Barkston Ash
| Barkston Ash | |
|---|---|
 Main Street junction with the A192, Barkston Ash |
|
 Barkston Ash
|
|
| Barkston Ash shown within North Yorkshire | |
| Population | 370 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SE491361 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | TADCASTER |
| Postcode district | LS24 |
| Police | North Yorkshire |
| Fire | North Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
Barkston Ash is a small village and civil parish close to Selby in North Yorkshire, England. Until recently it was officially named Barkston.
According to local folklore, an ash tree that stands in the village gives it its name and marks the centre of Yorkshire – although the actual centre is closer to Hessay. A legend has it that anyone who spits at the tree will be struck by lightning a year and a day later, and an apocryphal figure, known as Jack Foll, is supposed to have suffered this fate.
Until 1753, the Barkston Ash Folly – a form of medieval football involving pigs' bladders and "lighteners" (wooden staves) – was played by the young men of the village. The game is supposed to have commemorated Jack Foll.
Now part of Selby district, the village previously gave its name to the former wapentake of Barkston Ash.
Barkston Ash was also the name of the local parliamentary constituency of Barkston Ash until 1983, when its boundaries were redrawn to divide the area into Elmet and Selby. The Barkston Ash constituency was traditionally a safe Conservative seat, though both successive constituencies elected Labour MPs in 1997.
...
Wikipedia