​Situated in a shallow valley four miles north-west of Beverley and amid the lovely rolling hills of the Yorkshire Wolds, Etton is one of those picture-book villages that is well worth exploring. But how many would know that in the 19th century it was the brewing skills of an Etton villager that provided the origins of the internationally- famous Carling brand of beer? Martin Limon takes up the story . . .

A single- storey cottage on the Cherry Burton Road in Etton with an unusual aeroplane- shaped weather vane

While many places in the East Riding have seen a rapid expansion in the years since the Second World War, the village of Etton is an exception to the rule and its unspoilt charms help to explain the appeal of the place. Situated to the west of the busy B1248 Beverley to Malton road, in its own picturesque dale, Etton today has a population of around 285.

When the journalist Edward Baines wrote about Etton in the 1820s there were 380 people living there and, like all East Riding villages of that time, their lives would have been dominated by the needs of farming. Yet the nature of that agriculture had already begun to change.

One of Etton’s most famous former residents was Thomas Carling, the founder of the famous Carling brewing empire. At the time of his birth in 1797 Etton would have looked quite different to how it appears today.

Then there would have been a few scattered farmhouses and cottages together with three large open fields (with arable strips farmed communally) and common grazing land to the west of the village.

Thomas Carling’s baptism record from Etton Church shows that his father, William Carling (1761-1844), was a farm labourer, although by 1823 the directory of Edward Baines describes him as a farmer.

In those days East Riding villages like Etton were far more self-sufficient than they are today. That same 1823 directory lists a number of trades to serve local needs at a time when rural transport was still slow and difficult. These included a boot and shoemaker, a tailor, a corn miller and two shopkeepers.

The production of beer was also very much a cottage industry and we know that William Carling brewed his own.

In the early 19th century, Etton, like many other English villages, was undergoing profound changes.

In order to improve farming efficiency, the scattered strips were being gathered together in enclosed farms.

The Etton Enclosure Act was passed in 1818 and this may explain William Carling’s change of status from farm labourer to farmer. It may also help to explain why, in 1818, his 20-year old son, Thomas, (the youngest of William’s five children) decided to leave Etton and seek his fortune in Canada.

The 19th century was a time when many working-class people, seeking a better life and the chance to own land of their own, left for the colonies. Without a single friend or acquaintance aboard the ship, Thomas Carling sailed from Hull on 17th May, 1818. Arriving in Quebec a month later, he then began an arduous journey on foot and by boat to London Township in Ontario, where he obtained rights to 100 acres of land.

By the end of 1819, Carling was clearing trees to create farmland, building a log cabin and within a year had married the daughter of another pioneering family, Margaret Routledge.

They brought up five children together in an area of Canada that was still largely wilderness.

After 20 years of enduring the hardships of Ontario farm life, Thomas Carling sold his land and moved his family to the nearby settlement of London Township.

The Light Dragoon

Looking for something new to occupy his time, his thoughts turned, in 1839, to the home-brewed beer that his father had made back in East Yorkshire.

And it was now that fate came to his aid.

There was a large British garrison stationed in London Township and its troops were entitled to six pints of beer a day. Impressed by the quality of Carling’s Yorkshire-inspired beer, the officers and men persuaded him to start brewing it commercially in 1840.

Under the stewardship of Thomas Carling’s sons the business continued to prosper and, in 1878, they moved to a new, purpose-built brewery costing a quarter-of-a-million dollars.

By 1890, their workforce of 100 men were turning out over 30,000 barrels of ale, porter and lager each year.

Later on new products were developed (for example, Carling Black Label was first brewed in Canada in 1926) and the Carling brand went on to become famous throughout the world.

Meanwhile, his father, William Carling, continued to live and farm at Etton until his death at the age of 83 and both he and his wife Margaret (1763-1838) were buried in the village churchyard.

The continuing importance of farming to this rural community is indicated by the logbooks of Etton’s Church of England School (built 1856), now held by the East Riding Archive Service in Beverley.

At a time when children were often needed to do farm work, their absences from school were often “explained away” by the schoolmaster.

In 1863 there were 62 children on roll and on 1st July he wrote: “ Thirty-three children present. Seven children are away pulling ketlocks from wheat, while two are singling turnips. Several are going about the lanes with babies while their mothers are hoeing turnips.”

In a small church school like Etton, the role of the Rector was usually paramount and in a directory of 1882 the Rev William Vernon was named as the clergyman.

St Mary's Etton Church, in Etton near Beverley

His importance to the school was reflected by a logbook entry of 10th February, 1888 that recorded his death and which said “he had been in failing health for some time, but that the end was sudden and unexpected.”

More bizarre was an entry of the 17th February, 1888, that reveals the very different attitudes to death in the 19th century from the present day. This said: “Took the schoolchildren up to the Rectory at 1.15pm to see the body of the Rector – some seemed very affected.”

More tragedy was soon to follow in April 1888 when an auction of the late clergyman’s effects took place at Etton Rectory.

Around 50 people had crowded into an upstairs room for the afternoon sale when suddenly the floor gave way sending them into the kitchen below.

According to a local newspaper: “A pianoforte and a heavy wardrobe came down with the debris and owing to the dust and commotion it was some time before help could be rendered. It was then found that several people were most seriously injured.”

As well as telling us about the importance of farming to the local economy, Etton School’s logbooks also reveal something of the impact that the Holderness Hunt has had on the village. The kennels of the Holderness Hounds were established in 1842 and the excitement and employment opportunities that foxhunting provided could be a source of disruption to the children’s education.

It was with a sense of sarcasm that the schoolmaster wrote on 8th March,1888: “I let the children leave at 11.30am as the hounds ran close past the school in full cry. Several boys were absent in the afternoon and in consequence they were in ‘full cry’ the next morning”.

The Holderness Hunt continues to operate from Low Hall in the village and the kennels here have also been used since the 1960s by the Hunsley Beacon Beagles.

During a recent visit to Etton I met joint-masters Austin Hodgson (from Brandsburton) and Lisa Richardson (from Barmby-on-the-Marsh) busy exercising the pack.

Austin has been a member of the group for 45 years and told me: “We have around 70 members and hunt on foot. The season lasts from September until March.

“Following a trail or hunting rabbits and hares with dogs is still within the law. We also take the beagles to agricultural shows like the Great Yorkshire Show and the Driffield Show.”

As well as being the long-established home of hunting, Etton is also famous locally for the Processed Pea Folk Club, based at the village pub, The Light Dragoon. This began life in 1969 and was the brainchild of four local music enthusiasts. One of these was Etton resident Stuart Bell, who came up with the name after being given the task of selling on a huge consignment of tinned peas at work!

In the 40 years since, the Processed Pea has been the venue for a host of musical talent including Isla St Clair, Labbi Sifre, Mungo Jerry, Billie Mitchell and Rod Clements.

These popular evenings take place on the first Tuesday of the month and are preceded by a “warm-up” event featuring local performers.

It is the intimate atmosphere of the Light Dragoon, with its beamed ceilings and the rapport between performers and audiences, that make these evenings so popular and event organiser Martin Peirson told me: “It is a non-profit making organisation aided by a small group of volunteers that is designed to make live musical entertainment as accessible to as many people as possible. It’s miles from anywhere, in a strange-shaped room but you can’t deny that it works.

“Artists like the friendliness and audiences seem to like the mix of artists. Established names and new talent keep it fresh and exciting.”

Opposite the Light Dragoon is another venue for Etton’s thriving cultural scene: Etton Village Hall.

Refurbished in 2008 with the aid of a £10,000 grant, the hall seats over 50 people and is in regular use for coffee mornings, indoor bowls, drama productions and film showings.

The work of the village hall committee was a feature of Etton remarked upon by local resident Mike Lofts who has lived here for nine years. Mike lives at Sixpenny Cottage in the village (so called, he told me, because he only had sixpence left after buying it!) and he told me something of the appeal of living here by saying: “After living abroad, Etton was a lovely village to retire to.

“It’s a straightforward little village that is quiet, clean and has no problems. There has not been any significant new development and Etton does not have estates of new houses of the kind seen elsewhere. Etton is a place where horse riding is popular and the livery stables of Tony Walker near the church show the continuing appeal of equestrian activities here.”

The downside to this picture is that Etton no longer has a shop or a village school. Etton Church of England Primary School closed its doors for the last time in December 1966, 100 years after its opening, and the few remaining children were transferred to nearby Cherry Burton.