Pocklington gets its name via the Old English "Poclintun" from the Anglian settlement of Pocel's (or Pocela's) people and the Old English word "tun" meaning farm or settlement,[3] but though the town's name can only be traced back to around 650 AD, the inhabitation of Pocklington as a site is thought to extend back a further 1,000 years or more to the Bronze Age.

After archeologists had completed a very long excavation project, the site was found to include a bronze shield, remains of a chariot and the skeletons of ponies.

One design element on the extremely well preserved Pocklington shield, a scalloped border, "is not comparable to any other Iron Age finds across Europe, adding to its valuable uniqueness", commented Paula Ware, managing director at MAP Archaeological Practice Ltd, in late 2019.

"The discoveries are set to widen our understanding of the Arras (Middle Iron Age) culture and the dating of artefacts to secure contexts is exceptional," according to Paula Ware.

[13] Pocklington's Town Council consists of thirteen elected councillors and is responsible for the cemetery, allotments, the Croft play-park and the Arts Centre.

The town council has a policy of naming all new streets using the surnames of the war dead who served at RAF Pocklington.

There is some controversy surrounding the policy as a local resident believes that war heroes from Pocklington and nearby Barmby Moor should also be honoured in this way.

The landscape around Pocklington therefore varies from flat arable land primarily devoted to agriculture to the south and west, and grassy, chalk hills and dry valleys to the north and east.

Pocklington Arts Centre (formerly the Oak House Cinema) opened in 2000 and offers "a mixed programme of film, music, drama, dance, lectures, workshops and exhibitions".

[22] Previous performers at the arts centre include the comedians Jenny Eclair, Clive James, Dave Gorman and Barry Cryer and the musicians Midge Ure and Steve Harley (in 2-man (2002), 3-man (2010, 2012, 2014 (twice), 2018–2019) and 4-man (2003) electro-acoustic sets only, no full rock band (i.e. Cockney Rebel shows).

The TV presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell used the name of the Pocklington Arts Centre for her Ormerod hoax.

Italy, France, Belgium and the Netherlands to attend the festival, which is sponsored by C & N Wines and Swirlz Ice Cream Emporium.

[26] The current club, formed in 1928, plays in Counties 1 Yorkshire and also hosts the traditional "Good Friday Sevens" tournament, which is Yorkshire's longest-established sevens tournament launched in 1958 and Pocklington's premier sporting event, which sees local, county-based and even international teams compete.

A full-time community radio station, Vixen FM, based in nearby Market Weighton, broadcasts to the town.

It is home to several lodges and orders including: Pocklington lies near the A1079 road, the main arterial route between the cities of York and Hull.

Pocklington is served by a number of bus routes provided by East Yorkshire Motor Services who have a depot in the town centre.

Although the site remains in use with gliders – and occasionally hot air balloonists – a lot of the concrete runway surface has gone, and the control tower is not in operation.

[citation needed] The City of York Local Transport Plan for 2006 noted that: "work has recently been undertaken by East Riding of Yorkshire Council to examine the feasibility of reopening the former direct York – Pocklington – Beverley line that closed in 1965... given the unavailability of funding for such a scheme at present and the extensive time required for any reinstatement of a rail line, the scheme remains a longer-term aspiration.

[44] The old railway building, designed by George Townsend Andrews, was saved from demolition due to its interesting architecture.