Discover Thwing: Wolds, heritage and nature

Thwing lies at the eastern end of the East Yorkshire Wolds. The village offers several distinct themes to help you choose a destination: All Saints Church preserves features of Norman architecture, Paddock Hill and Willy Howe represent archaeological evidence, and at Thwing Mere a landscaped recreation area meets a preserved wildlife habitat. The Thwing & Octon Heritage Trail connects Thwing and Octon. This allows you to distinguish between architecture, traces of the past, a connection between places and a link with nature.

Thwing and Octon on the Heritage Trail

The Thwing & Octon Heritage Trail connects the two villages. It therefore adds an explicitly named connection between places to the view of individual buildings and archaeological sites. If, when choosing a destination, a link between places matters to you alongside individual historical themes, this trail is one worthwhile point of interest. It offers a different focus from looking at a church doorway or a prehistoric round barrow.

All Saints Church and its Norman features

All Saints Church in Thwing dates from the 12th century and preserves several features of its original Norman architecture. One specific detail is the south doorway, dated to around 1150. A Paschal Lamb is carved into its tympanum. The tympanum is the field of the doorway that contains the motif. The church and the doorway thus each have their own chronological reference: the church is attributed to the 12th century, while around 1150 provides a more precise, but still approximate, date for the doorway.

For travellers interested in cultural history, the architecture, a particular architectural feature and a figurative motif come together here. The Norman features draw attention to the architecture; the carved Paschal Lamb also reveals a detail of the decorative imagery. The focus is therefore not only on the church's general period, but also on a single element on its south side.

Archaeological traces of the past

Paddock Hill bears evidence of settlement from the Mesolithic to the Middle Ages. This time span offers a different focus from the 12th-century church: it reaches further back and also includes the Middle Ages. For your trip planning, this provides an archaeological perspective spanning a considerably broader period alongside the church architecture.

Willy Howe is a protected archaeological site and a prehistoric round barrow. Its mound is 15 metres high, 40 metres wide from east to west and 50 metres long from north to south. Its north–south extent is therefore 10 metres greater than its east–west extent; the height describes a separate, vertical dimension. These measurements give a clear sense of the mound's shape, while its protected status identifies it as an archaeological site. Compared with the church, Paddock Hill and Willy Howe shift the focus from architectural history to archaeological evidence and a prehistoric landform.

Thwing Mere: recreation area and wildlife habitat

A recreation area has been created between Thwing Mere and Bridlington Road. A natural wildlife habitat has been preserved behind this area. Nesting boxes for birds, bats and insects have also been installed at Thwing Mere. The recreation area and the habitat preserved behind it represent different aspects of the same landscape: a landscaped area and a natural habitat.

The nesting boxes add practical support for three groups of animals to this connection with nature. If you are particularly interested in nature and habitats when choosing a destination, this offers a different focus from the church and archaeological sites. Thwing thus offers distinct themes for trip planning: Norman church architecture, archaeological traces of the past, the connection with Octon and the landscape around Thwing Mere.

Discover more destinations: Beverley, Hessle, Brough, Blacktoft, Hutton Cranswick, Howden, Pocklington, Beeford.

For the overview of the wider area: East Riding Of Yorkshire.