Yateley Town Council is one of the few local councils recognised under the national 'Quality Council' award scheme.[2]
In 2011, Hart district was named the UK's most desirable place to live, and Yateley was mentioned in a BBC News article as one of its towns.[3] Yateley is known for hosting a family music festival every summer, Gig on the Green, and a beer and wine festival every autumn - Blackwater Valley Cask & Cork Festival.
History
The name Yateley derives from the Middle English 'Yate' meaning 'Gate'[4] (into Windsor Forest)[5] and 'Lea', a 'forest clearing'.
In historical records, spelling variations include Hyatele, Yateleghe, Yatche, Yatelighe, Yeatley, Yeateley and Yatelegh.[6]
Amenities
The parish church is St Peter's. It was badly damaged in a fire in 1979 and subsequently restored. Its outstanding feature is an early 16th-century wooden bell tower, housing a ring of eight bells. The tower survived the fire but the bells were cracked and had to be recast.[7] The church is a Grade II listed building.[8] The White Lion pub, in the centre of Yateley, is also Grade II listed.[9]
Yateley Cricket Club was established in 1881, playing originally at the Cricketers pub on Cricket Hill and then on The Green on Reading Road. In 1999, the club moved to a new purpose-built ground and clubhouse at Sean Devereux Park.[14]
Education
Yateley School
Following the closure and amalgamation of St Peter's Church of England Junior School and Yateley Infant School, a new primary school opened in September 2010. Named Cranford Park CE Primary School.[15]
Yateley School is the largest secondary school in north-east Hampshire. It caters for children aged 11 to 16 and has an attached sixth-form college.[16]
Flora Thompson, author of the trilogy of novels 'Lark Rise to Candleford' is recorded in the 1901 Census as living and working in the Yateley Post Office. These books have since been adapted for television by the BBC.
Sonny Black a leading UK acoustic guitarist also lives in Yateley.
Contemporary artist James Robert Ford grew up in Yateley and attended Yateley School. A number of his projects, including House Gymnastics, General Carbuncle,[18] and 33 Things to do before you're 10,[19] have taken place in Yateley.
Chris Benham, a Hampshire cricketer, grew up in Yateley and attended Yateley School.
Author Danny King grew up in Yateley and attended Yateley School.
Sean Devereux, a charity worker in Somalia, came from Yateley. He was assassinated and Sean Devereux Park is named after him.
David Copeland, known as the "London Nailbomber" after a 13-day bombing campaign in April 1999 aimed at London's black, Asian, and gay communities, grew up in Yateley, though residing in nearby Cove in Farnborough at the time of the attack.
