Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Cottingham is a large village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies 4 miles (6 km) north-west of the centre of Kingston upon Hull, and 6 miles (10 km) south-east of Beverley on the eastern edge of the Yorkshire Wolds. It has two main shopping streets, Hallgate and King Street, which cross each other near the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, and a market square called Market Green. Cottingham had a population of 17,164 residents in 2011, making it larger by area and population than many towns. As a result, it is one of the villages claiming to be the largest village in England.
The name Cottingham is believed to derive from an Old English man's name Cot(t)a plus -ingaham, meaning the "Homestead/village of Cott's/Cotta's people"
The Domesday Book (1086) shows the Cottingham manor included a mill, five fisheries, woodland and farm land.
Thomas de Cottingham, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England in 1349 and later Master of the Rolls in Ireland, was born in Cottingham in about 1300 and died 1370.
In 1319, Thomas de Wake received a charter allowing Cottingham to have two annual fairs and a weekly market; he also founded an Augustinian priory, licensed in 1320, and built by 1322.
The Anglican parish church, St Mary's Church, Cottingham, was built between 1272 and 1370; it is a large cruciform stone-built church in a mixture of the decorated and perpendicular Gothic styles. The tower was built in the 15th century. Nicholas de Luda (died 1382), a capuchin friar, who built or re-built the chancel, is commemorated by a monumental brass in the church. The church was designated a Grade I listed building in 1967.
Snuff was manufactured in the south of the village in the 18th century; towards the end of the century a large mill owned by Quaker William Travis was producing 15 hundredweight of snuff per week. William Travis had a three-storied house built in 1750 next to the mill.
The rail network reached Cottingham in October 1846, with the opening of Cottingham railway station and the Hull and Bridlington Railway extension of the Hull and Selby Railway. Cottingham station was built close to and east of the village centre. After the arrival of the railway housing development began for the middle classes of Hull; resulting in the construction of terraced and semi-detached villas.
The modern village has two main shopping streets, Hallgate and King Street which cross each other: Hallgate runs east to west from the medieval church to the triangular West Green, near the location of the former Baynard Castle; King Street runs north to south from Northgate to Newgate Street, Market Green (now a car park) is on the southern half of King Street, on the west side, and is the location of the council offices, library and civic hall. A market is held on Market Green on Thursday.
Cottingham was used by the University of Hull as the site of several of its accommodation campuses:
Cottingham is a large village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies 4 miles (6 km) north-west of the centre of Kingston upon Hull, and 6 miles (10 km) south-east of Beverley on the eastern edge of the Yorkshire Wolds. It has two main shopping streets, Hallgate and King Street, which cross each other near the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, and a market square called Market Green. Cottingham had a population of 17,164 residents in 2011, making it larger by area and population than many towns. As a result, it is one of the villages claiming to be the largest village in England.
The name Cottingham is believed to derive from an Old English man's name Cot(t)a plus -ingaham, meaning the "Homestead/village of Cott's/Cotta's people"
The Domesday Book (1086) shows the Cottingham manor included a mill, five fisheries, woodland and farm land.
Thomas de Cottingham, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England in 1349 and later Master of the Rolls in Ireland, was born in Cottingham in about 1300 and died 1370.
In 1319, Thomas de Wake received a charter allowing Cottingham to have two annual fairs and a weekly market; he also founded an Augustinian priory, licensed in 1320, and built by 1322.
The Anglican parish church, St Mary's Church, Cottingham, was built between 1272 and 1370; it is a large cruciform stone-built church in a mixture of the decorated and perpendicular Gothic styles. The tower was built in the 15th century. Nicholas de Luda (died 1382), a capuchin friar, who built or re-built the chancel, is commemorated by a monumental brass in the church. The church was designated a Grade I listed building in 1967.
Snuff was manufactured in the south of the village in the 18th century; towards the end of the century a large mill owned by Quaker William Travis was producing 15 hundredweight of snuff per week. William Travis had a three-storied house built in 1750 next to the mill.
The rail network reached Cottingham in October 1846, with the opening of Cottingham railway station and the Hull and Bridlington Railway extension of the Hull and Selby Railway. Cottingham station was built close to and east of the village centre. After the arrival of the railway housing development began for the middle classes of Hull; resulting in the construction of terraced and semi-detached villas.
The modern village has two main shopping streets, Hallgate and King Street which cross each other: Hallgate runs east to west from the medieval church to the triangular West Green, near the location of the former Baynard Castle; King Street runs north to south from Northgate to Newgate Street, Market Green (now a car park) is on the southern half of King Street, on the west side, and is the location of the council offices, library and civic hall. A market is held on Market Green on Thursday.
Cottingham was used by the University of Hull as the site of several of its accommodation campuses:
