Monument record MYO179 - Strensall Village

Summary

Most of the village lies round a bend in the highway and on either side of the River Foss, which is crossed by a bridge in the middle of the village. The church stands at the north-west end, the Hall with its moat and large grounds being a short distance further north. On the same site probably stood the manor-house of 1649 and 1757 which also had its moat with an adjoining close called Conygarth and a smithy 'in a street near a foldyard.' Other closes in the neighbourhood were the Hall Inge, Pudding Park, Palling, Butt Close, Inge Wall Butt and Long Wall Butt, all adjoining the Foss. This river, strictly speaking a navigation, enters the parish in the north-east and flows in a south and south-westerly direction into Towthorpe. It is crossed by three bridges, the northernmost of which, Strensall Bridge, is close to the village and site of the former tannery. About a quarter of a mile east of the village is Strensall station on the York and Scarborough branch of the former North Eastern railway, which passes through the parish from south-west to northeast. A Wesleyan chapel existing in Strensall before 1857 was succeeded by a new building in 1895. Between 1879 and 1889 a Primitive Methodist chapel was built.

Location

Grid reference SE 6320 6080 (point)
Map sheet SE66SW
Civil Parish Strensall, City of York, North Yorkshire

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

Strensall Conservation Area was originally designated in 1979, and included The
Village (and Main Street) and Church Lane which make up the linear street character
of the historic village. In November 2001 following public consultation the
Conservation Area was extended to the north and north-west from Bone Dike (to the
rear of Netherwood) including Strensall Bridge and the riverside pastureland and
paddocks to Strensall New Bridge, both these bridges are Listed structures, and to
the west following West End to include No.34 and then to the south which is a mixture
of Edwardian properties and more recent housing as far as No. 25 Princess Road.

History

The name Strensall may have originated from “Streonaeshalch”. “Streona”, an
ancient personal name and “halch” being Anglo Saxon for a corner or nook of land. At
The Doomsday Survey (1066) Strensall was listed as being among the estates of the
Archbishop of York, Prebendaries of Strensall are recorded from the 12th Century
onwards. A typical medieval pattern developed with the narrow fronted plots of land
extending back from the street frontage. Interestingly, Strensall Common remained an
open common, after other such areas were enclosed in the 18th Century.
Subsequently its acquisition as a military training ground in the late 19th Century was,
of course, to influence the future of the Strensall area. Strensall remained basically an
agricultural village until well into the 20th Century, though it also had a brick and tile
works, and the Tannery.

Important Buildings

St Mary’s Church (1865-6) was designed by JB and W Atkinson and built in
sandstone and roofed in Westmoreland slate. The Manor House Farmhouse is built
upon an ancient moated site; the present building being late 17th Century in origin,
substantially altered in the 18th Century and 20th Century. These buildings and the 18th
Century house of 59 The Village and 3 Church Lane are listed. The Methodist Church
of 1895 was built upon the site of the village pinfold.

Character

Strensall is a typical linear street village. Indeed, before the narrow lane (Duck Lane)
was widened to create the main entry from York, Church Lane and The Village would
have looked more like one continuous street than they do today.
The Village has an attractive and informal mixture of well proportioned 18th Century
and 19th Century detached houses and vernacular cottages. A sense of unity arises
from their shared scale, height (2 storey) and use of traditional materials – mostly
pinkish-brown brickwork with pantile or Welsh slate roofing. Buildings are positioned
at slightly varying distances and angles to the street frontage, some gable end on to
the street and most traditionally with small fronted gardens enclosed by walls, railings
or hedges.

The east section of the Village is rather more intimate because the street curves and
undulates gently, with subtle variations in carriageway width and some buildings
huddling closer to the street frontage. Trees and hedges add to the feeling of
enclosure and ‘protection’, with St Mary’s Church spire beckoning ahead. West of
Sherriff Hutton Road, The Village is more formal and straight, though building
frontages are still grouped informally. Unfortunately several open forecourts have
been created along this section, together with unsympathetic elevation alterations and
some recent infill of neutral character. However, the street maintains a sense of
continuity between the areas of more traditional village character.
Many traditional side lanes and yards survive along the Village, a legacy of the
medieval street pattern. Adjoining the River Foss, Strensall has retained its traditional
outer edge: an interesting haphazard arrangement of boundary walls, outbuildings and
small irregularly-shaped fields.

The line of Church Lane is important historically, though ’suburbanisation’ of its
character has resulted from inappropriate infill development. The redeeming features
of the sudden view of open landscape beyond St Mary’s Churchyard trees, the
contrast of the small scale enclaves of buildings going through to Church View, retain
a valuable rural quality. Trees are also important to the setting of The Manor House.

The Main elements of the character and appearance of the are ;
(1) The linear street village character, arising from the combination of buildings,
front boundaries, trees and the line of the street.
(2) The survival, in places , of the traditional outer edges of the village form, its
side lanes with vernacular farm buildings, and the relationship with the open
countryside at St Mary’s Churchyard.


2015, Strensall and Towthorpe Village Design Statement (Unpublished document). SYO1730.

Sources/Archives (1)

  • --- Unpublished document: 2015. Strensall and Towthorpe Village Design Statement.

Protected Status/Designation

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

Aug 25 2015 4:16PM

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