Cawood: what to know before moving day
The village grew around the palace of the Archbishops of York, and the three-storey gatehouse built for Archbishop Kemp in the mid-15th century still stands in the middle of Cawood as a Grade I building, now let as holiday accommodation by the Landmark Trust. The B1222 runs through as Sherburn Street, High Street and Market Place, and the B1223 as Wistowgate, Rythergate, Ryther Road and Thorpe Lane. King Street, Church End, Old Road, Fostergate and Broad Lane are other addresses, with newer roads such as Wolsey Avenue, Anson Grove and Keesbury Park.
The pubs include the Ferry Inn near the bridge, the Jolly Sailor on Market Place and the Castle Inn on Wistowgate. The Ouse used to flood the village most winters. Since the floods of January 1982, marked on the bridgekeeper's cottage, the defences have been raised, and the fields on the far side, Kelfield Ings, and the former Ferry Boat Inn there are now the only areas that flood.
How the van gets to Cawood
Cawood Bridge, a Grade II listed iron swing bridge opened on 31 July 1872, carries the B1222 over the Ouse and is the village's only crossing of the river. From the south the B1222 comes in from Sherburn in Elmet along Bishopdyke Road, beside the medieval Bishop Dyke that once linked Sherburn with the Ouse. From Bradford, allow roughly 50 to 65 minutes as an estimate, by the A63 or the A1(M) and then the B1222.
The drive from Bradford is roughly 50 to 65 minutes. That is an estimate from route data, not a timed run, and traffic changes it.
Services for Cawood
Each service below links to its Garforth page, which covers how the job works in and around Garforth.
Cawood: questions before you book
Will the swing bridge hold up the van?
It can, because Cawood Bridge is a swing bridge over a navigable river. If your move uses the bridge, towards Kelfield or York, a little slack in the timing helps.
Does Cawood still flood?
Since the defences were raised after the January 1982 floods, the village itself has stayed dry even in the high water of November 2000; the fields of Kelfield Ings across the river are the part that floods.
Where the local details on this page come from
Checked on 28 September 2026 against:
- YO8 3TH: Cawood parish, Cawood & Escrick ward, North Yorkshire, Selby constituency
- Cawood: village on the Ouse below the Wharfe confluence, 1,655 people in 2021, archbishops' palace, gatehouse by Cardinal Kemp, Landmark Trust holiday let, Cawood Bridge Grade II iron swing bridge opened 31 July 1872 on the B1222, the only crossing of the Ouse, January 1982 floods marked on the bridgekeeper's cottage, Kelfield Ings and the former Ferry Boat Inn now the only areas that flood (November 2000), Bishop Dyke canal to Sherburn, Ferry Inn, Jolly Sailor on Market Place, Castle Inn on Wistowgate, York about ten miles, 5 miles from Selby
- Cawood Castle: Grade I, three-storey gatehouse built for Archbishop John Kemp
- OpenStreetMap map view (checked 2026-09-28): Sherburn Street, High Street, Market Place and Bishopdyke Road (B1222), Wistowgate, Rythergate, Ryther Road and Thorpe Lane (B1223), King Street, Church End, Old Road, Fostergate, Broad Lane, Wolsey Avenue, Anson Grove, Keesbury Park, Cawood Bridge, Cawood Castle, the three pubs