Kirkburn

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Kirkburn
Kirkburn shown within the East Riding of Yorkshire
Population	492 (2001 census)^[1]
OS grid reference	SE981551
Parish	Kirkburn
Unitary authority	East Riding of Yorkshire
Ceremonial county	East Riding of Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DRIFFIELD
Postcode district	YO25
Dialling code	01377
Police	Humberside
Fire	Humberside
Ambulance	Yorkshire
European Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	East Yorkshire
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

Coordinates: 53°58′59″N 0°30′18″W / 53.983095, -0.504899

Kirkburn is a small village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated about three miles south west of Driffield town centre and is on the A614 road.

The civil parish is formed by the village of Kirkburn and the hamlets of Eastburn, Kelleythorpe and Southburn. According to the 2001 UK census, Kirkburn parish had a population of 492.^[1]

[edit] History

Originally known as Westburn at the time of the Domesday book, the name was changed to Kirkburn after the building of St. Mary's Church in the village between 1130 to 1155; the word "kirk" meaning "church". The church was restored in the 19th century, the work being carried out by John Loughborough Pearson and George Edmund Street.

The Kirkburn Sword, kept in the British Museum.

An important archaeological relic was found in 1987 during the excavation of a nearby Iron Age grave, dateable in the 3rd century BCE. The Kirkburn Sword, as it became known, is described by the British Museum as "probably the finest Iron Age sword in Europe". Its handle is assembled of 37 pieces of iron, bronze and horn and decorated with red glass. Its scabbard is made of iron and polished bronze, decorated with a scroll pattern in the style of La Tène culture, with red glass studs and insets.