Editing Tadcaster

{{Short description|Town in North Yorkshire, England}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                  = England
| official_name            = Tadcaster
|type = Town and civil parish
| coordinates              = {{coord|53.8852|-1.2620|display=inline,title}}
| population               = 6,350
| population_ref           = ([[United Kingdom Census 2021|2021 census]])<ref name="BBC"/>
| civil_parish             = Tadcaster  <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tadcastertowncouncil.gov.uk/|title=Home – Tadcaster Town Council|website=Tadcastertowncoucil.gov.uk|access-date=14 September 2020}}</ref>
| unitary_england          = [[North Yorkshire (district)|North Yorkshire]]
| lieutenancy_england      = [[North Yorkshire]]
| region                   = Yorkshire and the Humber
| constituency_westminster = [[Wetherby and Easingwold (UK Parliament constituency)|Wetherby and Easingwold]]
| post_town                = TADCASTER
| postcode_district        = LS24
| postcode_area            = LS
| dial_code                = 01937
| os_grid_reference        = SE4843
| static_image_name        = {{multiple images|align=center|total_width=280px|perrow=2 2|border=infobox|image1=Tadcaster Brewery 11 July 2018 1.jpg|image2 =St Mary Tadcaster 11 July 2018 4.jpg|image3 =Viaduct, Tadcaster.jpg|image4=High Street, Tadcaster - geograph.org.uk - 1896725.jpg}}
| static_image_caption     = From the top left: [[John Smith's Brewery]], [[St Mary's Church, Tadcaster|St Mary's Church]], [[Leeds and York Railway|Tadcaster Viaduct]] and the High street
| london_distance_mi       = 170
| london_direction         = SSE
}}

'''Tadcaster''' is a [[market town]] and [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in [[North Yorkshire]], England, {{convert|15|mi|km|0}} north-east of [[Leeds]] and {{convert|10|mi|km|0}} south-west of [[York]].

Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the lowest road crossing-point on the [[River Wharfe]] until the construction of the A64 Tadcaster by-pass some {{convert|600|m|yd|order=flip}} to the south, in 1978. There are two rail crossings downstream of the town before the Wharfe joins the [[River Ouse, Yorkshire|River Ouse]] near [[Cawood]]. Thanks to its position on the banks of the River Wharfe parts of the town adjacent to the bridge are prone to flooding.<ref name="2022 floods">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/21/were-devastated-yorkshire-town-hit-by-floods-for-third-time-in-decade|title='We're devastated': Yorkshire town hit by floods for third time in decade|date=21 February 2022|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=21 March 2022}}</ref>

The town was part of the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]] until 1974, but is now part of [[North Yorkshire]].<ref>{{cite web|title=History of Tadcaster, in Selby and West Riding {{!}} Map and description|url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/14322|access-date=2020-11-25|website=Visionofbritain.org.uk}}</ref> Tadcaster is [[town twinning|twinned]] with [[Saint-Chély-d'Apcher]] in France. 

==History==
===Roman===
[[File:The Calcaria, Westgate, Tadcaster (24th April 2014) 001.JPG|thumb|right|The Calcaria public house, the namesake of [[Calcaria]]]]
{{main|Calcaria}}
The [[Roman Britain|Romans]] built a settlement and named it ''[[Calcaria]]'' from the [[Latin]] word for ''lime'', reflecting the importance of the area's [[limestone]] [[geology]] as a natural resource for [[quarry]]ing, an industry which continues and has contributed to many notable buildings including [[York Minster]]. Calcaria was an important staging post that grew at the crossing of the River Wharfe on the road to [[Eboracum]] ([[York]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Genuki: TADCASTER: Geographical and Historical information from the year 1834., Yorkshire (West Riding) |url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Tadcaster/Tadcaster34 |access-date=6 November 2018 |website=Genuki.org.uk}}</ref>

===Anglo-Saxon and medieval===
The suffix of the [[Old English language|Anglo-Saxon]] name Tadcaster is derived from the borrowed [[Latin]] word ''castra'' meaning 'military camp' (the plural of ''castrum'', fort), although the [[Anglo-Saxons|Angles and Saxons]] used the term for any walled Roman settlement. Tadcaster is first mentioned in the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'', where it appears as ''Táda'', referring to the place where King Harald assembled his army and fleet before entering York and proceeding onwards to the [[Battle of Stamford Bridge]] in 1066. The place-name probably means 'Tata's fort' after an unknown Anglo-Saxon landowner.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ekwall |first1=Eilert |author-link=Eilert Ekwall |title=The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names |date=1960 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |oclc=1228215388 |page=458 |edition=4}}</ref>

The town is mentioned in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 as "Tatecastre". The record reads:
<blockquote>Two Manors. In Tatecastre, Dunstan and Turchil had eight carucates of land for geld, where four ploughs may be. Now, William de Parci has three ploughs and 19 villanes and 11 bordars having four ploughs, and two mills of ten shillings (annual value). Sixteen acres of meadow are there. The whole manors, five quaranteens in length, and five in breadth. In King Edward's time they were worth forty shillings; now one hundred shillings.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Faull |editor1-first=Margaret L. |editor2-last=Stinson |editor2-first=Marie |title=Domesday book. 30: Yorkshire: Pt. 2 / ed. by Margaret L. Faull |date=1986 |publisher=Phillimore |location=Chichester |isbn=0850335310 |page=321b}}</ref></blockquote>

In the 11th century [[Baron Percy|William de Percy]] established a [[motte-and-bailey]] fortress re-using Roman stone.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Emery |first1=Anthony |title=Greater medieval houses of England and Wales, 1300–1500 |date=1996 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=0-521-49723-X |page=270}}</ref> The earthwork remains of this castle, including the [[motte]] (known as Castle Hill) can still be seen adjacent to the parish church and bridge. The castle was abandoned in the early-12th century and was briefly re-fortified with cannon emplacements during the [[First English Civil War|Civil War]]. The street plan south of the site reflects the shape of the former bailey.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Tadcaster motte and bailey castle |num= 1017407|grade=<!--Not applicable to this entry-->|access-date=23 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Monument Number 54923 |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=54923&resourceID=19191 |website=heritagegateway.org.uk |access-date=23 May 2023}}</ref>

Before 1186, [[Matilda de Percy]], the wife of [[William de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Warwick]] gave the hospital here to [[Sawley Abbey]] (now in Lancashire, previously in West Yorkshire).<ref>{{Cite book |editor=[[William Page (historian)|William Page]] |title='Hospitals: Scarborough - Yarm', in A History of the County of York: Volume 3 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/vol3/pp330-336 |publisher=Victoria County History / British History Online |year=1974 |pages=330–336 |access-date=26 May 2024}}</ref>

The original river-crossing was probably a [[Ford (crossing)|ford]] near the current bridge, followed by a wooden bridge.{{sfn|Bogg|1904|p=6}} Around 1240, the first stone bridge was constructed, possibly from stone reclaimed from the castle.{{sfn|Speight|1902|p=233}} The current bridge was constructed on the foundations of the original (1699), although it has been substantially modified in 1736 and 1753. Then in 1791, [[John Carr (architect)|John Carr]] built another bridge immediately above the 1699 bridge effectively extending it to twice the width it was before.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jecock |first1=Marcus |last2=Jessop |first2=Lucy |date=2016 |title=Tadcaster Bridge, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire |journal=Research Report Series |location=Swindon |publisher=Historic England |issue=27–2016 |page=2 |issn=2059-4453}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Chrimes |editor1-first=M.&nbsp;M. |title=A biographical dictionary of civil engineers in Great Britain and Ireland |date=2002 |publisher=Thomas Telford |location=London |isbn=0-7277-2939-X |page=118}}</ref> Historically, the Wharfe marked the boundary between the [[West Riding of Yorkshire|West Riding]] and the [[Ainsty of York]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Genuki: TADCASTER: Geographical and Historical information from the year 1890., Yorkshire (Ainsty) |url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/ARY/Tadcaster/Tadcaster90 |website=www.genuki.org.uk |access-date=23 May 2023}}</ref>

===Civil War===
During the [[English Civil War]], on the morning of Tuesday 7 December 1642 the [[Battle of Tadcaster]], a [[Skirmisher|skirmish]], between [[Sir Thomas Fairfax]]'s [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian]] forces and [[Thomas Glemham|Sir Thomas Glemham's]] [[Cavalier|Royalist]] army took place on and around [[Tadcaster Bridge]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hughes |first1=William |title=The geography of British history |date=1866 |publisher=Longman Green & Co |location=London |page=369|oclc=83797018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Shute |first1=Joe |title=Weather Watch |work=The Daily Telegraph |issue=49,954 |date=2 January 2016 |page=29 |quote=At the beginning of the English Civil War in 1642, Lord Fairfax commanded over 900 Parliamentarian troops across Tadcaster Bridge to occupy the Yorkshire town and make it his base.|issn=0307-1235}}</ref>

===Market===
A market has been held since 1270, when [[Baron Percy|Henry de Percy]] obtained a royal charter from [[Henry III of England|King Henry III]] to hold "a market and fair at his manor of Tadcaster".{{sfn|Speight|1902|p=243}} The ancient market place is at the junction of Kirkgate and Bridge Street. A stone base, believed to have been part of the original market cross, stood on Westgate where the Tadcaster War Memorial now stands.{{sfn|Chrystal|2017|p=33}} The present-day market is held on Thursdays in the car park of Tadcaster Social Club on St Josephs Street.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tadcaster Market - Tadcaster Town Council |url=http://www.tadcastertowncouncil.gov.uk/Tadcaster_Market_24742.aspx |website=tadcastertowncouncil.gov.uk |access-date=23 May 2023}}</ref>

==Governance==
{{Infobox legislature
| name               = Tadcaster Town Council
| coa_pic            = 
| coa_caption        = 
| coa_res            = 
| coa_alt            =
| logo_res           = 
| logo_alt           =
| foundation         =
| house_type         = Town Council
| leader1_type       = [[Mayors in England|Mayor]]
| leader1            = David Bowgett
| leader2_type       = [[Municipal clerk#United Kingdom|Town clerk]]
| leader2            = Jane Crowther
| members            = 12 Councillors<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tadcastertowncouncil.gov.uk/Town_Councillors_21816.aspx |title=Town Councillors|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127022927/http://www.tadcastertowncouncil.gov.uk/Town_Councillors_21816.aspx |archive-date=27 November 2015  |access-date= 4 April 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>
| structure1         =
| structure1_res     = 250
| structure1_alt     = Tadcaster Town Council composition
| seats1_title       = [[Independent politician|Independent]]
| seats1             = {{composition bar|6|12|hex={{party color|Independent}}}}
| seats2_title       = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
| seats2             = {{composition bar|3|13|hex={{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}}}
| seats3_title       = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
| seats3             = {{composition bar|2|12|hex={{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}}}
| seats4_title       = Vacant
| seats4             = {{composition bar|1|12|hex={{party color|Vacant}}}}
| voting_system1     = [[Plurality-at-large voting|Plurality-at-large]]
| last_election1     = 2 May 2023
| next_election1     = 1 May 2027
| website            = {{URL|tadcastertowncouncil.gov.uk}}
| meeting_place      = [[The Ark (Tadcaster)|The Ark]], Tadcaster
| footnotes          =
}}

For local government purposes, the town is represented as one electoral division.<ref name="EM">{{cite web |title=Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/?x=446563&y=443568&z=7&bnd1=CPC&bnd2=UTE&labels=off |website=www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk |access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref> However, until 2015, the River Wharfe divided the town into eastern and western electoral wards.<ref>{{cite web |title=The District of Selby (Electoral Changes) Order 2000 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/2605/made |website=legislation.gov.uk |access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Selby (Electoral Changes) Order 2014 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1911/made |website=legislation.gov.uk |access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref> The town was represented at Westminster as part of the [[Selby and Ainsty (UK Parliament constituency)|Selby & Ainsty constituency]] until 2024.<ref name="EM"/> Following the [[2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies]] it became part of the [[Wetherby and Easingwold (UK Parliament constituency)|Wetherby and Easingwold constituency]] formed for the [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024 general election]].

The combined population of Tadcaster East and Tadcaster West in 2003 was 7,341: 3,830 in Tadcaster East and 3,511 in Tadcaster West.<ref name="2001TE">{{NOMIS2001|id=36UHHG|title=Tadcaster East Ward (as of 2003)|access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref><ref name="2001TW">{{NOMIS2001|id=36UHHH|title=Tadcaster West Ward (as of 2003)|access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref> At the 2021 census, it was estimated that over 6,300 people were in the combined ward of Tadcaster.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news |title=Tadcaster: Half town's population 'against' new homes on car park |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-63080503 |access-date=25 May 2023 |work=BBC News |date=29 September 2022}}</ref> The local authority is [[North Yorkshire Council]]. Historically, the parish of Tadcaster was in the [[wapentake]] of [[Barkston Ash Wapentake|Barkston Ash]], and the wapentake known as The [[Ainsty]], in the West Riding of Yorkshire.<ref name="VCH"/> It was moved into North Yorkshire in 1974. Between 1974 and 2023 it was part of the [[Selby (district)|Selby District]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2022/9780348231380 |title=The North Yorkshire (Structural Changes) Order 2022|access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref>
[[File:Ark Kirkgate Tadcaster 11 July 2018 1.jpg|thumb|left|[[The Ark (Tadcaster)|The Ark]] - Tadcaster Town Council office]]
Tadcaster gave its name to a much larger rural district council, [[Tadcaster Rural District]] and other administrative areas. This may lead to confusion when comparing the size and extent of the current town with information for earlier periods. For example, the population in 1911 of the Tadcaster sub-district was 6,831 compared with that of the Tadcaster Registration District, 33,052.<ref>{{cite web |title=Administrative unit Tadcaster PLU/RegD Poor Law Union/Reg. District |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10029557/cube/TOT_POP |website=visionofbritain.org.uk |access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref> The motto of the old Tadcaster Rural District Council was "by service let us govern".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pine |first1=Leslie G. |title=A dictionary of mottoes |date=1983 |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |location=London |isbn=0-7100-9339-X |page=27}}</ref>

Tadcaster also elects a [[mayor]] on an annual basis.<ref>{{cite web |title=Town Mayor – Tadcaster Town Council |url=http://www.tadcastertowncouncil.gov.uk/Town_Mayor_21815.aspx |access-date=6 March 2019 |website=Tadcastertowncouncil.gov.uk }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+Populations of Tadcaster West and East 1831–2011
!Area
!1831
!1841
!1851
!1861
!1871
!1881
!1891
!1901
!1911
!1921
!1931
!1951
!1961
!1971
!2001
!2011
|-
|West
|1,666<ref name="VCH1">{{cite book |editor1-last=Page |editor1-first=William |title=The Victoria history of the county of York. vol 3 |date=1907 |publisher=Constable & Co |location=London |page=528|oclc=500092527}}</ref>
|1,826<ref name="VCH1"/>
|1,693<ref name="VCH1"/>
|1,646<ref name="VCH1"/>
|1,561<ref name="VCH1"/>
|1,560<ref name="VCH1"/>
|1,714<ref name="VCH1"/>
|1,909<ref name="VCH1"/>
|2,103<ref name="VOBTW">{{cite web |title=Administrative unit Tadcaster West CP/Tn Parish-level Unit |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10470997/cube/TOT_POP |website=visionofbritain.org.uk |access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref>
|2,078<ref name="VOBTW"/>
|2,317<ref name="VOBTW"/>
|2,384<ref name="VOBTW"/>
|2,315<ref name="VOBTW"/>
|3,118<ref>{{cite book |title=Census 1971 Yorkshire West Riding Part 1 |date=1973 |publisher=HMSO |location=London |isbn=0-11-690367-8 |page=24}}</ref>
|3,830<ref name="2001TW"/>
|3,440<ref>{{NOMIS2011|id=E05006360|title=Tadcaster West Ward (as of 2011)|access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref>
|-
|East
|737<ref name="VCH">{{cite book |editor1-last=Page |editor1-first=William |title=The Victoria history of the county of York. vol 3 |date=1907 |publisher=Constable & Co |location=London |page=502|oclc=500092527}}</ref>
|867<ref name="VCH"/>
|834<ref name="VCH"/>
|920<ref name="VCH"/>
|882<ref name="VCH"/>
|869<ref name="VCH"/>
|1,098<ref name="VCH"/>
|1,134<ref name="VCH"/>
|1,296<ref name="VOBTE">{{cite web |title=Administrative unit Tadcaster East Tn/CP Parish-level Unit |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10470985/cube/TOT_POP |website=visionofbritain.org.uk |access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref>
|1,426<ref name="VOBTE"/>
|1,370<ref name="VOBTE"/>
|2,018<ref name="VOBTE"/>
|2,068<ref name="VOBTE"/>
|2,149<ref>{{cite book |title=Census 1971 Yorkshire West Riding Part 1 |date=1973 |publisher=HMSO |location=London |isbn=0-11-690367-8 |page=23}}</ref>
|3,830<ref name="2001TE"/>
|3,821<ref>{{NOMIS2011|id=E05006359|title=Tadcaster East Ward (as of 2011)|access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref>
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Population of Tadcaster 2015–
!2015 (estimated)
!2021
|-
|6,000<ref name="NYCC">{{cite web |title=2015 Population Estimates Parishes |url=https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/sites/default/files/fileroot/About%20the%20council/North%20Yorkshire%20statistics/Parish_mid-year_population_estimates_2015.pdf |website=northyorks.gov.uk |access-date= 25 March 2023|page=18 |date=December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604015709/https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/sites/default/files/fileroot/About%20the%20council/North%20Yorkshire%20statistics/Parish_mid-year_population_estimates_2015.pdf|archive-date=4 June 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|6,350<ref name="BBC"/>
|}

==Economy==
[[File:Tadcaster Brewery 11 July 2018 1.jpg|thumb|left|[[John Smith's Brewery]] Tadcaster]]
Tadcaster has a long association with the [[brewing]] industry because of the quality and accessibility of the local water, which is rich in lime sulphate after filtering through Permian limestone. In the right conditions freshwater springs, known locally as ''popple-wells'', still bubble up near St Mary's church in the town.<ref name="YP">{{cite news |last1=Penfold |first1=Phil |title=What Romans did |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=29 May 2021 |location=Yorkshire Post Magazine |page=14|issn=0963-1496}}</ref> Tax registers from 1341 record the presence of two breweries or brewhouses in the town, one paying 8d in tax and the other 4d.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jeeves |first1=Paul |title=Brewing trade's history is toast of the town |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=29 July 2013 |page=7|issn=0963-1496}}</ref> Today Tadcaster is renowned for its brewing industry and is known as ''The Burton of the North'' (after [[Burton-upon-Trent]], an English brewing centre).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Protz |first1=Roger |title=Country ales and breweries |date=1999 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |location=London |isbn=0297836250 |page=111}}</ref>
[[File:Bridge Street - geograph.org.uk - 716123.jpg|thumb|left|Bridge Street (Tadcaster centre)]]
Currently there are three breweries in the town: [[Coors Brewing Company|The Tower Brewery]] (Coors, formerly [[Bass Brewery|Bass]]), [[John Smith's Brewery|John Smith's]] and [[Samuel Smith Old Brewery]], which is the oldest brewery in Yorkshire and only remaining independent brewery in Tadcaster.{{sfn|Chrystal|2017|p=8}} A fourth brewery, Braimes, used to stand by the river on the site of the present central car park.{{sfn|Sydes|Bellamy|Fabiankova|2021|p=23}}

Despite these large commercial enterprises, Tadcaster exhibits many signs of urban decline, with a large number of empty and derelict properties in the town centre. In part this can be attributed to disputes between the owner of the Samuel Smith's brewery, [[Humphrey Smith (businessman)|Humphrey Smith]], who is a major landowner in the town, and Selby District Council.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://selebian.com/news/selby/1609/supreme-court-ends-brewery-s-council-challenge-hopes|title=Supreme Court ends brewery's council challenge hopes |work=Selebian News|access-date=21 March 2022}}</ref> There are no major tourist attractions in the town, which has one supermarket and no bank. The closure of the railway station (1964), the reduction of the market and the construction of the A64 Tadcaster bypass (1978),<ref>{{cite news |editor-last1=Charlton |editor-first1=Peter |title=From the archive: campaigning for a bypass |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=24 April 2013 |page=12|issn=0963-1496}}</ref> whilst substantially reducing traffic using the Tadcaster Bridge, have all contributed to the decline of footfall and therefore of retailing in the town.{{sfn|Sydes|Bellamy|Fabiankova|2021|p=7}}

==Culture and community==
Local newspapers covering Tadcaster include ''[[The Press (York)|The Press]]'' and the ''[[Wetherby News]]''. The major regional newspaper in the area is ''[[The Yorkshire Post]]''.

The local [[BBC]] [[radio]] station is [[Radio York]], and commercial stations include [[Greatest Hits Radio York and North Yorkshire]] and [[Capital Yorkshire]]. 

Local TV coverage is provided by [[BBC Yorkshire]] and [[ITV Yorkshire]] from the [[Emley Moor transmitting station|Emley Moor]] TV transmitter.

A leisure centre on Station Road provides for a variety of sport activities, and is the base for private sports clubs and a [[physiotherapy]] clinic.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tadcaster Leisure Centre |url=https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/leisure-tourism-and-culture/leisure-facilities/leisure-facilities-selby-area/tadcaster-leisure-centre |website=www.northyorks.gov.uk |access-date=25 May 2023 |date=15 February 2023}}</ref>

Tadcaster's community swimming pool, which includes a fitness suite, opened in December 1994; run as a charity. At the end of 2007 the pool underwent repairs costing £130,000, reopening in 2008; some fundraising was through a celebrity football match, one side of which was formed from cast in television [[soap opera|soap]] ''[[Emmerdale]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=TV stars net pool funds |url=https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/1859985.tv-stars-net-pool-funds/ |access-date=24 May 2023 |work=York Press |date=26 November 2007}}</ref>

The route of [[Ebor Way]], a long-distance walk from [[Helmsley]] to [[Ilkley]], passes through the town.<ref>{{cite web |title=Long Distance Walkers Association |url=https://ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=Ebor+Way |website=www.ldwa.org.uk |access-date=24 May 2023}}</ref>

Tadcaster pudding, a variety of rich fruit [[pudding]] first recorded in the 16th century, is traditional to the town.<ref>{{cite book |last= Brears|first= Peter |author-link= |date= 2014 |title= Traditional Food in Yorkshire|url= |location= |publisher= Prospect Books |page= 198|isbn= 978-1-909248-33-5}}</ref>

Tadcaster is twinned with the town of [[Saint-Chély-d'Apcher]] in the Lozère department of southern France.<ref>{{cite news |title=Cross-channel links strengthened at Tadcaster Grammar School |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWGLNB&t=&sort=YMD_date%3AA&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=%22Tadcaster%20twinning%22&docref=news/145BE6EBD4EB02D0 |access-date=23 May 2023 |work=infoweb.newsbank.com |date=18 April 2013|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Landmarks==
===Breweries===
[[File:The Old Brewery, Tadcaster (26th August 2019) 001.jpg|thumb|The head office of [[Samuel Smith Old Brewery]], formerly the [[Londesborough Arms]] (on the left) and the [[Old Town Hall, Tadcaster|Old Town Hall]] (on the right)]]
The colossal Tadcaster (John Smith's) Brewery (1883, with later additions), a notable example of Victorian industrial architecture, stands on the site of John Smith's earlier brewery at the southern end of the High Street. The tall stone chimney and ornate wrought-iron atrium are prominent features and are listed (protected) structures.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Offices to John Smith's Brewery|num=1132437|access-date=10 December 2023}}</ref>

Adjacent to these, across the narrow New Street, are the more modest Georgian headquarters of Samuel Smith's Brewery, with a handsome frontage on the High Street (formerly the [[Londesborough Arms]] and the [[Old Town Hall, Tadcaster|Old Town Hall]]),<ref>{{NHLE|desc=1, High Street|num=1316684|access-date=10 December 2023}}</ref> and the [[brewery tap]], [[The Angel and White Horse]].

===The Ark===
The oldest building in active use in the town besides the parish church and [[Old Vicarage, Tadcaster|Old Vicarage]], is the half-timbered building on Kirkgate known as [[The Ark (Tadcaster)|The Ark]], built in the late 15th century, although it has been enlarged and altered many times since.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=The Ark |num= 1167475|grade=II*|access-date=24 May 2023 }}</ref> Two carved heads on its front are thought to represent [[Noah]] and his wife, hence the name.<ref name="YPS">{{cite news |last1=Penfold |first1=Phil |title=What Romans did |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=29 May 2021 |location=Yorkshire Post Magazine |page=15|issn=0963-1496}}</ref> The Ark has been a meeting place, a post office, an inn, a butcher's shop, a private house and a museum; it is currently the Town Council offices.{{sfn|Sydes|Bellamy|Fabiankova|2021|p=11}} In the 17th century it was known as Morley Hall, and was licensed for [[Presbyterian]] meetings. Some of the so-called [[Pilgrim Fathers]] are reputed to have planned their voyage to America in the building; an exact replica exists in [[Ohio]], US.{{sfn|Chrystal|2017|p=41}}

===Viaduct===
[[File:Viaduct, Tadcaster.jpg|thumb|right|Tadcaster Viaduct]]
{{main|Tadcaster Viaduct}}
The eleven-arch Tadcaster railway viaduct is {{convert|1/4|mi|m|adj=on}} above the Wharfe bridge;  it was built as part of a projected [[York and North Midland Railway (Leeds Extension)]] line from Leeds to York. Construction of the line was authorised in 1846, and much of the northern section including the viaduct had been completed when the collapse of railway investment in 1849 led to its abandonment. Between 1883 and 1959 the viaduct carried a short branchline servicing a corn mill on the east side of the River Wharfe (Mill Lane area). The viaduct is a Grade II listed building owned by Tadcaster Town Council.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1167141|desc=DISUSED RAILWAY VIADUCT OVER RIVER WHARFE (TO NORTH OF TOWN)|access-date=10 July 2014}}</ref>
{{clear left}}

===Bridge===
{{main|Tadcaster Bridge}}
[[File:Partially collapsed Tadcaster Bridge (30th December 2015) 002.JPG|thumb|Bridge, partially collapsed after [[Storm Eva]] in 2015]]
The current bridge dates back to the early 1700s and was built, according to Pevsner,<ref>Nikolaus Revsner: The Buildings of England: Yorkshire West Riding, rev. Enid Bagnold, Penguin 1966, p.307</ref> using stone from the ruined Castle. It was widened in the C19th.<ref>{{cite web |title=Historic Tadcaster |url=http://www.tadcastertowncouncil.co.uk/Core/Tadcaster-TC/Pages/Historic_Tadcaster_3.aspx |access-date=29 December 2015 |publisher=Tadcaster Town Council}}</ref> It is the main transport route connecting the town centre, which is divided by the river, and one of the town's two road crossings, the other being the [[A64 road|A64]] bypass bridge. The bridge partially collapsed on 29 December 2015, following flooding.<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{cite web |date=29 December 2015 |title=Moment Tadcaster bridge collapsed |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-35195153/uk-floods-moment-tadcaster-bridge-collapsed |access-date=9 April 2018 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref name="yorkshirepost.co.uk">{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/our-region/north-yorkshire-moors-and-coast/york/video-onlookers-watch-on-in-horror-as-bridge-collapses-in-flood-hit-tadcaster-1-7647078|work=Yorkshire Post|date=30 December 2015|access-date=14 September 2020|archive-url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/our-region/north-yorkshire-moors-and-coast/york/picture-special-residents-vow-to-get-on-with-it-after-biblical-flooding-leaves-tadcaster-like-a-war-zone-1-7647078|archive-date=9 March 2016|title=Picture special: Residents vow to get on with it after Biblical flooding leaves Tadcaster like a war zone}}</ref> The collapse fractured a [[gas main]] and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of residents and divided the town in two.<ref>{{cite web |last=Quinn |first=Ben |date=29 December 2015 |title=Soldiers evacuate homes after Tadcaster bridge collapses |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/dec/29/soldiers-evacuate-homes-tadcaster-bridge-collapses-yorkshire |access-date=9 April 2018 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> In early 2016, Historic England carried out an assessment of the significance of the Grade-II listed bridge to inform its restoration.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jecock|first1= M. |last2= Jessop|first2= L. |date=2016 |title=Tadcaster Bridge, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire: Assessment of Significance. Historic England Research Report 27/2016 |url=https://research.historicengland.org.uk/Report.aspx?i=15495&ru=/Results.aspx?p=1&n=10&rn=27&ry=2016&ns=1 |access-date=15 May 2020 |website=research.historicengland.org.uk}}</ref> The bridge was then repaired and widened, and re-opened to traffic on 3 February 2017. The area around the bridge, including the north end of the High Street, the houses in Wharfe Terrace, the Bus Station and the Tadcaster Medical Centre, was flooded once again in February 2022.<ref name="2022 floods"/>

===Tadcaster Mere===
To the south east of the town centre, towards the village of Oxton, lies Tadcaster Mere. Designated a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSI) in 1987, the [[Mere (lake)|mere]] is at the centre of a former lake basin that extended over an area of about {{convert|3|km2|acre|order=flip}}. It was formed during the most recent or [[Devensian]] [[ice age]], which ended 10,000 years ago, when Tadcaster was at the southernmost limit of glaciation, by the long, low embankment of debris known as the [[Escrick]] [[Moraine]], which is composed of debris left behind by the [[Vale of York]] Glacier.<ref name="YPS"/> The mere is a site of current palaeontological interest, as it is believed to be the site of the earliest discovery of the [[plesiosaur]]; while unproven, the skeletal fragments found in Tadcaster match the age of those found elsewhere.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.assemblage.group.shef.ac.uk/3/3nicki.htm |title=Palaecology, archaeology and nature: Assemblage issue 3 |access-date=11 January 2010 |archive-date=19 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719084714/http://www.assemblage.group.shef.ac.uk/3/3nicki.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Scientific analysis of the mere, in particular [[sediment]]ary [[pollen]] studies, provides insight into the geological history and makeup of the local environment and allows accurate dating of events before, during and after the Devensian ice age.<ref>{{cite web |title=Site name: Tadcaster Mere |url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1003216.pdf |website=designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk |access-date=24 May 2023}}</ref>

==Religion==
[[File:St Mary Tadcaster 11 July 2018 2.jpg|thumb|right|Church of St Mary the Virgin]]
[[St Mary's Church, Tadcaster|St Mary's Church]], on the banks of the Wharfe, was founded around 1150.<ref name="YP"/> It was destroyed by the Scots in one of many incursions after the [[Battle of Bannockburn]] in 1314.{{sfn|Speight|1902|p=247}} St Mary's was rebuilt between the 14th and 15th centuries.<ref>{{NHLE|desc= Church of St Mary|num= 1167462|grade=II*|access-date= 24 May 2023}}</ref> Due to repeated flooding, it was dismantled and reconstructed between 1875 and 1877 on foundations raised by {{convert|5|ft|m}}, though the tower was left untouched.{{sfn|Speight|1902|p=272}} £8,426 4s 6½d was raised by public subscription for this renovation. In 1897 a new north aisle was added.<ref name="Anker">{{cite book |last=Anker |first=Malcolm |title=Guided Tour and Short History of Saint Mary's Church Tadcaster |date=1987 |publisher=Available from the church |edition=Reprinted with corrections 2016}}</ref>

At the other end of the High Street, facing the Tadcaster Brewery (i.e. the John Smith's brewery) is a large Methodist chapel of 1815, extremely plain in style, forming the central section, set slightly back, of a three-part symmetrical facade.

==Transport==
[[File:Thumbnail of transport links to Tadcaster, 2015.png|thumb|A small map of public transport routes to/from Tadcaster in March 2014]]
Tadcaster is served by local bus services operating from [[Leeds City bus station]]. The town is a stop on the [[Yorkshire Coastliner]] service, which accesses the Yorkshire Coast. Buses also run to [[Wetherby]] and [[Harrogate]] and to [[Sherburn-in-Elmet]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tadwalks.org.uk/busmap2017a.png|title=(Large map)|website=Tadwalks.org.uk|access-date=2 July 2022}}</ref> On Mondays a bus service runs to and from Selby.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://getdown.org.uk/bus/bus/494.shtml | title=495: Buses from Tadcaster to Selby }}</ref>

[[Tadcaster railway station]] on the [[Church Fenton to Harrogate Line|Church Fenton to Harrogate line]] closed to passengers in January 1964.<ref>{{cite web |title=Disused Stations:Tadcaster Station |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/t/tadcaster/index.shtml |access-date=8 November 2018 |website=Disused-stations.org.uk}}</ref> The nearest railway stations are [[Ulleskelf railway station|Ulleskelf]], [[Church Fenton railway station|Church Fenton]] and [[York railway station]] which has a wider range of services and is connected to Tadcaster by the Yorkshire Coastliner bus service.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yorkbus.co.uk/times?routeID=4 |title=743 Leeds – York (& Malton) ~ Transdev |access-date=15 January 2014 |archive-date=16 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116133337/http://www.yorkbus.co.uk/times?routeID=4 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Tadcaster lies on the A64, A659 and A162 main roads, and is about {{convert|5|km|order=flip|0}} east of the A1(M) (Junction 44).<ref>{{cite map|title =York |map =290 |year =2015 |scale =1:25,000 |series =Explorer |publisher =Ordnance Survey |isbn =978-0-319-24487-6 }}</ref>

==Education==
Tadcaster has three [[primary school]]s (serving ages 5–11) and a [[secondary school]] (ages 11–18). In the summer 1999 league tables, [[Tadcaster Grammar School]] students obtained the best A Level results in the country for a state comprehensive school.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Carvel |first1=John |title=Top comprehensive hails study skills |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/aug/20/johncarvel |access-date=23 May 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=20 August 1999}}</ref>

==Sport==
Tadcaster has two main football teams, [[Tadcaster Albion A.F.C.|Tadcaster Albion]] and Tadcaster Magnets, Tadcaster Rugby Football Club, Tadcaster Harriers running club and Cyclesense Cycling Club. Tadcaster Tornadoes Basketball Team play in the Leeds Basketball League (Men's). Tadcaster has a swimming team for young people up  to the age of 18. (Tadcaster Swim Squad).<ref>{{cite web |title=Tadcaster Swim Squad – Every race is an opportunity to measure yourself against your own potential. |url=http://www.tadcasterswimsquad.org/ |access-date=9 April 2018 |website=Tadcasterswimsquad.org}}</ref>

== Notable people ==
*[[David Brown (footballer, born 1989)|David Brown]], footballer{{sfn|Hugman|2015|p=116}}
*[[Jan Dalibor]], co-creator of the children's TV puppets [[Pinky and Perky]], worked as a quarryman at Tadcaster after his arrival as a refugee from [[Czechoslovakia]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/12174970/Vlasta-Dalibor-puppeteer-obituary.html|title=Vlasta Dalibor, puppeteer – obituary|date=29 February 2016|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=12 April 2022}}</ref>
*[[Joseph Entwisle]], Methodist minister<ref>{{cite ODNB|first=Tim|last=MacQuiban|title=Entwisle, Joseph|id=8825|date=23 September 2004}}</ref>
*[[Charles Hague]], composer<ref>{{cite ODNB|first=N.&nbsp;D.&nbsp;F.|last=Pearce|title=Hague, Charles|id=11868|date=23 September 2004}}</ref>
*[[Owen Oglethorpe]], Bishop of Carlisle who crowned [[Queen Elizabeth I]] in 1559<ref>{{Cite ODNB|first=Margaret|last=Clark|title=Oglethorpe, Owen|id=20617}}</ref>
*[[Adelle Stripe]], author and journalist, grew up in Tadcaster<ref>{{Cite web |title=Adelle Stripe |url=https://store.virago.co.uk/collections/author-adelle-stripe-pid-193067?_pos=1&_psq=adelle&_ss=e&_v=1.0 |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=Virago Bookshop |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
=== Sources ===
*{{cite book |last1=Bogg |first1=Edmund |title=Two thousand miles in Wharfedale |date=1904 |publisher=Heywood |location=London|oclc=1158063246}}
*{{cite book |last1=Chrystal |first1=Paul |title=Tadcaster History Tour |date=2017 |publisher=Amberley Publishing |location=Stroud |isbn=978-1-4456-7731-6}}
*{{cite book |last1=Hugman |first1=Barry J. |title=The PFA Premier & Football League players' records 1946-2015 |date=2015 |publisher=G2 Entertainment |isbn=9781782811671}}
*{{cite book |last1=Speight |first1=Harry |title=Lower Wharfedale : being a complete account of the history, antiquities and scenery of the picturesque valley of the Wharfe, from Cawood to Arthington |date=1902 |publisher=Elliot Stock |location=London|oclc=7225986}}
*{{cite report|last1=Sydes|first1=Bob|last2=Bellamy|first2=Victoria|last3=Fabiankova|first3=Vera|title=Tadcaster Conservation Area|website=northyorks.gov.uk|url=https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/sites/default/files/fileroot/planning_migrated/heritage_conservation_areas_and_listed_buildings/Tadcaster%20Conservation%20Area%20Appraisal%20v8.pdf|date=2021|access-date=23 May 2023}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Tadcaster}}
{{Wikivoyage|Tadcaster}}
*[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10029557 A Vision of Britain through Time: Tadcaster]
*{{Genuki|county=ARY|Tadcaster||}} ''Considered as part of the Ainsty of York''
*{{Genuki|county=WRY|Tadcaster||}} ''Considered as part of the West Riding: the ancient parish was partly in the Ainsty and partly in the West Riding.''

{{North Yorkshire}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Tadcaster| ]]
[[Category:Market towns in North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 1st millennium]]
[[Category:Towns in North Yorkshire]]