Flaxton, North Yorkshire Explained

Country:England
Coordinates:54.0524°N -0.9647°W
Official Name:Flaxton
Static Image Name:Flaxton Daffodils - geograph.org.uk - 747205.jpg
Static Image Caption:Rice Lane, Flaxton
Population:343
Population Ref:(2011 census)
Civil Parish:Flaxton
Unitary England:North Yorkshire
Lieutenancy England:North Yorkshire
Region:Yorkshire and the Humber
Constituency Westminster:Thirsk and Malton
Post Town:YORK
Postcode District:YO60
Postcode Area:YO
Os Grid Reference:SE678623

Flaxton is a small village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is close to the A64 between York and Malton. The village lies entirely within a Conservation Area as defined by Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas Act) 1990.[1]

History

The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Flaxtune in the Bulford hundred. At that time it was part of the manor of Foston and was in the possession of Earl Morcar, but passed to Count Alan of Brittany by 1086. The etymology of the name is taken from Old English meaning settlement where flax is made.[2]

In 1807 a lead box containing around 300 Saxon silver coins was discovered in a field near the village.[3]

Flaxton was served by Flaxton railway station on the York to Scarborough Line between 1845 and 1930.

Governance

The village lies within the Thirsk and Malton (UK Parliament constituency). It is also within the Sheriff Hutton & Derwent electoral division of North Yorkshire Council.[4]

From 1974 to 2023 the village was part of the Ryedale district.

Geography

The nearest settlements to the village are Claxton to the south; West Lilling to the north-west; Harton to the east and Thornton-le-Clay to the north-east.[5]

The 1881 UK Census recorded the population as 366.[6] According to the 2001 UK Census, the village had a population of 331, of which 255 were over the age of sixteen. Of these, 168 were in employment. There were 138 dwellings, of which 86 were detached.[7] The 2011 Census showed a population of 343.

The village areas around Flaxton Village Green and the Crofts are designated Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs). Here can be found semi-improved and unimproved neutral grassland, as well as wet grassland on the Keld with three ponds that include two great crested newt breeding sites.[2]

It has one pub, the Thompson Arms Inn, and a B&B, the Blacksmiths Arms.

Education

In 1867 a Church of England school was built in the village. It was built by Thomas Abbey of Claxton on land donated by Thomas Richard Smith and paid for with money raised by the Rector and parishioners. The clock is by Potts of Leeds and dates to the end of the 19th-century.

The school closed in 1987 and was listed as a Grade II building in 2011 as an unusual surviving example of school for poorer children which pre-dates the 1870 Education Act.

The village is now within the education catchment areas of Sand Hutton primary school[8] and Huntington School, York.[9]

Religion

The village has a church dedicated to St Lawrence, which was built in 1853 in the 13th-century Gothic style and replaced an earlier chapel.[6] [10] [11] The church was declared a rectory in 1867 before which time it had been a perpetual curacy.[10]

The lychgate was erected as a memorial after the First World War.[12]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Conservation Area. 22 December 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130922110119/http://www.ryedale.gov.uk/environment_and_planning/conservation/conservation_areas.aspx. 22 September 2013. dmy-all.
  2. Web site: Etymology. 22 December 2012. dead. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121119050306/http%3A//www.ryedale.gov.uk/pdf/WardProfileSheriffHuttonV1.3.pdf. 19 November 2012. dmy-all.
  3. Book: History, Directory & Gazeteer, of the County of York: Vol. II East and North Ridings. Edward. Baines. 1823. 440. 17 April 2020.
  4. Web site: Find a councillor . North Yorkshire Council . 4 June 2023.
  5. Web site: OpenData support | OS Tools & Support .
  6. Book: Bulmer's Topography, History and Directory (Private and Commercial) of North Yorkshire 1890 . 705. 1890 . S&N Publishing. 1-86150-299-0. 11 November 2012-->.
  7. Web site: 2001 UK Census. 22 December 2012. Office for National Statistics. Neighbourhood Statistics.
  8. Web site: Map: primary school catchment areas. North Yorkshire County Council. 17 April 2020.
  9. Web site: Guide to School Catchment Areas. 53. City of York Council. 17 April 2020.
  10. Book: A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 2. William. Page. London. Parishes:Bossall. 91–98. British History Online. 17 April 2020.
  11. Web site: Parish Records for Flaxton: Finding Aid. Borthwick Institute / University of York. 17 April 2020.
  12. Web site: St Lawrences Lych Gate - WWI. Imperial War Museum. 17 April 2020.