do' with 'Robert the Bruce' (see the film 'Brave Heart' for more details!)

The charter called for a fair in Hampsthwaite every year lasting four days around the Translation of St. Thomas the Martyr (they knew how to party in 1304!). Now, Hugh de Morville who was Constable of the Castle of Knaresborough at that time, murdered St Thomas in his Cathedral Church of Canterbury on 29th December 1170. Hugh is said to have built Hampsthwaite Church and dedicated it to the canonised priest as an act of penance (didn't do him any good - in 1173 his lands were forfeit to William de Stuteville and he had to do a penance of service in the Holy Land). When Beckett was canonised his body lay in the crypt for half a century until Tuesday 7th July 1220 - Tuesday was an important day for St Thomas. So, at a time when clocks and calendars were in short supply (!) it was sensible to think of church festivals when choosing a suitable date for a fair and at this time, and in this area, the feast of St Thomas a'Beckett was bound to be a runner (this was used also to set the time of a market and a fair in Stockton-on-Tees). But what date is that - especially bearing in mind that calendars have changed since 1304? Two dates are offered as the Feast of St Thomas the Martyr : 7th July and 29th December. The modern Hampsthwaite Village Feast is combined with the local Show. The 7th July is a bit early to show home-grown produce, and December is clearly too late. So what to do? At some time in the more recent past, and with a superb sense of compromise, it has been decided that the Hampsthwaite Village Feast shall always be the weekend following the 17th July. By happy coincidence, this is also usually the first weekend of the school holidays.

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Hampsthwaite Feast and Show
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