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{{Short description|Village and civil parish in England}}
{{About|the East Yorkshire village|the location in ''The Lord of the Rings''|Wetwang (Middle-earth)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2015}}

{{Infobox UK place
| country                  = England
| coordinates              = {{coord|54.0194|-0.5789|display=inline,title}}
| official_name            = Wetwang
| static_image_name        = St Nicholas Church Wetwang 1.jpg
| static_image_caption     = St Nicholas Church
| population               = 761
| population_ref           = ([[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]])<ref name="2011 census"/>
| civil_parish             = Wetwang
| unitary_england          = [[East Riding of Yorkshire]]
| region                   = Yorkshire and the Humber
| lieutenancy_england      = [[East Riding of Yorkshire]]
| constituency_westminster = [[Bridlington and The Wolds (UK Parliament constituency)|Bridlington and The Wolds]]
| post_town                = DRIFFIELD
| postcode_district        = YO25
| postcode_area            = YO
| dial_code                = 01377
| os_grid_reference        = SE932590
}}
'''Wetwang''' is a [[Yorkshire Wolds]] village and [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in the [[East Riding of Yorkshire]], England, {{convert|6|mi|km|0|abbr=off}} west of [[Driffield]] on the [[A166 road]].

At the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]], it had a population of 761,<ref name="2011 census">{{NOMIS2011
 | id = 1170211287
 | title = Wetwang Parish
 | accessdate = 24 February 2018}}</ref> an increase on the [[United Kingdom Census 2001|2001 census]] figure of 672.<ref name="2001 census">{{NOMIS2001
 | id = 00FB158
 | title = Wetwang Parish
 | accessdate = 25 February 2020
}}</ref>
{{clear left}}

==Name==
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]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=29zh3dIgmv8C&pg=PA191|title=Welcome to Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An insider's guide to 201 of the world's weirdest and wildest places|publisher=Adams Media|last=Parker|first= Quentin|year=2010|pages=191|isbn=9781440507397 }}</ref> 

The name is jokingly defined in ''[[The Meaning of Liff]]'' by [[Douglas Adams]] as meaning "a moist penis".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Adams|first1=D.|author-link1=Douglas Adams|last2=Lloyd|first2=J.|author-link2=John Lloyd (writer)|title=The Meaning of Liff|year=1983|publisher=[[Pan Books]]|isbn=0-330-28121-6|chapter=Wetwang}}</ref> In some varieties of English, ''wang'' or ''whang'' is a slang term for [[penis]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Wang |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/wang |website=Cambridge Dictionary |access-date=14 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=wang (n.) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/wang |website=www.etymonline.com |access-date=14 December 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite OED|Whang|1010826372|access-date=30 September 2024}}</ref>   The name Wetwang has frequently been noted on lists of [[Place names considered unusual|unusual place names]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/world/europe/23crapstone.html?_r=0|title=No Snickering: That Road Sign Means Something Else|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=22 January 2009|access-date=13 July 2014|last=Lyall|first= Sarah}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/news/g1894/funny-town-names/|title=13 Town Names We Can't Stop Laughing Over|work=Cosmopolitan|access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref>

==History==
The village is known for its [[Iron Age]] [[chariot burial]] cemetery at [[Wetwang Slack]],<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/archaeology/wetwang/wetwang_chariot_queen_01.shtml
|title=Wetwang: A Chariot Fit for a Queen?
|last=Loades
|first=Mike
|date=25 January 2005
|work=History Trails Archaeology
|publisher=BBC
|access-date=12 February 2011}}</ref> and it has been speculated that the unlocated [[Romano-British]] town of [[Delgovicia]] may have been at what is now Wetwang.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Rivet|first1=A.&nbsp;L.&nbsp;F. |last2=Smith |first2=Colin|title=The Place-Names of Roman Britain |year=1979 |publisher=B.&nbsp;T. Batsford|location=London|pages=331–332 }}</ref>

Before the [[Norman Conquest]] ([[Tempore Regis Eduardi|TRE]]) [[Ealdred (archbishop of York)|Ealdraed]] held Wetwang, and it was worth £4 per year in rent.{{sfn|Williams|2003|p=797}}
The village is mentioned twice in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 as ''Wetuuangha''. The lesser mention simply records its existence: "In Wetwang the archbishop {{frac|13|1|2}} [[carucates]]". The mention is under "Warter Hundred" on original folio 381V: East Riding.<ref>{{cite book| publisher = Penguin Books| isbn = 978-0-14-143994-5| editor-last = Williams| editor-first = Ann| title = Domesday book: a complete translation| location = London| series = Penguin classics| date = 2003|page=877}}</ref> Earlier in the Domesday Book, there is a fuller description (Folio 302V: Yorkshire) within the listing of the land of the Archbishop of York:{{blockquote|In Wetwang there are {{frac|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 {{frac|1|1|2}} broad|source=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 {{convert|120|acres}}. In Wetwang there were {{frac|13|1|2}} of them available for the tax take ([[Danegeld#Norman era|"geld"]]). A "plough" was a carucate which was being ploughed, rather than grazed or fallow. A [[League (unit)|league]] is around {{convert|3|miles}}. After the conquest, Wetwang was waste land held by [[Thomas of Bayeux|Archbishop Thomas]]. {{sfn|Williams|2003|p=797}}

St Nicholas's Church is of [[Norman architecture|Norman]] origin and was restored between 1845 and 1902. In 1966, the church was designated a Grade II* [[listed building]].<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1083774|desc=The Church of St Nicolas|accessdate=27 June 2013}}</ref> It is on the [[Sykes Churches Trail]] devised by the East Yorkshire Churches Group.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sykes Churches Trail Southern Route|publisher=East Yorkshire Historic Churches Group<!--|access-date=5 October 2009-->|location=Beverley, East Yorkshire}}</ref> The church has a ring of three bells (tenor {{long ton||7|0|12|disp=or}} in A), the oldest of which (the tenor) dates from {{circa|1450}}.<ref>{{cite web
| author = Central Council of Church Bell Ringers
| title = Wetwang, S Nicholas
| work = Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers
| publisher = Central Council Publications
| url = https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?tower=16882
| access-date = 8 June 2022}}</ref>

Wetwang was once known for its [[black swan]]s, after which the village pub, the Black Swan, is named.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.driffield.co.uk/wolds_village_wetwang.htm
|title=The Villages of the Yorkshire Wolds – Wetwang
|last=Thompson
|first=Karen
|work=Driffield Online
|access-date=12 February 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Victoria Inn, Wetwang - geograph.org.uk - 1118433.jpg|thumb|The Victoria Inn]]

==Public transport==
Until 1950, the village was served by [[Wetwang railway station]], on the [[Malton and Driffield Railway|Malton to Driffield Line]], but this line has closed.<ref>{{Butt-Stations}}</ref> The village is now served by an infrequent [[East Yorkshire Motor Services]] bus.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eyms.co.uk/bus-services/timetable/135?search=driffield#tt1|title=Service 135|publisher=East Yorkshire Motor Services|access-date=26 February 2017}}</ref>

==Honorary mayor==
[[File:Wetwang Community Hall - geograph.org.uk - 1338916.jpg|thumb|Wetwang Community Hall]]
[[Richard Whiteley]] of the [[Channel 4]] quiz show ''[[Countdown (game show)|Countdown]]'' held the honorary title ''[[Mayor]] of Wetwang'' from 1998 until his death in 2005.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/features/From-Wilberforce-to-Mayor-Whiteley.3236217.jp
|title=From Wilberforce to Mayor Whiteley
|date=26 September 2007
|work=Yorkshire Post
|access-date=12 February 2011}}</ref>
On 25 June 2006, local weather forecaster [[Paul Hudson]] from [[BBC Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)|BBC Look North]] was invested as Whiteley's successor.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/looknorthhull/content/articles/2006/12/30/paul_hudson_feature.shtml
|title=Paul Hudson – Weatherman
|work=BBC Look North
|publisher=BBC
|access-date=12 February 2011}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Mayor
|-
|1998–2005||[[Richard Whiteley]]
|-
|2006–||[[Paul Hudson]]
|}
{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book|title=Gazetteer — A–Z of Towns Villages and Hamlets|year=2006|publisher=East Riding of Yorkshire Council|page=11<!--|access-date=11 February 2011-->}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Wetwang}}
*{{OpenDomesday|OS=SE9359|name=wetwang|display=Wetwang}}

{{Portalbar|Yorkshire|England|United Kingdom}}
{{East Yorkshire|state=collapsed}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Civil parishes in the East Riding of Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Villages in the East Riding of Yorkshire]]